Catherine of Braganza 1638 1705 Portuguese Infanta
Catherine of Braganza (Catarina de Bragança, in Portuguese) (25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was a Portuguese Infanta and the queen consort of Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. She was married by proxy in Lisbon on 23 April 1662. After her arrival at Portsmouth on 14 May 1662, the couple were married in two more ceremonies – a Catholic one conducted in secret, followed by a public Anglican service – on 21 May. Catherine married late for a woman of her era, at 23. Her large dowry brought the port cities of Tangier and Bombay to British control. The former had only a transitory significance, but the latter had a major lasting influence on both the development of the British Empire and the History of India, as the British would develop Bombay - which had only 10,000 inhabitants under the Portuguese - into a major centre of commerce. At the time, she was not a particularly popular choice of queen, being a Roman Catholic, and her religion prevented her from ever being crowned, since Roman Catholics were forbidden to take part in Anglican services. She initially faced hardships due to the language barrier, the king's infidelities and the political conflicts between Roman Catholics and Anglicans. Over time, her quiet decorum, loyalty and genuine affection for Charles changed the public's perception of her. Catherine became pregnant and miscarried at least twice, and during a severe illness in 1663 she thought for a time she had given birth. Charles comforted her by telling her she had indeed given birth to two sons and a daughter. Her position was a difficult one, as Charles continued to have children by his many mistresses, but he insisted that she be treated with respect, and sided with her over his mistresses in those cases where he felt she was not receiving the respect she was due. Throughout his reign, he firmly dismissed the idea of divorcing Catherine, even when Parliament exerted pressure on him to beget or declare a Protestant successor.
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