Beschreibung

Charles I. 1625-1649. Cast Silver Medal n. d. (1649), Royalist Badge. Two uniface medals of Charles I and Henrietta Marie. Unsigned. Bust of Charles I facing right, armoured with crowned C. The second medal with the bust of Henrietta facing left, dressed richly. Plain edges. 38.5 mm and 37.7 mm. Eimer -. MI i -. Sehr selten / Very rare. Sehr schön / Very Fine. Hohes Relief, teilvergoldete Güsse / High relief and partly gilded casts. (2)

The couple first met in 1623 at a court entertainment in Paris, when he was on his way to Spain with the Duke of Buckingham to discuss a possible marriage with Maria Anna of Spain, which failed for a variety of reasons.

Searching elsewhere for a bride, Charles sent a close friend to Paris in 1624, who, a Francophile and a godson of Henry IV of France, strongly favoured a marriage with Henrietta Maria, the terms of which were negotiated by James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle.
Henrietta Maria was aged fifteen at the time of her marriage, which was not unusual for royal princesses of the period.