caption father house death_date succession mother birth_place death_place burial_place religion consort birth_date spouse image article_title reign
queen catherine in 1663 , by sir peter lely john iv of portugal house of braganza 31 december 1705 queen consort of england , scotland and ireland luisa de guzmán palace of vila viçosa , alentejo , portugal bemposta palace , lisbon , portugal pantheon of the braganzas roman catholicism yes 25 november 1638 charles ii of england catherine of braganza - lely 1663-65 . jpg catherine of braganza
 23 april 1662 -- 6 february 1685
catherine of braganza

catherine of braganza -lrb- ; 25 november 1638 -- 31 december 1705 -rrb- was queen of england , scotland and ireland from 1662 to 1685 , as the wife of king charles ii .
catherine was born into the house of braganza , the most senior noble house of portugal , which became portugal 's royal house after catherine 's father , john , 8th duke of braganza , was proclaimed king john iv after deposing the house of habsburg in 1640 .
owing to her devotion to the roman catholic beliefs in which she had been raised , catherine was an unpopular consort for charles ii .
she was a special object of attack by the inventors of the popish plot .
in 1678 the murder of sir edmund berry godfrey was ascribed to her servants , and titus oates accused her of an intention to poison the king .
these charges , the absurdity of which were soon shown by cross-examination , nevertheless placed the queen for some time in great danger .
on 28 november oates accused her of high treason , and the commons passed an order for her removal and that of all roman catholics from whitehall .
a series of fresh depositions were made against her , and in june 1679 it was decided that she must stand trial ; but she was protected by the king , who in this instance showed unusual chivalry , for which he earned her gratitude .
catherine had three miscarriages and produced no heirs .
her husband kept many mistresses , most notably barbara palmer , whom catherine was forced to accept as one of her ladies of the bedchamber .
charles fathered numerous illegitimate offspring by his mistresses whom he acknowledged .
she and charles are credited with introducing the custom of drinking tea to the british court , which was common among the portuguese nobility .
