Madame Henrietta

Also known as: Henrietta / Her Majesty the Queen of England / Queen of England / her majesty / the lady / the orphan / the queen / the young girl · Family: Royalists · Role: daughter · First appears: Chapter 36

At chapter 36, Madame Henrietta is identified as the wife and daughter of Charles I, and as the daughter and grand-daughter of Henry IV. At the Carmelite Convent, she and Henrietta are reduced to charity after Madame Henrietta pledges her last jewels and sells their clothes to pay Charles I’s servants: “We are now reduced to live at the expense of these daughters of Heaven; we are the poor, succored by God.” When Lord de Winter arrives with a letter in a gold case, she greets him affectionately and calls him a devoted friend. At Charles I’s request, she is also to discover the dispositions of France’s king and queen toward him, while she doubts Mazarin will help and may act against them.

By chapter 39, Madame Henrietta concludes that Queen Anne of Austria will not support Charles I, and she resolves to die beside him if he sacrifices himself: “I shall go and die by his side.” She entrusts her diamond cross and order of St. Michael to Lord de Winter to fund his expedition, calls Maréchal de Grammont a faithful adherent, and counts Count de Guiche among her friends. She is the mother of young Henrietta, who asks why her mother weeps when she is away, and she regards Cromwell as firm in refusing Charles I.

At chapter 42, Madame Henrietta tells Charles I that France has refused his request for hospitality. She asks Athos and Aramis to protect him, and gives them letters identifying them to him, one written by herself and one by her daughter, Princess Henrietta. She is also separated from her children, Duke of York and Princess Elizabeth, who are exposed to her enemies. With Athos and Aramis she establishes a friendship in return for their aid, and their word includes everything in her service to Charles I; Raoul brings her a letter from Count de Guiche.