Catherine of Braganza began to engage more readily in the activities of the Stuart Court following a visit from her mother-in-law, Dowager Queen Henrietta Maria. Henrietta had encouraged her to accept his husband’s infidelities and participate and even organize events. Charles also inspired her to be more involved, just as his mother had done during her time as queen.
Catherine actively took part in walks through the gardens and parks next to Hampton Court and took great pleasure in boat trips down the river Thames. She observed the traditional English pastimes of cockfights and bear-baiting. During the king’s reign, the season of festivities at court would begin on St Catherine’s Day, the queen’s birthday, and continue through the English winter until Charles’ birthday on May 29.
Catherine adapted to English manners and dress
Catherine slowly abandoned her Portuguese inhibitions, adopted the manners and dress of English women and joined in the animated activities of the court. Shortly after Charles’ restoration to the throne, he appointed a new dancing master, a Frenchman named Jerome Francis Gohory (Gehors). In the summer of 1663, the king appointed Gohory to the position of groom of the queen’s privy chamber. It is possible Gohory gave Catherine dancing lessons before this appointment because John Evelyn notes in his diary he witnessed the king and queen dancing at a court ball on February 5, 1663.
On May 1, 1663, the French visitor, Balthasar de Monconys, wrote of a ‘little ball in private’ during which ‘We started the ball with a branle as in France, and then we danced the corante and other dances; the Duke of York began with the Queen. When she (the Queen) or the King danced, all the Ladies remained standing’. Catherine took her lessons from Gohory, and she had obviously learned both the steps and the etiquette of the court ball quickly. She learned to dance to please her husband and discovered she loved it. Charles wrote to his sister Minette in France: ‘My wife hath given a good introduction to such a business for the other day she made her chaplains dance country dances in her bedchamber’.
Catherine loved playing cards
In the evenings, Catherine played cards, a pastime in which she took great pleasure. Cards and dice were popular games at court. The Venetian game of basset would customarily be played by ladies and gentlemen in masks to avoid being identified and it became a favorite form of gambling during the Restoration era. While the game included the aspect of gambling, Catherine and Charles did not play for high stakes.
She also played ombre, an intimate card game for three players, which she had learned in Portugal in her youth. When she was not playing cards, Catherine listened to music and attended soirees held in the palace escorted by Charles. She was quickly becoming accustomed to the Restoration court.
To find out more about Catherine of Braganza’s story, read Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza, now available from your favorite bookseller.
Susan Abernethy’s Freelance History Writer blog
Susan’s passion for history dates back fifty years and led her to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree in history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is currently a member of several historical and writer’s associations and her work has appeared on numerous historical websites and in magazines and includes guest appearances on historical podcasts. Her blog, The Freelance History Writer, has continuously published over five hundred historical articles since 2012, with an emphasis on European, Tudor, Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern and women’s history. She is currently working on her third non-fiction book.
Thank you Susan for sharing your knowledge and passion for Catherine of Braganza with us today. Be sure to join her tomorrow on her next stop on the tour, hosted by Heather Darsie.