Catherine Of Braganza (1638 - 1705) - Find A Grave Memorial Death: Nov. 30, 1705 British monarch, Queen consort of King Charles II. The daughter of John IV of Portugal and Luisa de Guzman. She married Charles in May of 1662. She was not a popular queen, being Roman Catholic, and her faith prevented her from being crowned. Charles was a womanizer, but Catherine failed to give birth to a living heir, despite several pregnancies. She was neglected by her husband, who continued to have children by his mistresses, and he refused to divorce her. Upon Charles' death in 1685, she returned to Portugal, where she died at the age of 67. After her death she was entombed in the Jeronimite Church (Lisbon). In 1914, the body was removed to the pantheon of the royal House of Braganza, in the Church of Saint Vincent of Fora (Lisbon, Portugal).

(bio by: Kristen Conrad) British Monarchy: 10 Lesser Known But Fascinating Facts 10 Lesser Known But Fascinating Facts About British Monarchy Advertisement The British Monarchy also known as the Monarchy of the United Kingdom as it is also referred to is among the longest serving royal families. The royal lineage has continued for a long time, with descendants of the first Queen taking the throne in successions. The British monarchy has been very fruitful and productive, making a memorable mark in the world. The Queen is the Head of State of the British government and used to rule the world, although its ruling powers have been cut short. Still, it remains very popular and respected and is considered as one of those richest royal families in the world. British Monarchy is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories with either the King or the Queen as the title of the Monarch; Deep into the British monarchy’s history , one would find some interesting and fascinating facts about the royal family. Here are Some of the top 10 fascinating facts about British Monarchy 1.

The Royal family does not have surnames Curiously but interestingly, as unconventional as that may sound but that’s the truth, the lineage of the royal family do not use surnames like the rest of the other people. Instead, they use surnames which represent their houses or dynasties. The first surname to be used was Saxe-Coburg-Gotha which was up to the year 1917. In 1917, King George V declared that all male descendants of Queen Victoria should use the surname “Windsor”. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillips also chose a new surname for the descendants in 1960 – Mountbatten-Windsor, with Prince Philips himself using Mountbatten as his surname. The only people who were exempted were those with the style of Prince, Princess or Royal Highness. The full name of Prince Williams, the son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana of Wales is Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, while his brother Prince Harry is called Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales. [stock photo image by depositphotos ] 2. The Royal family seems to love people with common names This is portrayed by the names of the wives married by the Princes.

So far, the British monarchy has had five Queen Catherine in its lineage. And by the time Prince William ascends into the kingdom throne, his wife Kate Middleton – commonly known as Princess Catherine will become the 6th Queen Catherine in the family’s history. The other ones in the same line have been Queen Catherine of Valois (wife to Henry V), Queens Catherine Howard , Catherine of Aragon and Catherine Parr (wives to Henry VIII) and Queen Catherine of Braganza who was wife to King Charles II. [stock photo image by depositphotos ] 3. The current queen is the second longest serving British monarch Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1952 February, becoming the 40th monarch in the royal family. Up to now, she is the second longest serving monarch in the British monarchy serving now for sixty one (61) years. The only one who served more is Queen Victoria who was in power for sixty three (63) years. Other monarchs who reigned for over fifty four years include King George III – 59 years, King James VI of Scotland – 58 years and King Henry III – 56 years. [image via fanpop ] 4.

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall Prince Charles of Wales was married to his first wife Princess Diana of Wales. They officially wedded but unfortunately Princess Diana passed on. Later on, Prince Charles officially married Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. Interestingly, Princess Camilla has opted not to use the title “Princess” due to her respect for the late Princess Diana. [Image by Keith Laverack via Flickr] 5. The Queen’s Tuesday meetings with the Prime Minister As the Head of State, the Queen holds audience with the Prime Minister every Tuesday of the week in order to keep close contact with him. This occasionally happens when she is in London. There’s a special relationship between the queen and whoever that is the Prime Minister irrespective of his or her political party, although the queen remains politically neutral, she plays a role in the mechanics of calling a general election. The Queen also abides by the advice of her ministers.

There have been twelve British Prime Ministers during The Queen’s reign, They are: Winston Churchill 1951-55, Sir Anthony Eden 1955-57, Harold Macmillan 1957-63, Sir Alec Douglas-Home 1963-64, Harold Wilson 1964-70 and 1974-76, Edward Heath 1970-74, James Callaghan 1976-79, Margaret Thatcher 1979-90, John Major 1990-97, Tony Blair 1997-2007, Gordon Brown 2007-2010, David Cameron from 2010. [Image by Library and Archives Canada… via Flickr] 6. The Family History of the current royal family Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip who is the Duke of Edinburgh were officially married in Westminster on November 1947, five years before she became queen. Both of them are great, great grandchildren of the first queen, Queen Victoria. Prince Philip is the son of Princess Alice, daughter to Queen Victoria.

The Queen on the other side is the daughter to King Edward VII who was also a son to Queen Victoria. Furthermore, the royal family bore only a single sibling Princess Margaret . She was the Countess of Snowdon but unfortunately died from stroke in 2002. [image via mostersandcritics.com ] 7. The Queen as a public figure Since becoming Queen, she has won several awards. The queen has already been accorded over 387, 000 honorary awards and other awards which has earned her great respect. In her association with the public, the royal family organizes different annual Royal Garden Parties. Thousands of guests attend each of the four parties and enjoy a great time with the royal family. This has catapulted the popularity of the royal family and has placed the British Monarchy more into the limelight, making it loved across the world. [image via Ben Murray ] Their wedding was the first one of a kind it the family’s history. The intriguing part of it was the vows. When Princess Diana was pronouncing the name of her husband during vows, the Princess stumbled for a moment. Some argue it was because of the length of Prince Charles’ name.

