Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza (25 November 1638 – 30 November 1705), or Catarina de Bragança (pron. IPA: /kɐ.tɐ.'ɾi.nɐ dɨ bɾɐ.'ɣɐ̃.sɐ/) was the queen consort of King Charles II of England.
Born in Lisbon, she was the second surviving daughter of King John IV of Portugal (at the time Duke of Braganza) and his wife, Luisa of Guzman (Medina-Sidonia). Through her mother, she was a 2nd great granddaughter of Saint Francis Borgia. She was seen as a useful conduit for contracting an alliance between Portugal and England, after the treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 where Portugal was arguably abandoned by France.
Following the restoration of Portuguese independence from Spain, and her father's accession to the throne on December 1, 1640, Catherine was engaged to Charles II. They married on May 3 or May 21, 1662, in Portsmouth. Her dowry brought Tangier and Bombay to British control. She was not a particularly popular choice of queen, being a Roman Catholic, and her religion prevented her ever being crowned, since Roman Catholics were forbidden to take part in Anglican services.
Despite Charles's reputation as a womaniser, Catherine never gave birth to a live heir, though she had several pregnancies, the last being in 1669. Her position was a difficult one, as Charles continued to have children by his mistresses, but he insisted that she be treated with respect, and refused to divorce her. Following Charles' death, Catherine remained in England through the reign of James II of England and returned to Portugal during the joint reign of William III and Mary II. She died in Lisbon in 1705.
Catherine introduced the custom of drinking tea in England.
Although some have claimed that Queens borough of New York City was named after Catherine of Braganza, her name is not mentioned in the first 200 years of historical documents that have been preserved in the county archives.
A recent effort to build a statue in her honour in Queens was defeated by a group of African American, Irish-American and community groups.
| Preceded by: Henrietta Maria of France |
Queen Consort of England 1662–1685 |
Succeeded by: Mary of Modena |
| Queen Consort of Scotland 1662–1685 |
