Journal of the History of Collections vol. 24 no. 2 (2012) pp. 159–181
© The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1093/jhc/fhr004 Advance Access publication 11 May 2011
M OVEMENT – of people, of goods, of political loyalties,
of money – was central to early modern court life.
Henrietta Maria’s life and position at the English and
French courts embodied this reality completely: from
her first journey to England as the young wife of King
Charles I in ; through to periods of exile in
Holland and France in the s and s; tri-
umphant return as Queen Mother at the Restoration;
and death in France in . The story of her death,
and the inventory that documents her possessions (see
online appendix), provides an even fuller picture than
heretofore charted of the constant and indeed con-
nected flow of political missions, confessional loyalty,
finances and artworks during this period.
The making of the inventory was more than a rou-
tine bureaucratic procedure; it provides a valuable en-
trée into high political intrigue, as those who were
drawing up the inventory were also engaged in secret
negotiations for the Treaty of Dover. The assessment
of the inventory itself, particularly the Queen’s art
collection, reveals a refined taste for old and ‘mo-
derne’ masters, as well as a clear sense of her pur-
pose as the handmaiden of the Catholic faith for a
Protestant country. The inventory surprisingly provides
insight that goes well beyond her space at Colombes,
too, offering also a sense of the magnificence of her
rooms at the post-Restoration Somerset House and
the treasures she maintained from court life in the
s, and possible acquisitions of the s and
s.
The making of the inventory
The death of royal persons was always major news; it
meant a rearrangement of patronage, power, and
profit, and usually initiated a period of competitive
courtly solicitation. That this was true even in the
case of an elderly Queen Mother,
1
living in virtual
retirement, reminds us of the role that the royal
household played in the fortunes of England’s élite,
and of the considerable resources devoted to the up-
keep of consorts and royal children.
2
And we learn
more about the aftermath of Henrietta Maria’s death
than we might otherwise do because it took place in
France, and much of the negotiation can be traced in
correspondence between England and Paris.
The Queen’s death was not unexpected; her health
had been failing for over a year and she spoke of her
impending death in the month before it occurred.
3
She died at Colombes, her country home outside Paris,
at a.m. on August/ September . The English
ambassador in France at this juncture was Sir Ralph
Henrietta Maria’s inventory at Colombes
Courtly magnificence and hidden politics
Erin Griffey and Caroline Hibbard
The story of Henrietta Maria’s death, and the inventory that documents her possessions, offers new
insight into the constant and indeed connected flow of political missions, confessional loyalty, finances
and artworks during the middle decades of the seventeenth century. The making of the inventory was
more than a routine bureaucratic procedure; it provides a valuable entrée into high political intrigue, as
those who were drawing up the inventory were also engaged in secret negotiations for the Treaty of Dover
(1670). The assessment of the inventory itself, particularly the Queen’s art collection, reveals a refined
taste for old and ‘moderne’ masters, as well as a sense of her purpose as the handmaiden of the Catholic
faith for a Protestant country. The inventory’s significance to the history of collecting and display goes well
beyond her space at Colombes, shedding new light on her rooms at the post-Restoration Somerset House,
treasures she maintained from the 1630s, and possible acquisitions of the 1640s and 1650s. An online
appendix is provided of paintings in Henrietta Maria’s inventory at Colombes.
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