More curiously, she promised all the part of the traditional vow except the section of obedience to her husband. 8. The intriguing wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana 9. Fascinating British Monarchy laws There are certain acts that are regarded as illegal by the British monarchy’s law that are interesting, for instance, Did you know it’s illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament? First, the British parliament building is regarded as Royal and therefore it is illegal for one to die inside it. Such is seen a very suspicious act. Secondly, using a postage stamp with the image of the queen or king in the wrong fashion is regarded as treason and one can face huge life consequences. It is illegal to stand within one hundred yards of the reigning monarch when not wearing socks 10. Kate Middleton “Catherine” is the oldest bride in the family When Kate officially married Prince William, she became the oldest bride in the royal family at 29 . The others elder than her like Duchess of Cornwall and Eleanor are not considered because they had both been divorced by their former husbands at the time of marriage. The youngest was Isabella of Valois who was married at age 6.

The history of the British monarchy is undoubtedly full of fascinating facts, some unknown to many people; the royal family still is very respected and loved all over the world. Catherine of Braganza (Queen) (Pepys' Diary) This text was copied from Wikipedia on 16 January 2017 at 3:23AM. Catherine of Braganza 23 April 1662 – 6 February 1685 Born Roman Catholicism Catherine of Braganza ( Portuguese : Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) 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.

[1] 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, which earned her gratitude. Catherine had three miscarriages and produced no heirs. [1] Her husband kept many mistresses, most notably Barbara Palmer , whom Catherine was forced to accept as one of her Ladies of the Bedchamber . [2] 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, [3] which was common among the Portuguese nobility .

Contents Early life and family Infanta Catherine of Portugal by Dirk Stoop , 1660–1661 Catherine was born at the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa , as the second surviving daughter of John, 8th Duke of Braganza and his wife, Luisa de Guzmán . [4] Following the Portuguese Restoration War , her father was acclaimed King John IV of Portugal, on 1 December 1640. With her father's new position as one of Europe's most important monarchs, Catherine became a prime choice for a wife for European royalty, and she was proposed as a bride for John of Austria , François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort , Louis XIV and Charles II , She was seen as a useful conduit for contracting an alliance between Portugal and England, after the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in which Portugal was arguably abandoned by France. Despite her country's ongoing struggle with Spain, Catherine enjoyed a happy, contented childhood in her beloved Lisbon . Commonly regarded as the power behind the throne , Queen Luisa was also a devoted mother who took an active interest in her children's upbringing and personally supervised her daughter's education.

Catherine is believed to have spent most of her youth in a convent close by the royal palace where she remained under the watchful eye of her protective mother. It appears to have been a very sheltered upbringing, with one contemporary remarking that Catherine, "was bred hugely retired" and "hath hardly been ten times out of the palace in her life". [5] Catherine's older sister, Joana, Princess of Beira , died in 1653, leaving Catherine as the eldest surviving child of her parents. Her husband was chosen by Luisa, who acted as regent of her country following her husband's death in 1656. [1] Marriage Negotiations for the marriage began during the reign of King Charles I , were renewed immediately after the Restoration, and on 23 June 1661, in spite of Spanish opposition, the marriage contract was signed. England secured Tangier (in North Africa) and the Seven Islands of Bombay (in India), trading privileges in Brazil and the East Indies , religious and commercial freedom in Portugal, and two million Portuguese crowns (about £300,000); while Portugal obtained military and naval support against Spain and liberty of worship for Catherine.

[6] She arrived at Portsmouth on the evening of 13–14 May 1662, [6] but was not visited there by Charles until 20 May. The following day the couple were married at Portsmouth in two ceremonies – a Catholic one conducted in secret, followed by a public Anglican service [6] at the chapel of Domus Dei . [7] Catherine of Braganza departs Lisbon from the Palace Square , 23 April 1662 On 30 September 1662 the married couple entered London as part of a large procession, which included the Portuguese delegation and many members of the court. There were also minstrels and musicians, among them ten playing shawms and twelve playing Portuguese bagpipes , those being the new Queen’s favourite instruments. The procession continued over a large bridge, especially designed and built for the occasion, which led into the palace where Henrietta Maria, the Queen Mother waited, along with the British court and nobility. This was followed by feasting and firework displays. Catherine possessed several good qualities, but had been brought up in a convent, secluded from the world, and was scarcely a wife Charles would have chosen for himself.

Her mother in law the Dowager Queen Henrietta Maria was pleased with her and Henrietta wrote that she is "The best creature in the world, from whom I have so much affection, I have the joy to see the King love her extremely. She is a Saint!". In reality, Catherine's personal charms were not potent enough to wean Charles away from the society of his mistresses, and in a few weeks after her arrival she became aware of her painful and humiliating position as the wife of a licentious king. [8] Little is known of Catherine's own thoughts on the match. While her mother plotted to secure an alliance with England and thus support in Portugal's fight for independence, and her future husband celebrated his restoration by dallying with his mistresses, Catherine's time had been spent in the sombre seclusion of her convent home, with little opportunity for fun or frivolity. Even outside the convent her actions were governed by the strict etiquette of the royal court of Portugal. By all accounts Catherine grew into a quiet, even-tempered young woman. A plaque at Sally Port in the Garrison walls at Portsmouth commemorates Catherine's first setting foot on English soil.

