Catherine of Braganza’s Life Was Darker Than People Knew SD there have been many scandalous Queens in history but none of them had the outrageous bedroom drama of Catherine of briganza as King Charles II of England’s wife Catherine now has a reputation for being a long-suffering bride who had to watch her philandering husband go through countless Mistresses but what most people don’t know is that Queen Catherine had just as much of a personality as her husband and would also leave a lasting Legacy when Charles II lay on his deathbed he sent for his wife Katherine of briganza her response was utterly heartbreaking she was unable to bear the thought of witnessing her husband perish so she asked to remain away from him but added that she wanted to quote beg his pardon if she had offended him all his life somehow Charles reply was even more of a tearjerker Katherine of beranza was born in 1638 to join the Duke of briganza and his wife Louisa De Guzman 2 years later with the end of the Portuguese restoration War her father was suddenly made king of Portugal this changed Catherine’s life forever as she now became a royal princess although Catherine was now one of the most rich and privileged women in Portugal that didn’t mean her life was easy her mother the queen Louisa was overbearing and very protective of her daughter she kept Catherine sheltered away in a nearby Convent for her education because of this unusual upbringing Catherine ended up as a rather naive girl with a certain innocence about the complexities of Court life a trait that would later make her transition to the English Court even more challenging when she came of age many Royal Bachelors around Europe took an interest in her strangely enough the famous King Louis the 14th of France was interested in young Catherine however her mother had different plans for her and selected King Charles II of England to be her future husband the match was not born out of love but of political necessity Charles was Keen to secure a strong alliance with Portugal and Catherine’s large dowy which included the valuable Portuguese territories of Bombay and Tangier was a significant incentive despite Catherine and Charles never having met each other it was arranged that they would be wed and they became engaged in 1661 Princess Catherine was now destined to become the future Queen of England in 1662 the 23-year-old Catherine traveled to Portsmouth England to meet her fiance for the first time their first encounter didn’t end up as the fairy tale she might have imagined Charles showing an ominous lack of enthusiasm for his newbile bride didn’t visit her there until almost a week later just a single day before their wedding on May 20th 1662 Catherine and Charles were married in Portsmouth in a Royal ceremony in addition to this they also had another secret wedding the reason for this was that one of the marriage stipulations was that the pious Catherine would stay Catholic despite being married to a Protestant King this loophole was something that Charles didn’t exactly want to publicize although Catherine was now Queen of England just like the English weather things weren’t exactly sunshine and rainbows at this point she could barely speak English and struggle to make herself understood when she wasn’t with her Portuguese retinue it also didn’t help that many English people hated her simply because she was a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant Nation despite this there was one person who took a liking to her Charles mother Henrietta Maria was delighted in her new daughter-in-law calling her quote the best creature in the world and a saint yet even this support could not Shield her from the harsh realities of her husband’s Behavior although Charles was supposed to be a shiver King of England he had a very scandalous history poor Catherine soon found out that her husband was Notorious around Europe for his long list of Mistresses moreover he didn’t just have a habit of frequently rolling in the hay with many different women he often got them pregnant although Charles’s mother believed that that they could have a happy devoted marriage within mere weeks of their matrimony Charles went right back to carrying on with his usual infidelity Catherine was crestfallen when she heard of this among Charles many Mistresses his favorite by far was a woman named Barbara vilers her influence at the court was so great the people even named her the uncrowned queen she sought more and more power from Charles in the bedroom and Beyond so it was only fitting that when Catherine entered the court a rivalry would develop when Catherine arrived in England Barbara was already very pregnant with one of King Charles many illegitimate children to insult Queen Catherine when they were away on their honeymoon Barbara had the audacity to give birth to her son at King Charles personal Palace in Hampton Court Charles was very pleased with the news that he had a boy and rewarded his mistress by making her Lady of the bed chamber to his own wife Queen Catherine whether he was being devious untactful or simply Dim when he made this decision it was nonetheless a poor one as the two women despised each other Catherine now had to see the woman who is sleeping with her husband every single day this hurt their marriage greatly after dealing with so many humiliations Catherine was tired of playing the part of the nice obedient wife she started a full-blown conf Feud with Barbara and refused to