The misunderstood queen
Country Life UK|August 03, 2022
Henrietta Maria: Conspirator, Warrior, Phoenix Queen | Teller of the Unexpected: The Life of Roald Dahl, an Unofficial Biography
Kate Green
The misunderstood queen

Henrietta Maria: Conspirator, Warrior, Phoenix Queen

Leanda de Lisle (Vintage, £25)

IN Ken Hughes's film Cromwell (1970), there is a scene that sets up Henrietta Maria, Charles I's queen, as the villain of the piece. It is May 1641 and the Earl of Strafford, one of the King's 'evil counsellors', has just been executed by the will of parliament. Charles receives a deputation of MPs and the meeting is fractious. Suddenly, a portrait on the wall catches Oliver Cromwell's eye: Henrietta Maria in a necklace with large pendant cross, an unmistakable Catholic symbol. He glowers; there, in paint, is the most diabolical of the King's evil counsellors.

Then the queen herself appears (Dorothy Tutin, a remarkable likeness)-pretty, imperious, haughty even. She has overheard the diatribe against Catholicism and the accusation that her husband has failed to defend the Church and Protestant settlers in Ireland against attacks by the native Irish because of 'domestic expedience'. She is not amused.

Henrietta Maria, named after her father and mother, Henri IV of France and Marie de' Medici, is a goddaughter of the Pope. To Cromwell, a Puritan, Catholicism is a political force inimical to parliamentary government and the attempts to introduce ritual into the Church of England by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, nothing but popery. Laud, the third of the 'evil counsellors', would go to the scaffold in 1645. In 17th-century England, there was no getting away from religion.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 03, 2022 من Country Life UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 03, 2022 من Country Life UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من COUNTRY LIFE UK مشاهدة الكل
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
Country Life UK

Kitchen garden cook - Apples

'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
The original Mr Rochester
Country Life UK

The original Mr Rochester

Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre

time-read
5 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Get it write
Country Life UK

Get it write

Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
'Sloes hath ben my food'
Country Life UK

'Sloes hath ben my food'

A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Souvenirs of greatness
Country Life UK

Souvenirs of greatness

FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Plants for plants' sake
Country Life UK

Plants for plants' sake

The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson

time-read
7 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Capturing the castle
Country Life UK

Capturing the castle

Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Nature's own cathedral
Country Life UK

Nature's own cathedral

Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods

time-read
5 mins  |
October 23, 2024
All that money could buy
Country Life UK

All that money could buy

A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages

time-read
8 mins  |
October 23, 2024
In with the old
Country Life UK

In with the old

Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery

time-read
5 mins  |
October 23, 2024