![]() ![]() Portrait of Maria Anna, by Diego Velázquez, 1630, via Wikimedia Commons. Images: Charles I of England, after Daniel Mytens, c.1623, via Wikimedia Commons. Charles had first seen her in Paris when he and Buckingham were en route to Spain and the two were married by proxy on – just five weeks after the death of his father and Charles’s accession to the throne. But Charles and Buckingham were so furious with the failure of their endeavour that they demanded that the ailing James I declare war on Spain.įorced to look elsewhere for a bride who would bring him the wealth and powerful allies that he needed, Charles now turned his attention to France and to Henrietta Maria, the fifteen year old sister of Louis XIII. Anti-Spanish sentiment was so high, the people rejoiced that he had not brought home a Spanish princess. Crowds gathered to cheer the prince as he made his way back to London, and bonfires burned. Charles and Buckingham returned to England in October that same year and despite their failure, they were greeted with celebrations. Maria Anna herself did not hold Charles in high regard, and she would never have married a Protestant. While these conditions would never be acceptable to the English, Charles remained, unwilling to return to England without the Infanta, hoping further negotiations would be more successful.Įventually, he realised he would not win the bride he wanted. They also expected Charles to agree to repeal the anti Catholic Penal Laws in England if the marriage went ahead. The Spanish believed Charles would not have undertaken this journey if he did not intend to convert to Catholicism. But they were welcomed, and the two Englishmen enjoyed the festivities of the Spanish court, not realising that their adventure was doomed to certain failure. He was twenty-two years old and wanted to strike out for himself, independent of his father and win Maria Anna directly, despite growing anti-Catholic and Spanish feeling in England.Īfter travelling incognito through France, over the Pyrenees, and into Spain successfully, and despite several scrapes along the way which could have cost the prince’s life, Charles and Buckingham arrived in Madrid in March, surprising Philip IV who had not received word they were coming. ![]() This marriage had been in negotiations for almost a decade, and Charles had grown frustrated with the lack of progress. They were on a secret mission to secure a marriage between Charles and the Catholic Spanish Infanta, Maria Anna. They called themselves Thomas and John Smith, claimed to be brothers, and concealed their faces behind wigs and false beards.īut their final destination was not to be France but the court of Philip IV in Spain, for these two men were Prince Charles – the future Charles I, son of James I – and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Home - Search - New Listings - Authors - Titles - Subjects - Serialsīooks - News - Features - Archives - The Inside StoryĮdited by John Mark Ockerbloom copyrights and licenses.Today in 1623, two men set out from England, crossing the channel to France on a great adventure. Help with reading books - Report a bad link - Suggest a new listing See also what's at your library, or elsewhere.
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