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Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars
The fact that the English Civil War led to the execution of King Charles I in January 1649 is well known, as is the restoration of his eldest son as Charles II eleven years later. But what happened to the king's six surviving children is far less familiar.
Casting new light on the heirs of the doomed king and his unpopular but indefatigable Catholic queen, Henrietta Maria, acclaimed historian Linda Porter brings to life their personalities, legacies, feuds and rivalries for the first time. As their calm and loving family life was shattered by war, Elizabeth and Henry were used as pawns in the parliamentary campaign against their father; Mary, the Princess Royal, was whisked away to the Netherlands as the child bride of the Prince of Orange; Henriette Anne's redoubtable governess escaped with the king's youngest child to France where she grew up under her mother's thumb and eventually married the cruel and flamboyant Philippe d'Orleans. When their 'dark and ugly' brother Charles eventually succeeded his father to the English throne after fourteen years of wandering, he promptly enacted a vengeful punishment on those who had spurned his family, with his brother James firmly in his shadow.
A tale of love and endurance, of battles and flight, of educations disrupted, the lonely death of a young princess and the wearisome experience of exile, Royal Renegades charts the fascinating story of the children of loving parents who could not protect them from the consequences of their own failings as monarchs and the forces of upheaval sweeping England.
Casting new light on the heirs of the doomed king and his unpopular but indefatigable Catholic queen, Henrietta Maria, acclaimed historian Linda Porter brings to life their personalities, legacies, feuds and rivalries for the first time. As their calm and loving family life was shattered by war, Elizabeth and Henry were used as pawns in the parliamentary campaign against their father; Mary, the Princess Royal, was whisked away to the Netherlands as the child bride of the Prince of Orange; Henriette Anne's redoubtable governess escaped with the king's youngest child to France where she grew up under her mother's thumb and eventually married the cruel and flamboyant Philippe d'Orleans. When their 'dark and ugly' brother Charles eventually succeeded his father to the English throne after fourteen years of wandering, he promptly enacted a vengeful punishment on those who had spurned his family, with his brother James firmly in his shadow.
A tale of love and endurance, of battles and flight, of educations disrupted, the lonely death of a young princess and the wearisome experience of exile, Royal Renegades charts the fascinating story of the children of loving parents who could not protect them from the consequences of their own failings as monarchs and the forces of upheaval sweeping England.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 18, 2017
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278 people want to read
About the author
Linda Porter
31 books87 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Linda Porter was born in Exeter, Devon in 1947. Her family have long-standing connections to the West Country, but moved to the London area when she was a small child. She was educated at Walthamstow Hall School in Sevenoaks and at the University of York, from which she has a doctorate in History. On completing her postgraduate work she moved to New York, where she lived for almost a decade, lecturing at Fordham University and the City University of New York.
Since returning to England, Porter has had a varied career. She has worked as a journalist and been a senior adviser on international public relations to a major telecommunications company. But she has always stayed close to her roots as an historian. In 2004 she was the winner of the Biographers Club/Daily Mail prize which launched her on a new career as an author. Her first book, Mary Tudor: The First Queen was published in 2007. In 2010 her second book Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr was published. As of 2010[update] she is doing preliminary research for a third book.
Porter is married with one daughter. She lives in Kent.
Linda Porter was born in Exeter, Devon in 1947. Her family have long-standing connections to the West Country, but moved to the London area when she was a small child. She was educated at Walthamstow Hall School in Sevenoaks and at the University of York, from which she has a doctorate in History. On completing her postgraduate work she moved to New York, where she lived for almost a decade, lecturing at Fordham University and the City University of New York.
Since returning to England, Porter has had a varied career. She has worked as a journalist and been a senior adviser on international public relations to a major telecommunications company. But she has always stayed close to her roots as an historian. In 2004 she was the winner of the Biographers Club/Daily Mail prize which launched her on a new career as an author. Her first book, Mary Tudor: The First Queen was published in 2007. In 2010 her second book Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr was published. As of 2010[update] she is doing preliminary research for a third book.
