Henrietta of England

Henrietta of England (Henrietta Anne), 1644-70, duchesse d'Orléans, called Madame; sister-in-law of King Louis XIV of France. The daughter of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria of England, she was taken (1646) to France when civil war raged in England; in 1661 she married Philippe I, duc d'Orléans, brother of Louis XIV. In Louis's behalf she negotiated the Treaty of Dover with her brother, King Charles II (1670). She died shortly after her return from England; it was rumored that she had been poisoned by her husband. Jacques Bossuet's funeral oration for Madame is one of his best-known sermons.

Bibliography

See her correspondence with Charles, ed. by C. Hartmann (rev. ed. 1954); Mme de La Fayette, Secret History of Henrietta Princess of England (tr. 1929).