Catherine of Braganza, Queen Consort of Charles II - portrait postcard c.1930s

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Catherine of Braganza, Queen Consort of Charles II (1638-1705)
• Publisher:  National Portrait Gallery, London
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition:  has a couple of small pinholes 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Catherine of Braganza (Portuguese: Catarina Henriqueta de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was the Portuguese wife of King Charles II of England. As such, she was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1662 to 1685.

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 the 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 a design to poison the king. These charges, of which the absurdity was soon shown by cross-examination, nevertheless placed the queen for some time in great danger. On the 28th of November, Oates accused her of high treason, and the Commons passed an address for her removal and that of all the Roman Catholics from Whitehall. A series of fresh depositions were sent in against her, and in June 1679 it was decided that she must stand her trial; but she was protected by the king, who in this instance showed unusual chivalry and earned her gratitude.

Catherine suffered three miscarriages and as a result, she did not produce any heirs.^[2] Her husband kept many mistresses, most notably Barbara Palmer, who was appointed as her Lady of the bedchamber.^[3] He fathered numerous illegitimate offspring by his mistresses which he acknowledged.

She was credited for introducing the custom of drinking tea in Britain,^[4] a custom that was already very popular among the Portuguese nobility. Queens, a borough of New York City, was named after Catherine of Braganza, since she was Queen when Queens County was established in 1683, alongside Kings County.

Infanta Catarina of Portugal (or of Braganza) was born in Vila Viçosa as the second surviving daughter of the future King John IV of Portugal (at the time Duke of Braganza) and his wife, Luiza de Guzmán,^[5] a daughter of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. Through her mother, Catherine was a 3rd great granddaughter of Saint Francis Borgia.

Following the restoration of the Portuguese Royal House, and her father's accession to the throne on 1 December 1640, 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 Luiza 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.'^[6] Catherine's older sister, Joana, Princess of Beira, died in 1653, leaving Catherine as the eldest surviving child of her parents. Her marriage partner was chosen by Luiza, who acted as regent of her country following her husband's death in 1656.

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 securing Tangier (in North Africa) and the Seven islands of Bombay (in India), with 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.^[7] She journeyed from Portugal to Portsmouth on 13–14 May 1662,^[7] but was not visited by Charles there until 20 May. The next day the couple were married at Portsmouth in two ceremonies – a Catholic one conducted in secret, followed by a public Anglican service^[7] at the chapel of Domus Dei.^[8] Catherine possessed several good qualities, but had been brought up in a conventual seclusion and was scarcely a wife Charles would have chosen for himself. Her 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.^[9]

Little is known of Catherine's own thoughts on the match. While her mother plotted and schemed to secure an alliance with England and her future husband celebrated his restoration by sporting with his mistresses, Catherine's time had been spent in the sombre seclusion of her convent home where there was little opportunity for fun or frivolity. Even outside of 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. The Portuguese Ambassador proudly remarked that she was, 'totally without that meddling and activity in her nature.' 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'.^[10]

Catherine became pregnant and miscarried three times, and during a severe illness in 1663, she thought, for a time, 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 over 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 a Protestant and fertile – but Charles refused. This eventually led to her being a target by the courtiers.^[2] Throughout his reign, he firmly dismissed the idea of divorcing Catherine. She remained faithful to Charles throughout their marriage.

Catherine was not a particularly popular choice of queen since she was a Roman Catholic.^[2] 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.^[11]

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.^[12]

On the first presentation to Charles' official mistress, Barbara Palmer, she fainted away when Charles insisted on making her Catherine's lady of the bedchamber.^[13][14] She accepted Barbara, however later withdrew from the king's society, and in spite of Clarendon's attempts to moderate her resentment, declared she would return to Portugal rather than consent to a base compliance. To overcome her resistance nearly the whole of her Portuguese retinue was dismissed. 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 favor. In the midst of Charles's debauched and licentious court, she lived neglected and retired.^[15]

type=printed postcards

theme=people

number of items=single

period=inter-war (1918 - 1939)

postage condition=unposted