Porter is married with one daughter. She lives in Kent.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
December 7, 2018
With the majority of English monarchial history focusing on the Tudor dynasty; one can tend to forget about the incredible state of affairs experienced by the Stuarts. A beheaded king, an exiled prince/future king, Oliver Cromwell, and the English Civil Wars: there was suspense! Intrigue! Romance! Understandably, King Charles II is often times the key figure who receives prime attention; but he did have siblings. Historian Linda Porter focuses her most recent text on the offspring of King Charles I in, “Royal Renegades: the Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars”.
Having read Porter’s previous works; I was well-aware of her stylistic accents and had an idea of what to expect in “Royal Renegades”. “Royal Renegades” begins with a background look at Charles I and his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, and quickly sets the stage for what events/actions led up to the English Civil Wars. Porter’s writing is eloquent and dense in academia; yet, has a smooth flow that soaks any chance of the text being dry in terms of readability.
That being said, in usual Porter fashion, her unique thesis is lost in an array of background information and tangents not focusing on the topic at hand. This is great in order to recreate the environment that the Stuart princes and princesses endured but it doesn’t address the aim and title of the book. The focus is so limited that if the pages discussing other topics were removed; “Royal Renegades” would be considerably shorter and probably had not been published at all.
On the bright side, the little information that is offered on the Stuart children is invigorating and fascinating with Porter presenting tidbits that are new even to those readers familiar with the subject. This is supplemented with original document inclusion and full quotes showing Porter’s extensive research.
In the past, Porter has had the habit of including numerous speculative statements in her texts. Luckily, “Royal Renegades” is not a victim of “could have”, “might have”, and “probably” statements. However, Porter does still present many opinions as straight facts without source documentation.
Even though Porter’s floral and illustrative language within “Royal Renegades” is sometimes delectable, it also uses too many words to express a single point akin to a student hoping to reach a certain word-count in a school paper. This results in a void of the material being memorable and ‘sticky’. A more direct approach could have strengthened “Royal Renegades”.
A high point that must be noted is Porter’s examinations of Prince Henry Stuart and Princess Elizabeth Stuart. Although, as aforementioned, “Royal Renegades” hardly mentions the children; when they are – Henry and Elizabeth are brought into the limelight much more than in any other Stuart text.
Porter opts out of discussing the trial of Charles I which comes as a surprise being that she likes to discuss everything and anything. For example, Porter insists on the pattern of, “I mention Person A and now give a mini bio before dropping Person B and a bio. Onwards to Person C and a bio…” This is tedious and ridiculously annoying as it is nothing more than filler material in the overall context of “Royal Renegades”.
The concluding chapters of “Royal Renegades” suffer from multiple flaws: rushed/abrupt content, juvenile blanket statements lacking credibility, and an absence of a summarized ending. The Epilogue attempts to remedy this but it fails to do so and thus closes the text in a less-than-memorable way.
Porter supplements “Royal Renegades” with annotated notes, a bibliography of both primary and secondary sources, and two sections of (black and white) photo color plates.
“Royal Renegades” is a ‘typical’ Porter piece in that it has a unique, captivating thesis but the execution is off-key. Although Porter claims to highlight the children of Charles I; they are hardly mentioned without much information revealed. “Royal Renegades” is basically a text about the English Civil Wars and the political environment that the princes and princesses lived in. “Royal Renegades” is suggested for those readers specifically interested in the Stuarts and who want to read every piece of information regarding the family. Other readers can skip the piece, as it fails to be entirely captivating.
Having read Porter’s previous works; I was well-aware of her stylistic accents and had an idea of what to expect in “Royal Renegades”. “Royal Renegades” begins with a background look at Charles I and his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, and quickly sets the stage for what events/actions led up to the English Civil Wars. Porter’s writing is eloquent and dense in academia; yet, has a smooth flow that soaks any chance of the text being dry in terms of readability.