At the time of her marriage she was already twenty-three, something which was not lost on her critics, and had long since resigned herself to the necessity of making a grand match abroad. Contented and serene, Catherine's rather quaint response on being told of her impending nuptials was to request permission to make a pilgrimage to a favourite shrine of hers in Lisbon . Devoted to her beloved Portugal, as she set sail for England any distress she may have felt at leaving her family and her home was no doubt lessened by the knowledge that her marriage had been hailed as "the welcomest news that ever came to the Portuguese people". [5] Catherine became pregnant and miscarried at least three times, and during a severe illness in 1663, she imagined, for a time, that she had given birth. Charles comforted her by telling her she had indeed given birth to two sons and a daughter. Her position was a difficult one, and though Charles continued to have children by his many mistresses, he insisted she be treated with respect, and sided with her against his mistresses when he felt she was not receiving the respect she was due.

After her three miscarriages, it seemed to be more and more unlikely that the queen would bear an heir. Royal advisors urged the monarch to seek a divorce, hoping that the new wife would be Protestant and fertile – but Charles refused. This eventually led to her being made a target by courtiers. [1] Throughout his reign , Charles firmly dismissed the idea of divorcing Catherine, and she remained faithful to Charles throughout their marriage. Queen consort Queen Catherine by Sir Peter Lely , 1665 Catherine was not a particularly popular choice of queen since she was a Roman Catholic . [1] Her religion prevented her from being crowned, as Roman Catholics were forbidden to take part in Anglican services. She initially faced hardships due to the language barrier, the king's infidelities and the political conflicts between Roman Catholics and Anglicans. Over time, her quiet decorum, loyalty and genuine affection for Charles changed the public's perception of her. Although her difficulties with the English language persisted, as time went on, the once rigidly formal Portuguese Infanta mellowed and began to enjoy some of the more innocent pleasures of the court. She loved to play cards and shocked devout Protestants by playing on Sundays.

She enjoyed dancing and took great delight in organising masques . She had a great love for the countryside and picnics; fishing and archery were also favourite pastimes. In a far cry from her convent-days the newly liberated Catherine displayed a fondness for the recent trend of court ladies wearing men's clothing, which we are told, "showed off her pretty, neat legs and ankles"; and she was even reported to have considered leading the way in wearing shorter dresses, which would show off her feet. In 1670, on a trip to Audley End with her ladies-in-waiting, the once chronically shy Catherine attended a country fair disguised as a village maiden, but was soon discovered and, due to the large crowds, forced to make a hasty retreat. And when in 1664 her favourite painter, Jacob Huysmans, a Dutch Catholic, painted her as St Catherine , it promptly set a trend among court ladies. [5] She did not involve herself in English politics, instead she kept up an active interest in her native country.

Anxious to re-establish good relations with the Pope and perhaps gain recognition for Portuguese independence, she sent Richard Bellings , later her principal secretary, to Rome with letters for the pope and several cardinals. In 1669 she involved herself in the relief of Candia in Crete, which was under siege by the Turks and whose cause Rome was promoting, although she failed to persuade her husband to take any action. In 1670, as a sign of her rising favour with the pontiff she requested, and was granted, devotional objects. [5] On the first presentation to Charles' official mistress, Barbara Palmer , she fainted away upon realizing who had been brought before her and Charles's insistence on making her Catherine's Lady of the Bedchamber. [9] Initially, not realizing who was presented to her, she accepted Barbara graciously, but upon comprehension changed her bearing. She withdrew from the king's society, and in spite of Clarendon's awkward attempts to appeal to her, declared she would return to Portugal rather than consent to a base compliance. To overcome her resistance the king dismissed nearly the whole of her Portuguese retinue.

She was helpless, and the violence of her grief and anger soon changed to passive resistance, and then to a complete forbearance and complaisance which gained the king's regard and favour. In the midst of Charles's debauched and licentious court, she lived neglected and retired. [10] Catholicism Catherine of Braganza, Queen of England, by Jacob Huysmans Though known to keep her faith a private matter, her religion and proximity to the king made her the target of anti-Catholic sentiment. Catherine occupied herself with her faith. Her piety was widely known and was a characteristic in his wife that the King greatly admired; in his letters to his sister, Catherine's devoutness is described almost with awe. Her household contained between four and six priests, and in 1665, Catherine decided to build a religious house east of St James's to be occupied by thirteen Portuguese Franciscans of the order of St Peter of Alcantara. It was completed by 1667 and would become known as The Friary.

[5] In 1675 the stress of a possible revival of the divorce project indirectly led to another illness, which Catherine's physicians claimed and her husband cannot fail to have noted, was "due as much to mental as physical causes". In the same year, all Irish and English Catholic priests were ordered to leave the country, which left Catherine dependent upon foreign priests. As increasingly harsher measures were put in place against Catholics, Catherine appointed her close friend and adviser, the devoutly Catholic Francisco de Mello, former Portuguese Ambassador to England, as her Lord Chamberlain . It was an unusual and controversial move but "wishing to please Catherine and perhaps demonstrate the futility of moves for divorce, the King granted his permission. De Mello was dismissed the following year for ordering the printing of a Catholic book, leaving the beleaguered Catherine even more isolated at court". [5] One consolation was that Louise de Kéroualle , who replaced Barbara Palmer as reigning mistress, always treated the Queen with proper deference; the Queen in return showed her gratitude by using her own influence to protect Louise during the Popish Plot.

Popish plot The Test Act of 1673 had driven all Catholics out of public office, and anti-Catholic feelings intensified in the years to come. Although she was not active in religious politics, in 1675 Catherine was criticised for supposedly supporting the idea of appointing a bishop to England who, it was hoped, would resolve the internal disputes of Catholics. Critics also noted the fact that, despite orders to the contrary, English Catholics attended her private chapel. As one of the highest-ranking Catholics in the country, Catherine was an obvious target for Protestant extremists, and it was hardly surprising that the Popish Plot of 1678 would directly threaten her position. However, Catherine was completely secure in her husband's favour ("she could never do anything wicked, and it would be a horrible thing to abandon her" he told Gilbert Burnet ), and the House of Lords , most of whom knew her and liked her, refused by an overwhelming majority to impeach her. [5] Relations between the royal couple became notably warmer: Catherine wrote of Charles' "wonderful kindness" to her. and it was noted that his visits to her apartments became longer and more frequent.

