Abstract:
The Stuart dynasty saw all of its monarchs married to foreigners, with queens' consort from a range of European powers: Denmark, France and the Duchy of Modena, as well as the marriages of Mary to William of Orange and Anne to George of Denmark. Such strategic alliances were politically and financially expedient, but the consorts’ foreignness engendered anxiety amongst the English. For the foreign consorts, too, there were challenges – social, confessional, cultural and/or emotional. This chapter focuses on three Stuart queens consort – Anna of Denmark, Henrietta Maria and Catherine of Braganza – and examines their reception as foreign women and how they negotiated a sense of home at the English court. It considers how people, objects, music and foodstuffs from their home countries provided access to home comforts and maintain their familial identity. At the same time, they also cultivated aspects of Englishness to showcase their loyalty to their husbands and the Crown.