That being said, in usual Porter fashion, her unique thesis is lost in an array of background information and tangents not focusing on the topic at hand. This is great in order to recreate the environment that the Stuart princes and princesses endured but it doesn’t address the aim and title of the book. The focus is so limited that if the pages discussing other topics were removed; “Royal Renegades” would be considerably shorter and probably had not been published at all.
On the bright side, the little information that is offered on the Stuart children is invigorating and fascinating with Porter presenting tidbits that are new even to those readers familiar with the subject. This is supplemented with original document inclusion and full quotes showing Porter’s extensive research.
In the past, Porter has had the habit of including numerous speculative statements in her texts. Luckily, “Royal Renegades” is not a victim of “could have”, “might have”, and “probably” statements. However, Porter does still present many opinions as straight facts without source documentation.
Even though Porter’s floral and illustrative language within “Royal Renegades” is sometimes delectable, it also uses too many words to express a single point akin to a student hoping to reach a certain word-count in a school paper. This results in a void of the material being memorable and ‘sticky’. A more direct approach could have strengthened “Royal Renegades”.
A high point that must be noted is Porter’s examinations of Prince Henry Stuart and Princess Elizabeth Stuart. Although, as aforementioned, “Royal Renegades” hardly mentions the children; when they are – Henry and Elizabeth are brought into the limelight much more than in any other Stuart text.
Porter opts out of discussing the trial of Charles I which comes as a surprise being that she likes to discuss everything and anything. For example, Porter insists on the pattern of, “I mention Person A and now give a mini bio before dropping Person B and a bio. Onwards to Person C and a bio…” This is tedious and ridiculously annoying as it is nothing more than filler material in the overall context of “Royal Renegades”.
The concluding chapters of “Royal Renegades” suffer from multiple flaws: rushed/abrupt content, juvenile blanket statements lacking credibility, and an absence of a summarized ending. The Epilogue attempts to remedy this but it fails to do so and thus closes the text in a less-than-memorable way.
Porter supplements “Royal Renegades” with annotated notes, a bibliography of both primary and secondary sources, and two sections of (black and white) photo color plates.
“Royal Renegades” is a ‘typical’ Porter piece in that it has a unique, captivating thesis but the execution is off-key. Although Porter claims to highlight the children of Charles I; they are hardly mentioned without much information revealed. “Royal Renegades” is basically a text about the English Civil Wars and the political environment that the princes and princesses lived in. “Royal Renegades” is suggested for those readers specifically interested in the Stuarts and who want to read every piece of information regarding the family. Other readers can skip the piece, as it fails to be entirely captivating.
October 20, 2024
Royal Renegades by Linda Porter focuses on an overlooked, and generally forgotten aspect when it relates to the reign of King Charles I and the English Civil Wars during the 1640s, his children's experience. While most historians and general history lovers will be familiar with Charles I and his sons: Charles II and James II, both eventually becoming Kings long after the wars were over, their childhoods and those of their siblings are rarely discussed upon. Linda Porter does her best to cover all members of the Royal Family as well as the impact of the wars and Cromwell's rule during their exile. Personally, I was very interested in reading more thorough details of the forgotten children: Mary, Elizabeth, and Henry, as most English folks would have some more familiarity of Charles, James & Henriette Anne.
The chapters are done in timeline order, covering the decades of the 1620s all the way to the 1670s, with an epilogue covering the last leaderships of the original Stuart siblings. Within each, perspectives change in between siblings with the background drop of the war progress. Additionally, much more fulfilling, Porter manages to give greater insights here on every family member, making them much more human and less of a public character. And while some information are repeated every few chapters or so, readers are entranced to a history that is full of expositions, romance, drama, action, and heartbreak. If anything, the Stuarts can rival both the Tudors and Hanoverians in their family drama and periods of war outbreaks, as Porter notes how little of the 17th century is recognized among the public.