Later life and death In Portugal, Catherine spent the rest of her life as a mentor for her nephew, Prince John . At Charles' final illness in 1685, she showed anxiety for his reconciliation with the Roman Catholic faith, and she exhibited great grief at his death. When he lay dying in 1685, he asked for Catherine, but she sent a message asking that her presence be excused and "to beg his pardon if she had offended him all his life." He answered, "Alas poor woman! she asks for my pardon? I beg hers with all my heart; take her back that answer." [11] Later in the same year, she unsuccessfully interceded with James II for the life of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth , Charles's illegitimate son and leader of the Monmouth Rebellion – even though Monmouth in rebellion had called upon the support represented by the staunch Protestants opposed to the Catholic Church. Catherine remained in England, living at Somerset House , [12] through the reign of James and his deposition in the Glorious Revolution by William III and Mary II .

She remained in England partly because of a protracted lawsuit against her former Lord Chamberlain, Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon , over money that she claimed as part of her allowance and that he claimed was part of the perquisite of his office. Catherine's fondness for money is one of the more unexpected features of her character: her brother-in-law James, who was himself notably avaricious, remarked that she always drove a hard bargain. Initially on good terms with William and Mary, her position deteriorated as the practice of her religion led to misunderstandings and increasing isolation. A bill was introduced to Parliament to limit the number of Catherine's Catholic servants, and she was warned not to agitate against the government. She finally returned to Portugal in March 1699, where she took care of and mentored her nephew, Prince John . His mother, Maria Sofia of Neuburg , had recently died, and the prince had fallen into a depression. Catherine was instrumental in lifting the young prince's spirits, and soon became a key part in his life, as his tutor and main female figure in his life. Her death would, in fact, cause Prince John to experience another depression.

In 1703, she supported the Treaty of Methuen between Portugal and England. She acted as regent for her brother, Peter II , in 1701 and 1704–05. She died at the Bemposta Palace in Lisbon on 31 December 1705 and was buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora Lisbon. Legacy Catherine is credited with the introduction of tea drinking to Britain, although Samuel Pepys makes reference to drinking tea for the first time in his diary entry for 25 September 1660 (i.e. prior to Catherine's emigration to England and marriage to Charles). It is more likely that she popularised the drink, which was unusual in Britain at the time. [13] Beyond tea, her arrival brought and promulgated goods such as cane, lacquer, cottons, and porcelain. [14] Catherine of Braganza (Jacobite broadside) Queens , a borough of New York City , was supposedly named after Catherine of Braganza, since she was queen when Queens County was established in 1683.

Queens' naming is consistent with those of Kings County (the borough of Brooklyn, originally named after her husband, King Charles II) and Richmond County (the borough of Staten Island, named after his illegitimate son, the 1st Duke of Richmond ). [15] [16] [17] However, there is no historical evidence that Queens County was named in her honor, neither is there a document from the time proclaiming it so. After the tri-centennial of the establishment of Queens County in 1983, a group of Portuguese-Americans began raising money to erect a 35-foot statue of Queen Catherine on the East River waterfront in Long Island City . The sculptor of the proposed statue was Audrey Flack . The project was well advanced when opposition arose. Historians objected on the grounds that there was no evidence that Queens was actually named after her, and further that a British monarch was an inappropriate subject for a public monument. African-Americans objected to the statue on the grounds that the British and Portuguese royal houses benefited from the African slave trade. Irish-Americans objected to any statue of a British monarch. The controversy forced Borough President Claire Shulman to withdraw her support, and the statue was never erected.

[18] [19] A quarter-scale model survives at the site of Expo '98 in Lisbon , Portugal, facing west across the Atlantic. Novelists, notably Margaret Campbell Barnes in With All My Heart, Jean Plaidy in her Charles II trilogy and Susanna Gregory in her Thomas Chaloner mystery novels, usually portray the Queen in a sympathetic light. Catherine's marriage had an important result for the later history of India and of the British Empire, though the Queen personally had little to do with it: soon after acquiring the Seven Islands of Bombay as part of her dowry, Charles II rented them to the East India Company which moved its Presidency there - resulting in Bombay / Mumbai eventually growing to become one of the main cities of India. Arms Catherine's coat of arms as queen consort of England The royal arms of the British monarch are impaled with the royal arms of her father. For supporters, she used the crowned lion of England on the dexter side, and on the sinister, the wyvern Vert of Portugal. [20] Ancestry This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed .

(June 2016) • Link from L&M Companion Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705). Daughter of Juan IV, King of Portugal 1640-56, and from 1662, wife of Charles II. Unequipped by nature or upbringing to play any part in public affairs, she remained to the end a very private person. She had to suffer exile and the neglect and infidelities of her husband. In the end Charles came to respect her and stoutly defended her against the attacks made on her during the Popish Plot. She amused herself with cards and music, and consoled herself with her religion. She took over Somerset House when Henrietta-Maria left Elgland in 1665 and as a widow lived both there and at the nunnery she had founded at Hammersmith. She left England in 1692 to spend her last years in Portugal, where she acted as Regent to her brother Pedro in 1704-5. ✹ • Link Thanks to Pedro for the poems and the commentary about the controversy, which still exists today. I've read several articles or book excerpts that basically rip Catherine apart.

