By Emily Briffett

Published: Wednesday, 10 August 2022 at 12:00 am


As the wife of Charles I, Henrietta Maria, was in the firing line of the parliamentary propaganda machine. The Stuart queen was known as the “popish brat of France”, a “whore” and “the wife who wore the britches”. But does she deserve this rotten reputation? Emily Briffett spoke to Leanda de Lisle to bust some myths surrounding the reviled queen.

Leanda de Lisle is the author of Henrietta Maria: Conspirator, Warrior, Phoenix Queen (Chatto & Windus, 2022)