spend any more time with the King until he reconsidered his Indecent Proposal this became known as the so-called bed chamber crisis Catherine was understandably upset and threatened to return to Portugal if she would have to take in her husband’s mistress in response Charles very cruy took away Catherine’s regular Portuguese retu and essentially forced Barbara upon her Catherine was now very alone in a foreign land and unhappily in the presence of Barbara as the years wore on Catherine tried many times to produce an air she became pregnant three times and sadly miscarried each time people were starting to wonder if their new Queen would ever bear a future Monarch for England in 1663 things became very rough for Catherine when she became Gravely ill to make matters worse instead of spending time by her sick bed her husband went and got him self involved in another affair this time with a beautiful Court lady named Francis Stewart while Catherine was spending her days sick in bed people callously began to whisper that Charles was so in love with Francis and was lining her up to become the future queen as soon as the sick Catherine kicked the bucket Catherine became so ill that she at one point even became delirious she hallucinated that the babies that she had lost through miscarriage were alive and that she had actually given birth to them this display of vulnerability seemed to touch Charles heart and he comforted her in the only way that he knew how he went along with her delusions and told her that her kids were now two strapping young sons and one beautiful daughter whether or not these words helped her Catherine did eventually manage to pull through and recover although she remained childless she emerged from this dark period with a newfound determin ation to carve out her own identity as Queen in the 3 years that Catherine and Charles had been married and all the while cine had been trying and failing to have a child Charles went ahead and had three more illegitimate children with his mistress Barbara with these new developments it was starting to seem like Catherine’s power at court was becoming ever more tenuous as Barbara’s influence was only getting stronger people were now starting to whisper and gossip the Catherine wasn’t fit to rule beside King Charles II The King’s advisers even pushed him to divorce Catherine and find a more fertile and possibly even Protestant wife however despite these misgivings Charles response was surprising Charles staunchly refused to listen to his ministers and even though he was having many Affairs he would not divorce his wife Charles made sure that his courtiers and Mistresses showed Catherine with respect he would also also support Catherine and take her point of view drawing arguments between his queen and the other people in his court although the fact that Francis Stewart and Charles Affair was going well bothered Catherine it happened to infuriate Barbara Barbara would get upset and throw Tantrums frequently because of this the king soon tired of her and she lost her standing in court even though Francis was still there the fact that Barbara was out of the picture made Catherine a very happy and much more confident Queen now that Catherine Got Her Groove Back she started to enjoy herself more much to the Chagrin of the strict Protestants one of her most scandalous pastimes was to the shock of many playing cards on Sundays she even boldly started dressing in a more stylish manner wearing inst style garments that showed off her quote pretty neat legs and ankles besides her more sultry and fun-loving side Catherine also had a great love of money though she could often spend it lavishly what she loved even more was amassing and growing a large Fortune unlike many Royal women of this period Catherine had significant autonomy over her finances around the year 1670 Charles had taken on a new mistress a French woman named Louise deu while Catherine had often clashed with prior Mistresses this time she got on splendidly with Louise unlike Barbara who is often rude to her Louise was much more cordial and deferential towards the queen this was good because the 1670s would become a very difficult time for Catherine during these years anti-catholic sentiment was ramping up in England a new conspiracy called the popish plot alleged that there was a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II although not proven it led to mass hysteria throughout the country since Catherine was the highest ranking Catholic in the land naturally people began to suspect her of wrongdoing the English Parliament started pushing yet again for King Charles to divorce his wife just in case she did have something to do with the plot against him however Charles was not swayed one bit by their assertions he stood by his wife and supported her against the nonsense claims he is even quoted as saying she could never do anything Wicked and it would be a horrible thing to abandon her this unwavering support marked one of the rare moments of genuine loyalty in their marriage despite his many flaws as husband Charles demonstrated an enduring respect for Catherine’s Integrity because of this things warmed up significantly between the king and queen eyewitness accounts noted that the royal couple became much more friendly to each other in public people in the court also noticed that Charles visited Catherine’s room at night much more often than previously and for longer periods despite the hardships in her