Hi everyone! This week I've
decided to write on an individual, who is arguably one of the most important
people on this list. Queen Catherine of Braganza is the very woman whom all the
rest of these people are working for. Without her, they could very well have no
place in the Royal Court whatsoever! Also, what better way to start out this
list than with their employer?
Catherine was born on November
25th 1638 in Alentejo, Portugal. She was the only surviving daughter of John de
Braganca, eighth duke of Braganca. In 1640, a rebellion against the Spanish
established John de Braganca on the Portuguese throne. Years later, he proposed
a marriage between Catherine and Charles Stuart, prince of Wales. This
proposal, however, was rejected. As for Catherine's childhood, it is said that
she rarely ventured out of the castle. According to the English consul in
Lisbon, "she hath hardly been ten times out of the palace in her
life".
After her father's death,
Catherine's mother once again proposed marriage between Catherine and Charles,
who was now Charles the II. The English were more willing to listen this time,
and negotiations were made by Catherine's godfather. Among these negotiations,
Catherine was to have an income of 30,000 pounds and a private chapel in any
palace she might reside, as she was a Roman Catholic. Catherine and Charles
were married on May 21st at Portsmouth in both a secret Roman Catholic ceremony
and a public Anglican one, since Protestantism was the reigning religion of the
time. Charles was a little less than pleased with Catherine's appearance,
reportedly saying they had brought him a bat instead of a woman. Others also
said that she had protruding teeth "wronging her mouth" and was very
short. Poor Catherine's only redeeming quality seemed to be her eyes, which
were considered "angelic".
It is said that the King
admired Catherine's wit and was quite fond of her. She was described as full of
piety and sweetness. However, such marital compatibility was not to last. It
wasn't long before Charles decided to give his mistress, the Countess of
Castlemaine, a bedchamber in Catherine's house. He even went as far as to
cordially introduce the two, causing quite the scene when Catherine started
bleeding from the nose and fainted. She went on to rebel against her husband's
actions by arguing angrily with him against her stay and erasing the Countess’
name from the list of household servants presented to her.
Catherine didn't have much
influence at court either, due to her failure to have children. Once speculation
started to spread that she was infertile, there were rumors that Charles was
going to divorce her as she would not be able to carry on the royal line.
Catherine was able to become pregnant on several occasions, but they all ended
in miscarriage. Despite her issues with her husband, she continued to fulfill
her role as queen. Catherine accompanied Charles on his journeys outside London
and was always praised as a gracious woman. Still, she began to fear her
husband would demand divorce, as his friends and even parliament were trying to
convince him to do so. However, Charles always refused, though he continued to
flaunt his mistress, as usual.
The Popish Plot of 1678
threatened Catherine's position, as she and her household were under suspicion
of involvement in a conspiracy to kill the king. It was thought to be revenge
for her husband's infidelities and desire to bring Catholicism to the throne.
She continued to protest her innocence, however, and said that her husband
believed her innocent as well, although he was under considerable pressure to
remove all Catholics from his presence. Meanwhile, Charles continued to reject
requests from people, such as the earl of Shaftesbury, to divorce Catherine. As
Catholicism became more unpopular, Catherine began to be publicly insulted when
she would make her way to church.
Charles II became ill in the
1680's, eventually dying on February 6, 1685. Catherine remained faithfully by
his bedside during the final days of his illness. Although it is said that she
fell into a depression for some months after, she recovered and took an
interest in her household once more. Under the reign of Charles’ successor,
James II, Catherine was bound to live in England, though she wanted to return
home to Portugal. On March 30, 1692 she finally left for Portugal and
eventually settled in Bemposta near Lisbon in a new palace. In 1704 she became
regent to Pedro II of Portugal due to his ill health and remained regent until
her death on December 31, 1705. She was buried in the monastery at Belem near
Lisbon.
I think it's easy to say that Catherine didn't have the easiest of lives. She was forced to watch as her husband courted his mistresses around her home and to also live with the knowledge that he had fathered bastard children. She also had to live in a society that was ever growing in their hatred of Catholics. However, she remained devout on both fronts. She was a loyal wife to a dishonest husband and continued with her piety and Catholic religion, even though she was in the midst of a kingdom that was very antagonistic against Catholics. For that, I found Catherine quite admirable. She still was able to thrive relatively well even though she lived in a foreign country for many years and her husband thought the poor woman looked like a bat.
Wynne, S. M.. “Catherine (1638–1705).” S. M. Wynne In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Online ed., edited by David Cannadine, January 2008. http://www.oxforddnb.com.flagship.luc.edu/view/article/4894 (accessed September 11, 2016).
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