A section on Edward Montague in "The Way of the Montagues" by Bernard Falk was EXTREMELY mean spirited and "The King's Wife" by Robert Gray was also quite negative, while "Royal Survivor" by Stephen Coote practically made her invisible. On the flip side, Antonia Fraser's "King Charles II", Derek Wilson's "All the King's Women", Manual Sousa's "Catherine of Braganza..." ( a biography)along with Agnes Strickland's "Lives of Queens" (another biography)presented a more factual, kinder and dignified picture. What is true in all writing about her (good or bad)is that Catherine was pious, unquestionable faithful (which can not be said about ANY of his mistresses), simple in nature and totally unprepared for the morally depraved husband and court that he surrounded himself with and forced her to live with. She was basically imprisioned, ridiculed, neglected and alone. Also of interesting character note is that she was the ONLY person in Charles's life that NEVER betrayed him or carried a hidden agenda in her dealings with him(like his friends, mistresses or even his beloved sister Henrietta who had conflciting ties with Louis XIV).

Even after years of neglect when she did have the chance to return to Portugal (during the Popish polts) she stood behind him,risking her own life in doing so, which was to HIS benefit politically, while Nell and Louise (his mistresses) openly betrayed him (and were of course forgiven). The only light hearted and uplifting book is by Count de Gramont who actually lived during this time. His "Memoirs of the Courts of Europe --Court of Charles II" recorded the soap opera antics around him and painted a pathetically comical picture of Charles and his court, which although it would have been wonderful reality TV today, must have been awful for any person with even the slightest intelligence and/ or moral character to survive. After reading this it made the thought of moving into a exile (ie. Catherine's solo move to Somerset from about 1671-1678 about 10 years into her marriage) look pretty appealing. ✹ • Link The Marriage Treaty. Below is information (from Virginia Rau's biography), that I do not think we have had access to before. 1. England had wanted to take charge of Tangier before the marriage took place.

Freedom of Religion would be granted to those Portuguese that stayed on. 2. The handover of Bombay would not only be a commercial advantage, but would allow the English a base from which to defend the Portuguese traders. 3. Portugal ceded all the fortresses and markets that England could recuperate from the Dutch and that had belonged to Portugal. Except that of the Port of Mascate (Now the capital of Oman, and the Portuguese had seized it in the early 1500 ✹ • Link Catherine's marriage to Charles was critical to the independence of Portugal so as Donna Luisa negotiated this deal she promised Charles a large sum of money. When Sandwich arrived to collect the sums Donna Luisa admitted to him that most of the money was gone. Although she had the money to begin with, she had spent most of it when the Spanish army began invading Portugal. She was only able to pay half of the sum. At this time she was taking a huge chance that Sandwich would accept the offer (and Sandwich was taking a huge career chance by accepting the offer), but accept he did, and Portugal owed him immensely for this decision.

When Catherine entered the ship Donna Luisa filled it with teas, spices, her jewelery, or anything she could find to fill the void of the money owed. She was desperate to have this marriage consummated. The small sum of gold that Catherine had for Sandwich was all that she had to give. Also, this can ✹ • Link Letters from Catherine's Mother Luisa. In the Portuguese book, "Dona Catarina de Braganca" (currently being translated by Pedro) the author Augusto Casimiro expands upon the work of her previous biographers, providing insights not only into the life of Catherine, but also Portuguese-English political climate, the Portuguese culture and her family relations. Casimiro's biography includes family letters, currently housed in the Ajuda Palace in Lisbon. The following letters by Queen Regent Luisa to Catherine and her son-in-law King Charles II (written in her distinct version of old world Spanish and as translated by Dirk) touch on the private side of Catherine's departure to England and the private sadness behind the highly formal and stoic departure of Catherine from her family and reveal a side of her mother Luisa not publicly seen.

In addition, the letter to Charles perhaps touches on a world-wise mother's instinct to protect her sheltered daughter from heartache, and has an almost haunting foreboding of the difficulties to come, as Charles, with his appetite for women always looked to the physical as opposed to the soul. ✹ • Link The first letter is dated the 24th April, after Luisa has said her goodbye to her daughter. She watches from the Palace windows where she can see the Tejo river and the fleet. The fleet was held up for a day, and she must have given her brothers permission to go over and see Catarina again. In the evening they arranged a great party on the river in her tribute. " My Catarina and all I have, Such is my misfortune that I even had to watch you enter that ship in which you left me, from these windows that ever since I have looked through so often. Praise be to God if it be His will that I miss so much so badly, and do not even find it in me to ask Him for patience... So necessary for me since what I have to do is so contrary to my nature.

And be assured, my daughter, that I miss you so much that, were I not confined to this prison, it seems I myself would follow you, but [?] I act with care and stay away from extremes, as you well know. I ask you, for all my love, that you try to find pleasure as well you can, and see if you have need of anything, or of something which they advise you may be missing in your Kingdom - so that I can gladly send it to you. Your brothers are very sad and Pedro has been weeping a lot overhere. They asked for my permission to go and see you, and I gave it with much envy and in the knowledge that such a consolation was not for me to expect. I hope all will assist you well and I entrust them with this charge, [?] in memory of my Catarina, whom God may protect as He see fit. You Mother who loves you so much, The Queen " Note: I inserted "[?]" at some places in the translation of this letter - and the two to follow - where the meaning of the original Spanish was not unambiguously clear or where marginally different interpretations of the original could lead to slight differences in translation.