marriage with the other Mistresses and with the anti- Catholic drama things had improved magnificently for Queen Catherine one of Catherine’s biggest impacts on England was popularizing the custom of drinking tea although tea was already in England Catherine was an avid Drinker of it and made drinking tea become fashionable among the aristocracy in the later years of King Charles and queen Catherine’s marriage they finally settled into something that resembled love however in 1685 Charles fell ill with what would be his final sickness being a devote Catholic Catherine spent many days by his side worrying over his Protestant Soul as King Charles was dying he sent F’s wife to be near his bed her response was heartbreaking perhaps unable to Bear watching her husband perish she refused and asked to remain away from him she also added that she wanted to beg his pardon if she had offended him all his life when Charles heard this his response was even more sad he wasn’t angry he was shocked that Queen Catherine would say something like this and he said that he was the one who needed to beg her pardon he requested that she be told that he himself begged her pardon with all his heart his his request for forgiveness despite his years of betrayal reflected a rare moment of humility it was a poignant end to a marriage marked by both public Scandal and private resilience before King Charles passed he may have converted to catholism after all a priest came into the room and committed him to the Catholic church although it is unclear how conscious he may have been at the time the possibility of Charles converting to Catholicism on his deathbed was a Bittersweet moment for Catherine though it validated her faith it also underscored the tragic religious divides of the era that had caused so much Strife in their marriage although Catherine of banza had spent much of her life by her husband’s side she didn’t fade away Into Obscurity without him in 1692 she returned to Portugal and became Regent for her brother Peter II after some years in the Portuguese courts Catherine finally passed away in December 1705 at the age of 67 Catherine of Brian’s life and marriage to King Charles II was filled with both good and bad times all amidst the turbulent religious struggles of the 17th century despite challenges with the king’s infidelity and anti-catholic sentiment Catherine remained resilient through it all steadfast to her faith and left a lasting Legacy perhaps you will be reminded of her the next time you are enjoying a cup of afternoon tea thanks for watching history expose if you love uncovering the best stories in history hit like And subscribe to keep exploring with us don’t forget to visit our main page fact and8 for more incredible facts about everything
there have been many scandalous Queens in history but none of them had the outrageous bedroom drama of Catherine of briganza as King Charles II of England’s wife Catherine now has a reputation for being a long-suffering bride who had to watch her philandering husband go through countless Mistresses but what most people don’t know is that Queen Catherine had just as much of a personality as her husband and would also leave a lasting Legacy when Charles II lay on his deathbed he sent for his wife Katherine of briganza her response was utterly heartbreaking she was unable to bear the thought of witnessing her husband perish so she asked to remain away from him but added that she wanted to quote beg his pardon if she had offended him all his life somehow Charles reply was even more of a tearjerker Katherine of beranza was born
in 1638 to join the Duke of briganza and his wife Louisa De Guzman 2 years later with the end of the Portuguese restoration War her father was suddenly made king of Portugal this changed Catherine’s life forever as she now became a royal princess although Catherine was now one of the most rich and privileged women in Portugal that didn’t mean her life was easy her mother the queen Louisa was overbearing and very protective of her daughter she kept Catherine sheltered away in a nearby Convent for her education because of this unusual upbringing Catherine ended up as a rather naive girl with a certain innocence about the complexities of Court life a trait that would later make her transition to the English Court even more challenging when she came of age many Royal Bachelors around Europe took an interest in her strangely enough the famous King Louis the 14th of France was
interested in young Catherine however her mother had different plans for her and selected King Charles II of England to be her future husband the match was not born out of love but of political necessity Charles was Keen to secure a strong alliance with Portugal and Catherine’s large dowy which included the valuable Portuguese territories of Bombay and Tangier was a significant incentive despite Catherine and Charles never having met each other it was arranged that they would be wed and they became engaged in 1661 Princess Catherine was now destined to become the future Queen of England in 1662 the 23-year-old Catherine traveled to Portsmouth England to meet her fiance for the first time their first encounter didn’t end up as the fairy tale she might have imagined Charles showing an ominous lack of enthusiasm for his
