The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1910-02-15
GREAT LOVE
STORIES
of HISTORY
BY Albert Poyson Terhune
CHARLES l AND
HENRIETTA MARIA
iCopyrigh,, oy the Ap,eorl

A 16-year-old French girl in May.
1925. was married to man she had
never seen and whom she did not see
until six weeks after the wedding. In
other words, she was married in
France by proxy to Charles. heir ap-
parent to the British throne, and did
not sail for England to meet her hus-
band until June Of that year. Mar
riage by proxy was a royal custom of
the times.
The girl was Henrietta Maria, young
sister Of King Louis XIII. OF France
and daughter of Henry OF Navarro.
She was a fiery-tempered. self-willed
damsel. Prince Charles, who almost
at once succeeded his father. James l..
as king of England. was an obstinate
weak, dishonest man whose charm of
manner as well as his lack OF princi-
pie. was inherited from his grand
mother. Mary Queen Of Scots. Charles
and Henrietta started their married
life with not one atom Of mutual az
fection. and their Indifference soon
grew to bitter dislike. Not for years
after their marriage did they fall in
love with each other.
France was a Catholic country. Hen
rietta was an ardent Catholic. Eng
lands state religion was Protestant.
In order to win Henrietta's hand
Charles had promised the French that
he would do much to aid the Catho-
lies in England. He did not find it
convenient to keep this promise, SO he
promptly broke it-as he broke many
another during his stormy. misspent
p..., life. Henrietta
on,...I was furious at
this breach Of
faith and took little pains to hide her
did not tend to strengthen the bond
between them. Moreover, the duke OF
Buckingham (who was Charles right
hand man and exerted a boundless in
fluence over the ficxle monarchy did
all he could to keep the king and
queen on bad terms with each other
He was so successful in this course
that for three years the breach be-
tween the husband and wife steadily
widened. Then came a sudden change.
Early in 1928 Buckingham was as
sassinated. The king in his grief
turned to Henrietta for comfort With
no one to part them or to stir up dis
putes, the two grew as devoted as
they had heretofore been Indifferent
Charles l., after three years of love-
less welded existence, actually fell in
love with his wife. And Henrietta,
forgetting her contempt for his dis
hny ncfv ~,,it =, ~ -
charm of manner. In a word, their
honeymoon came three years after
their marriage.
1t was an age of marital infidelity,
especially among royal personages.
Yet Charles to the end of his life re-
mained absolutely faithful to Hen
rietta, and she more than repaid his
alteration.
Now, this was very gratifying. no
love Of the king and queen was to
cost Charles his life. Henrietta her
crown and the English nation a long
and bloody civil war. 1t would have
been better for all concerned If the
easrly dislike had endured. Here is
the story of the kings DOWNFALL:
Charles was a firm believer in the
divine right of kings" According tc
his ideas. a king could do no wrong
He believed himself appointed by God
to rule the English nation as he might
choose to. He considered he had the
divine right" to break his word, to
override the rights Of the people, tc
mismanage the country's affairs tc
suit himself. A few hundred years
earlier he would probably have passed
for fairly good ruler. But by the
seventeenth century the plain people
Of England were beginning to think
for themselves. They decided that nc
man. king or otherwise. had the right
to deceive and ill-govern them
Through their representatives in par
lament they demanded justice. Ii
Charles had listened to wiser counsel
lors he would probably have seen the
wisdom of granting the people theil
w,... rights. Henrietts
XIX. not only agreed
with him that 'tht
king could do no wrong" but stirred
him up to oppose parliament, to insis
vi h0 AA6 hio o"A iOOllSu way duQ tC
try to bend the people to his will b,
force.
He followed the advice of the WON
an he loved. AS a result he fount
himself suddenly at war not only will
parliament, but with a great part o.
the people at large, who were rushin,
to arms in behalf of fair play. Henri
eta Maria hurried to Holland, wher,
| she worked with might and main t.
| raise money and men to aid Charles
But the reinforcements she brough
him could not turn the tide of victory
So she fed at last to France with hel
children and never again saw her hus
band. Charles was captured (first
flying for refuge to the Scotch lords
whom he trusted. and who thriftily
sold him to parlianent). and in 164!
was beheaded.
Henrietta Maria dragged out mos
OF her remaining days in poverty ans
exile. BY loss OF husband and crown
she paid the full price for her folly il
believing that the divine right O
kings" could ever hope to stant
against the diviner rights Of the peo
pie.