The Sun King's Tears - Henrietta Stuart, Duchesse d'Orleans

Charles I’s youngest child survived the English Civil War, then a few years later the Fronde, the French civil war, living as a child in Paris in royal poverty. Her prospects were restored when her brother Charles II reclaimed the throne in 1660. In 1661, aged sixteen, she married their immensely rich first cousin Philippe, Duke of Orléans. Henrietta dazzled the young court of her brother-in-law Louis XIV when she transformed from a submissive girl into a devastating leader of fashion, celebrated for exceptional charm. She did not charm her homosexual husband. Thanks to her closeness to both Charles II and Louis XIV, she engineered the Anglo-French secret Treaty of Dover, negotiated the last details, and signed for France. The treaty had huge consequences for Britain and the continent. Henrietta collapsed two weeks after her return from Dover, and died in agony. Was she poisoned by her husband?