page_title: Henrietta of England
section_title: Infancy in England
hierarchical_section_title: Henrietta of England / Infancy in England
caption_attribution_description: English: Posthumous portrait of Henriette d'Angleterre (Princess Henrietta (1644-1670), daughter of King Charles I of England). She was born in Bedford House, Exeter, the town house of the Duke of Bedford, in which her mother had been given refuge during the troubled time before her father's execution in 1649, and before her flight as an infant to France. This painting was presented by her brother King Charles II to the Corporation of the City of Exeter in recognition of her birth there. Collection of Exeter Guildhall, in the Council Chamber of which it is displayed, with inscribed explanatory gilt panel on lower frame. Français&#160;: Portrait posthume d'Henriette Anne d'Angleterre, duchesse d'Orléans, dite «&#160;Madame&#160;» (1644-1670), fille du roi d'Angleterre Charles Ier et de la reine Henriette Marie de France. Attribué à Peter Lely, il est réalisé à la demande du frère de la princesse, le roi d'Angleterre Charles II. Il est exposé dans la chambre du Conseil d'Exeter Guildhall.
context_page_description: Henrietta of England – 30 June 1670 was the youngest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland and Princess Henrietta Maria of France.
  Fleeing England with her mother and governess at the age of three, Henriette moved to the court of her first cousin, King Louis XIV of France, where she was known as Minette. She married her other cousin Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and became known Fils de France, but their relationship was marked by frequent tensions over common suitors Very clever, Henrietta was instrumental in negotiating the Secret Treaty of Dover against the Dutch Republic in June 1670, the same month as her unexpected death. Jacobite claims to the British throne following Henry Benedict Stuart's death descend from her daughter Anne Marie, Queen of Sardinia.
context_section_description: Princess Henrietta was  born on 16 June 1644, on the eve of the Second Battle of Newbury during the Civil War, at Bedford House in Exeter, a seat of William Russell, 5th Earl of Bedford (1613–1700), who had recently returned to the Royalist side. Her father was King Charles I of England, her mother the youngest daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. All her life, Henrietta would enjoy a close relationship with her mother, Queen Henrietta Maria.  Her connections with the court of France as niece of King Louis XIII and cousin of Louis XIV would prove to be very useful later in life.
  Shortly before the birth of Henrietta, her mother had been forced to leave Oxford for Exeter, where she had arrived on 1 May 1644. Many thought she would not survive the birth due to her state of health at the time. After a particularly difficult birth, the princess was put in the care of Anne Villiers, Countess of Morton, known at that time as Lady Dalkeith. For the safety of the infant princess, the queen decided to make her way to Falmouth and then return to France to ask Louis XIV to assist her husband's war efforts. Arriving at Falmouth in mid-July, the queen was informed that the infant princess had been taken ill with convulsions, from which she recovered. On 26 July, Henrietta met her father, Charles I of England, for the first time.  Prior to his arrival, the king had ordered that the princess would be baptised in accordance with the rites of the Church of England, and she was baptised Henrietta at Exeter Cathedral on 21 July. A canopy of state was erected in honour of her dignity as a Princess of England. Henrietta was moved to Oatlands Palace outside London, where the princess and her household lived for some three months before fleeing secretly in June 1646, Lady Dalkeith ensured Henrietta's safe arrival in France where she was re-united with her mother.
caption: A posthumous painting by Peter Lely of Princess Henrietta commissioned by her brother King Charles II and presented by him to Exeter Guildhall, in the Council Chamber of which it still hangs today, in recognition of her birth in Bedford House, Exeter, the town house  of William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford who had given her mother refuge during the dangerous years before her father's execution in 1649
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