These minor difficulties arise mainly from "odd" informal use of the language and almost total lack of punctuation, and are generally not important for the understanding of the contents. (Feel free to mail me for the original text in "old" Spanish...) ✹ The date of the third letter is not clear, but may be 25th so as to depart with the fleet. " My Lord and son, At last Your Majesty has taken away my heart, and this with such gentleness, that I will freely tell Your Majesty of the sorrow in which I find myself now that my daughter has left. And I hope that she will be onto Your Majesty a fair companion, and better, if you look deep into her soul, rather than at her person, where you will find that among other virtues, she has brightness, seriousness, and judgment without artificiality, capable of pleasing such a generous soul as Your Majesty's. And time will show that Your Majesty has not only gained a wife to be, but also a mother. That God lead her into your arms [or: into your sight], Your Majesty, and that he may bring me the good news I need to dry my tears.

And that it may please Your Majesty that I now have two children, and that I have the same love for both, and offer not part but all of it to Your Majesty. God guard Your Majesty for as many years as He see fit. This mother who loves you very much. Luisa, The Queen " The dates given for these three letters are of course according to the continental, Gregorian calendar. For the British equivalent, substract 10 days. ✹ • Link I think one would do well to remember the relative positions of Henriette Marie (q. of Charles I) and Catherine. One spent 10 years building up enmity at Court, in Parliament and in the country; the other spent 10 years building up goodwill. It is interesting to note that during the second Test Act that the Queen's household was exempted; moreover, this was not from respect for her as a foreign princess. I do not have access to parliamentary records now, but it would be well to look into them again. They read like a vindication of her behaviour.

She might have been unsuited to life at the Restoration Court, but her very "unsuitedness" what saved her (in the late 1670s and early 1680s) and her husband a great deal of grief. Can anyone imagine the situation in England in 1680 if Henriette Marie had been queen?! ✹ • Link The manners of this princess, especially at her first appearance at court, retained a strong tincture of the convent; and were but ill formed to please, much less to reclaim, the polite and dissolute Charles. She at first rejected the English dress, and the attendance of English ladies; and chose to appear in the formal habit of her own country, and be attended by her duegnas, whose persons were the scorn and the jest of every courtier. She, for some time, carried herself towards the royal mistress with all the disdain which she thought became her dignity and virtue: but when she saw that the king was resolved to retain her, she suddenly fell into the other extreme, and treated her with such excessive affability and condescension, as lost the little esteem he had for her.

The first years of her marriage were rendered unhappy by almost every passion that could disturb a female mind. At length, every spark of conjugal affection seemed to be extinguished, and she sunk into all the tranquillity of indifference. ---A Biographical History of England. J. Granger, 1779.

✹ • Link CATHERINE of Braganza (1638-1705), queen of Charles II; born at Villa Vicosa; her father king of Portugal in 1640; her education utterly neglected; marriage with Charles, prince of Wales, proposed for her by her father, 1645; renewed proposals made by the Portuguese for her marriage with Charles II, May 1660; proposals opposed by the Spanish party, on the ground of her probable barrenness; the match determined upon by Charles II, acting under French influence, November 1660-March 1661; formal intimation of the match well received in England and enthusiastically in Portugal; marriage treaty signed, 23 June 1661; Catherine sailing for England, 28 April 1662, and reaching Portsmouth, 13 May; privately married, 21 May; arrived at Hampton Court, 29 May; compelled by Charles to receive at court his mistress, Lady Castlemaine, July; arrived at Whitehall, 23 Aug.; submissively accepted Charles IIs infidelities; showed kindness to his illegitimate children, and lived mostly at Somerset House

, and not at court, being often in great poverty through non-payment of her allowances; tried to obtain from the pope recognition of Portuguese independence, 1662; seriously ill, October 1663; kept court in Oxford during the plague of London, 1665-6; proposals rumoured for dissolution of her marriage on account of her childlessness, 1667-70; complaints made of the concourse of English people to her chapel services, 1667; went a progress in the eastern counties, 1671; assailed by the whigs as privy to the 'popish plot,' 1678-680, but protected by Charles; attended the Oxford parliament, 1681; again abandoned by Charles for the Duchess of Portsmouth; instrumental in securing Charles II's deathbed profession of Romanism, February 1685; afterwards lived in retirement at Somerset House and Hammersmith; vainly begged James II to spare Monmouth; present at the birth of the Prince of Wales, 10 June 1688; gave evidence as to his legitimacy before the council; tried to recover damages from Henry, earl of Cl

arendon, her late chamberlain, for negligence in money matters; visited by William of Orange, but soon quarrelled with both William and Mary; travelled through France and Spain, reaching Lisbon, January 1693; resided near Lisbon; regent for her brother Pedro, 1704-5; favoured Italian music; unpopular in consequence of her ignorance of affairs, her haughtiness to her household, and her parsimony.

---Dictionary of National Biography: Index and Epitome. S. Lee, 1906. ✹ UK Tea & Infusions Association - Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza Competitions Catherine of Braganza In this section, learn more about the influence of Charles II and his wife Catherine of Braganza on the British trend for drinking tea. Jump to: Influence of a Portuguese Princess In the contemporary era tea is so much associated with the British way of life that it can come as a surprise to learn that it owes much of its popularity here to a foreign princess. While it is not true to say that Catherine of Braganza, the queen-consort of Charles II of England, actually introduced tea to Britain, she certainly had much to do with it becoming a fashionable and widely drunk beverage. Samuel Pepys first mentioned drinking tea in his diary entry for 25 September 1660 Portuguese traders imported it to their homeland from the East, and its high price and exoticism helped it to become very fashionable in aristocratic circles and at the royal court,where Catherine grew up.