newbile bride didn’t visit her there until almost a week later just a single day before their wedding on May 20th 1662 Catherine and Charles were married in Portsmouth in a Royal ceremony in addition to this they also had another secret wedding the reason for this was that one of the marriage stipulations was that the pious Catherine would stay Catholic despite being married to a Protestant King this loophole was something that Charles didn’t exactly want to publicize although Catherine was now Queen of England just like the English weather things weren’t exactly sunshine and rainbows at this point she could barely speak English and struggle to make herself understood when she wasn’t with her Portuguese retinue it also didn’t help that many English people hated her simply because she was a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant Nation despite this there was one person who took a liking to her Charles mother Henrietta Maria was delighted in her new
daughter-in-law calling her quote the best creature in the world and a saint yet even this support could not Shield her from the harsh realities of her husband’s Behavior although Charles was supposed to be a shiver King of England he had a very scandalous history poor Catherine soon found out that her husband was Notorious around Europe for his long list of Mistresses moreover he didn’t just have a habit of frequently rolling in the hay with many different women he often got them pregnant although Charles’s mother believed that that they could have a happy devoted marriage within mere weeks of their matrimony Charles went right back to carrying on with his usual infidelity Catherine was crestfallen when she heard of this among Charles many Mistresses his favorite by far was a woman named Barbara vilers her influence at the court was so great the
people even named her the uncrowned queen she sought more and more power from Charles in the bedroom and Beyond so it was only fitting that when Catherine entered the court a rivalry would develop when Catherine arrived in England Barbara was already very pregnant with one of King Charles many illegitimate children to insult Queen Catherine when they were away on their honeymoon Barbara had the audacity to give birth to her son at King Charles personal Palace in Hampton Court Charles was very pleased with the news that he had a boy and rewarded his mistress by making her Lady of the bed chamber to his own wife Queen Catherine whether he was being devious untactful or simply Dim when he made this decision it was nonetheless a poor one as the two women despised each other Catherine now had to see the woman who is sleeping with her husband every single day this hurt their marriage greatly after dealing with so
many humiliations Catherine was tired of playing the part of the nice obedient wife she started a full-blown conf Feud with Barbara and refused to spend any more time with the King until he reconsidered his Indecent Proposal this became known as the so-called bed chamber crisis Catherine was understandably upset and threatened to return to Portugal if she would have to take in her husband’s mistress in response Charles very cruy took away Catherine’s regular Portuguese retu and essentially forced Barbara upon her Catherine was now very alone in a foreign land and unhappily in the presence of Barbara as the years wore on Catherine tried many times to produce an air she became pregnant three times and sadly miscarried each time people were starting to wonder if their new Queen would ever bear a future Monarch for England in 1663 things became very rough
for Catherine when she became Gravely ill to make matters worse instead of spending time by her sick bed her husband went and got him self involved in another affair this time with a beautiful Court lady named Francis Stewart while Catherine was spending her days sick in bed people callously began to whisper that Charles was so in love with Francis and was lining her up to become the future queen as soon as the sick Catherine kicked the bucket Catherine became so ill that she at one point even became delirious she hallucinated that the babies that she had lost through miscarriage were alive and that she had actually given birth to them this display of vulnerability seemed to touch Charles heart and he comforted her in the only way that he knew how he went along with her delusions and told her that her kids were now two strapping young sons and one beautiful daughter
whether or not these words helped her Catherine did eventually manage to pull through and recover although she remained childless she emerged from this dark period with a newfound determin ation to carve out her own identity as Queen in the 3 years that Catherine and Charles had been married and all the while cine had been trying and failing to have a child Charles went ahead and had three more illegitimate children with his mistress Barbara with these new developments it was starting to seem like Catherine’s power at court was becoming ever more tenuous as Barbara’s influence was only getting stronger people were now starting to whisper and gossip the Catherine wasn’t fit to rule beside King Charles II The King’s advisers even pushed him to divorce Catherine and find a more fertile and possibly even Protestant wife however despite these misgivings Charles response was surprising Charles staunchly refused to listen to his
ministers and even though he was having many Affairs he would not divorce his wife Charles made sure that his courtiers and Mistresses showed Catherine with respect he would also also support Catherine and take her point of view drawing arguments between his queen and the other people in his court although the fact that Francis Stewart and Charles Affair was going well bothered Catherine it happened to infuriate Barbara Barbara would get upset and throw Tantrums frequently because of this the king soon tired of her and she lost her standing in court even though Francis was still there the fact that Barbara was out of the picture made Catherine a very happy and much more confident Queen now that Catherine Got Her Groove Back she started to enjoy herself more much to the Chagrin of the strict Protestants one of her most scandalous pastimes was to the shock of many playing cards on Sundays she even boldly started dressing in a more
stylish manner wearing inst style garments that showed off her quote pretty neat legs and ankles besides her more sultry and fun-loving side Catherine also had a great love of money though she could often spend it lavishly what she loved even more was amassing and growing a large Fortune unlike many Royal women of this period Catherine had significant autonomy over her finances around the year 1670 Charles had taken on a new mistress a French woman named Louise deu while Catherine had often clashed with prior Mistresses this time she got on splendidly with Louise unlike Barbara who is often rude to her Louise was much more cordial and deferential towards the queen this was good because the 1670s would become a very difficult time for Catherine during these years anti-catholic sentiment was ramping up
in England a new conspiracy called the popish plot alleged that there was a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II although not proven it led to mass hysteria throughout the country since Catherine was the highest ranking Catholic in the land naturally people began to suspect her of wrongdoing the English Parliament started pushing yet again for King Charles to divorce his wife just in case she did have something to do with the plot against him however Charles was not swayed one bit by their assertions he stood by his wife and supported her against the nonsense claims he is even quoted as saying she could never do anything Wicked and it would be a horrible thing to abandon her this unwavering support marked one of the rare moments of genuine loyalty in their marriage despite his many flaws as husband Charles demonstrated an enduring respect for Catherine’s Integrity
because of this things warmed up significantly between the king and queen eyewitness accounts noted that the royal couple became much more friendly to each other in public people in the court also noticed that Charles visited Catherine’s room at night much more often than previously and for longer periods despite the hardships in her marriage with the other Mistresses and with the anti- Catholic drama things had improved magnificently for Queen Catherine one of Catherine’s biggest impacts on England was popularizing the custom of drinking tea although tea was already in England Catherine was an avid Drinker of it and made drinking tea become fashionable among the aristocracy in the later years of King Charles and queen Catherine’s marriage they finally settled into something that resembled love however in 1685 Charles fell ill with what would be his final
sickness being a devote Catholic Catherine spent many days by his side worrying over his Protestant Soul as King Charles was dying he sent F’s wife to be near his bed her response was heartbreaking perhaps unable to Bear watching her husband perish she refused and asked to remain away from him she also added that she wanted to beg his pardon if she had offended him all his life when Charles heard this his response was even more sad he wasn’t angry he was shocked that Queen Catherine would say something like this and he said that he was the one who needed to beg her pardon he requested that she be told that he himself begged her pardon with all his heart his his request for forgiveness despite his years of betrayal reflected a rare moment of humility it was a poignant end to a marriage marked by both public
Scandal and private resilience before King Charles passed he may have converted to catholism after all a priest came into the room and committed him to the Catholic church although it is unclear how conscious he may have been at the time the possibility of Charles converting to Catholicism on his deathbed was a Bittersweet moment for Catherine though it validated her faith it also underscored the tragic religious divides of the era that had caused so much Strife in their marriage although Catherine of banza had spent much of her life by her husband’s side she didn’t fade away Into Obscurity without him in 1692 she returned to Portugal and became Regent for her brother Peter II after some years in the Portuguese courts Catherine finally passed away in December 1705 at the age of 67 Catherine of Brian’s life and marriage to King Charles II was filled with both good and
bad times all amidst the turbulent religious struggles of the 17th century despite challenges with the king’s infidelity and anti-catholic sentiment Catherine remained resilient through it all steadfast to her faith and left a lasting Legacy perhaps you will be reminded of her the next time you are enjoying a cup of afternoon tea thanks for watching history expose if you love uncovering the best stories in history hit like And subscribe to keep exploring with us don’t forget to visit our main page fact and8 for more incredible facts about everything