By the mid-seventeenth century, it was very popular there.Tea had also gained popularity in elite society in Holland, through Dutch trade in the East, and in neighbouring countries. But at this stage, Britain somewhat lagged behind. The famous English diarist Samuel Pepys first mentioned drinking tea in his diary entry for 25 September 1660. He wrote that he had been discussing foreign affairs with some friends, 'And afterwards did send for a Cupp of Tee (a China drink) of which I never drank before'. Since Pepys was a member of the wealthy and fashionable London set, his failure to mention tea earlier suggests that it was still unusual at this time. This was soon to change. Just a few months before Pepys was writing, in May 1660, Charles II had been restored to the throne after the Commonwealth administration which had been set up by Oliver Cromwell in 1649 collapsed under the weight of its own unpopularity. But Charles II inherited many debts from that government, and soon ran up new ones of his own, and so was desperately short of cash.

One solution to this was to marry a wealthy foreign princess and to demand with her a great deal of money or goods as a dowry. After some negotiation, it was agreed that he would marry Catherine, and that her father King John IV of Portugal would provide with her several ships full of luxury goods, some as gifts and some which could be sold to pay off Charles II's debts. These goods included a chest of tea, the favourite drink at the Portuguese court. the favourite drink at the Portuguese court Catherine arrived in Portsmouth on 13 May 1662. It had been a long and stormy crossing, and as soon as she arrived she asked for a cup of tea. So rare was it at this time that there was none available; the princess was offered a glass of ale instead. Not surprisingly, this did not make her feel any better, and for a time she was forced by illness to retire to her bedchamber. Eventually though Catherine and Charles II were married, on 21 May 1662. Initially Catherine, a deeply pious Catholic who had been schooled in a convent, found it difficult to fit in at the bawdy and fun-loving English court.

But over time she established herself, and as the pre-eminent woman in the kingdom became something of a trend-setter. Although she adopted English fashions, she continued to prefer the cuisine of her native Portugal - including tea. Soon her taste for tea had caused a fad at the royal court. This then spread to aristocratic circles and then to the wealthier classes. In 1663 the poet and politician Edmund Waller wrote a poem in honour of the queen for her birthday: Venus her Myrtle, Phoebus has his bays; Tea both excels, which she vouchsafes to praise. The best of Queens, the best of herbs, we owe To that bold nation which the way did show To the fair region where the sun doth rise, Whose rich productions we so justly prize. The Muse's friend, tea does our fancy aid, Regress those vapours which the head invade, And keep the palace of the soul serene, Fit on her birthday to salute the Queen.

Charles II and foundations for the British tea trade As well as being important to the growth of tea's popularity in Britain, the reign of Charles II was also crucial in laying the foundations for the growth of the British tea trade (and of British trade in the east generally). The East India Company , the commercial company that enjoyed a monopoly on trade with the 'Indies' (that is, lands east of Africa and west of South America) was highly favoured by Charles II. This was not wholly surprising, since the Company had showered him with gifts upon his restoration to the throne. Charles confirmed its monopoly, and also extended it to give the Company unprecedented powers to occupy by military force places with which they wished to trade (so long as the people there were not Christians). Further, another gift to Charles II in Catherine's dowry was Bombay in India (now called Mumbai). This valuable port was made over to the East India Company, for an annual rent of £10 in gold. In time it became the Company's Far East trading headquarters and was to prove important to the tea trade.

It is certainly fitting that when in 1664 the Company opened its first trading point in Macau, the merchants sent a silver case of tea and cinnamon oil as a gift to Charles II and Queen Catherine. Catherine's dowry was Bombay in India (now called Mumbai) The marriage of Queen Catherine and Charles II in fact was not an altogether happy union. They had no children together, a source of great heartache for them both, and made worse for Catherine by the fact that Charles had several illegitimate children from a series of mistresses. Further, Catherine was a Roman Catholic, which occasionally made her a victim of popular anti-Catholic feeling. Although she remained in England for some years after her husband's death in 1685, she eventually retired to Portugal, where she died in 1705. But while though Catherine's experience as queen of England may not have been an entirely successful or happy one in many ways, it is this young foreign princess whom we have to thank for the development of the British taste for tea. Bibliography Caetano Beirao, As Negociacoes para o casamento da Infanta D.

Catarina com Carlos II da Inglaterra (Lisbon, 1942). The Diary of Samuel Pepys, transcribed and edited by R. Latham and W. Matthews (London: G.Bell and Sons Ltd., 11 volumes 1970-1983). Denys Forrest, Tea for the British (London, 1973). Lady Antonia Fraser, King Charles II (London, 1979). John Miller, Charles II (London, 1991). Roy Moxham, Tea, Addiction, Exploitation and Empire (London, 2003). Edmund Waller, The Poetical Works of Edmund Waller (London, 1792). Image credits: Adiaspora.com - Na Divulgação da Lusitanidade Adiaspora.com Português - English May 21, 2009 marked the 347th Anniversary of the marriage of the Portuguese Infanta, Catherine of Braganza to King Charles II of England.

The ceremony took place in the presence chamber at King’s House in Portsmouth before members of the English court and the large retinue of Portuguese grandees and noblewoman, who had accompanied the bride to her new home in England. In our view, Catherine of Braganza has been subject to some neglect in the annals of British and Portuguese history alike. Of all the Queens of the United Kingdom of England, Scotland and Ireland, she has been one of the most forgotten, despite the fact that her reign as Queen-Consort to Charles Stuart, the Merry Monarch, was to have a profound influence on the history of Britain and the British people at home and abroad. Her marriage to Charles II in 1662, shortly after his Restoration to the throne, reshaped the political, economic, territorial and cultural fabric of Britain, and provided a new and reformed geopolitical matrix for the British Empire that ensued.

Portrait of the young Catherine of Braganza shortly after her arrival in England (By Dirk Stoop) Catherine, Infanta of Portugal, was born on 25th November 1638 at the ducal palace of Vila Viçosa, the fourth child of the John, Duke of Braganza, and his Spanish spouse, Luisa de Guzman, of the Spanish House of Medina-Sidonia. At the time of her birth, Portugal was in a volatile state of political and social upheaval due to the fact that the Portuguese people had never fully accepted their Spanish overlords, who had inherited the Portuguese throne in the wake of the succession crisis that followed the defeat and disappearance of the young and unmarried King Sebastian of Portugal at the Battle of Alcacer Quibir in North Africa in 1578. In 1640, after sixty years of unwelcome Spanish dominance known as the Phillipine Era, her father, a direct descendant of Manuel I, was popularly acclaimed King of Portugal. The ascendance of John IV to the Portuguese throne marked the beginning of a period in Portuguese history known as the Restauração or Restoration, and the implantation of a new dynasty, the House of Braganza.

This change in the destiny of her family meant that Catherine, then only two years old, was now raised to the position of Infanta of Portugal. Charles II, spouse to Catherine of Braganza and King of England, Scotland and Ireland (By Sir Peter Lely) With the death of her father in 1656, her younger brother succeeded to the throne as King Alfonse VI. As the new king was both mentally and physically incompetent, the Dowager Queen, Luisa de Guzman, became Regent and effectively ruled the country on her son’s behalf. A wise and astute stateswoman, Dona Luisa was aware of the advantages that a marriage of her daughter Catherine to the then exiled heir to English throne, Charles Stuart, would bring to the fragile, newly-restored Portuguese monarchy, which was beleaguered by the constant threat of Spanish invasion. In 1660, Charles Stuart was restored to the English throne and soon thereafter began an earnest search for a suitable spouse among the Royal Houses of Europe. The Cromwellian Commonwealth and Protectorate had depleted the coffers of the State, and the country faced financial ruin.

Therefore, it was in Charles II’s interest to find a wife that would not only provide Britain with a strategic political alliance, but also replenish his fast-dwindling Treasury. Aware that Portugal would not be able to buffer the Spanish threat on its own, Dona Luisa sought to strengthen Portugal’s military and political position by seeking out an alliance with another of Spain’s foes, England, by offering her daughter’s hand in marriage to the newly crowned English monarch. To this end, she offered the largest dowry known in European history to date, namely £500,000 Sterling and the Portuguese territories of Tangier in North Africa and the Island of Bombay in India. Despite his commitment to reign as a Protestant monarch, Charles II agreed to espouse the Catholic Infanta of Portugal, and the couple were married in Portsmouth on 21st May 1662 (although the Marriage Certificate, held at St. Thomas, Portsmouth, inaccurately states the date as being the 22nd May).

Catherine of Braganza, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland (By Sir Peter Lely) The territories brought under British sovereignty by Catherine’s marriage to Charles II provided strongholds for the British in North Africa and the Indian subcontinent. These strategic outposts were to prove very valuable and crucial to British political and economic expansionism, laying out the foundations for the Raj in India and the projection of British influence in the Arab world. Also, it favoured British trade, with the establishment of British wine and sugar merchants in Madeira, an archipelago situated off the North-Western coast of Africa, the rights and levies of which Catherine had inherited upon her father’s demise. Furthermore, the special trade privileges the Marriage Treaty granted to the British in Brazil were the foundation for British military and economic enterprise in South America in the centuries that followed. Catherine of Braganza introduced new and lasting culinary habits to the English Court over which she presided as Queen-consort: afternoon tea, marmalade, tangerines from Tangier, porcelain, the use of spices and the fork.

A great lover of music - a passion she had shared with her father – Catherine of Braganza was patron to many British composers of the day, her personal Chapel at St. James Palace and Somerset House being synonymous with musical excellence and the arts. Her patronage ensured the introduction of Italian and Portuguese musicianship in Britain during the Baroque Period. In her day, Catherine also left her imprint on English fashion by donning men’s garb when out exercising or riding, and by wearing shorter skirts that revealed her shapely ankles. She developed a love for archery and was patroness of “The Archers' Company of the honourable Artillery Company", to whom she presented a large silver shield, now in the possession of the Royal Toxophilite Society. Nineteenth century lithograph of the Royal Couple's Marriage Certificate Based upon the rather unflattering and oftentimes demeaning comments about her physical and intellectual attributes found in Pepys’ Diary and the Earl of Clarendon’s correspondence, Catherine has been all too often and erroneously portrayed as an insipid, insignificant Queen, even by some renowned contemporary authors.

The King’s own personal correspondence and comments upon his deathbed paint a very different picture of Catherine of Braganza: that of a sagacious, virtuous, loyal and loving spouse, counsellor and confidante, whose unwavering support was a source of great comfort and solace to a king all too frequently embattled with Court intrigue and the Parliamentary demands of a newly-fledged constitutional monarchy. The King was ever steadfast in his support of his chosen Queen until his dying day, in spite of the pressures at Court and Parliament to renounce and divorce her due to Catherine’s inability to provide him with an heir, and the false and unfounded allegations, propagated by Titus Oates and his cronies, implicating her in a treasonous “Popish” plot to establish Catholicism as the dominant religion in England. In order to further the healthy integration of the Portuguese Communities in English-speaking host countries and multicultural societies, every effort should be made to raise awareness of the long-standing relationship between Britain and Portugal over the centuries, by underscoring their commonalities and instilling a sense of pride in our common heritage.

This, in short, is centred round two pivotal moments in history: the marriage of Phillipa of Lancaster to King John I of Portugal in 1387, and that of Catherine of Braganza, Infanta of Portugal, to King Charles II of England in 1662!

Question: Catherine of Braganza was the Queen of which British monarch?
Answer: CHARLES II