While lengthy, I found Royal Renegades to be in my satisfaction of learning more about the forgotten children of Henrietta Maria and Charles I. Their childhoods interrupted by political tensions impacted them all early on, and with each chapter going further, we see how they reacted to their lives in exile and their struggle to survive and regain their throne. And even when the restoration of the monarchy occurs, the heartbreak continues for them, with all of them not having a happy ending. Thus, it is bittersweet in knowing that only half of them only got to see how their futures played out where the realm of absolutism is no more. Informative while engaging I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the English Civil Wars or about the intimate lives of this 17th century royal family in much clearer and updated details.
The chapters are done in timeline order, covering the decades of the 1620s all the way to the 1670s, with an epilogue covering the last leaderships of the original Stuart siblings. Within each, perspectives change in between siblings with the background drop of the war progress. Additionally, much more fulfilling, Porter manages to give greater insights here on every family member, making them much more human and less of a public character. And while some information are repeated every few chapters or so, readers are entranced to a history that is full of expositions, romance, drama, action, and heartbreak. If anything, the Stuarts can rival both the Tudors and Hanoverians in their family drama and periods of war outbreaks, as Porter notes how little of the 17th century is recognized among the public.
While lengthy, I found Royal Renegades to be in my satisfaction of learning more about the forgotten children of Henrietta Maria and Charles I. Their childhoods interrupted by political tensions impacted them all early on, and with each chapter going further, we see how they reacted to their lives in exile and their struggle to survive and regain their throne. And even when the restoration of the monarchy occurs, the heartbreak continues for them, with all of them not having a happy ending. Thus, it is bittersweet in knowing that only half of them only got to see how their futures played out where the realm of absolutism is no more. Informative while engaging I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the English Civil Wars or about the intimate lives of this 17th century royal family in much clearer and updated details.
May 2, 2018
Mediocre account of the children of Charles I. Minette in particular was quite fascinating but she gets short shrift as there are long, muddled chapters about the Civil War and parliamentary politics. Either write biography of his children or a history of the Civil War. Interspersing the two makes for a disjointed book.
April 9, 2018
The adventures of the children of Charles I and Henrietta Maria during the English Civil Wars. While the two eldest sons, Charles II and James II are the subjects of numerous biographies, the youngest son, Henry, Duke of Gloucester and the daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, Anne and Henrietta Anne are little known today. The chapters concerning Mary and Henrietta Anne were especially interesting as these princesses represented Stuart interests abroad through their marriages in the Netherlands and France respectively. Royal Renegades is well written and interesting to read but there is a little too much summary of the events of the English Civil Wars and the circumstances of Charles I's and Henrietta Maria's marriage. The book is at its best when it focuses closely on the children and their experiences.
January 19, 2018
After reading this book I find it difficult to understand why the Tudors always outshine the Stuarts. Is it the complexity of the Civil War?
Linda Porter does an admirable job of bringing the six surviving children of Charles 1 and Henrietta Maria centre stage as the children of wealth and privilege are torn apart by the war and the ensuing politics of the courts of western Europe. Very easy to read and puts the war and Restoration in a wider context. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about the Stuarts.
Linda Porter does an admirable job of bringing the six surviving children of Charles 1 and Henrietta Maria centre stage as the children of wealth and privilege are torn apart by the war and the ensuing politics of the courts of western Europe. Very easy to read and puts the war and Restoration in a wider context. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about the Stuarts.
December 17, 2016
Read this one in the public library. This is why Tudor experts should not take on Stuart topics. Porter simply repeats a lot of bunkim about both the war and the king and queen. Porter doesn't have much time or patience for her subjects and the whole thing feels a little scanty on recent historiography. Don't bother.
November 2, 2022
I only knew bits and pieces of the history of Charles I and the Civil Wars. I always thought Charles I was Catholic (he wasn't) and I didn't know his family was split up and two of his children were left behind in captivity. Quite readable, although lacking a bit of punch.
September 5, 2021
2021 52 Book Challenge - 22) A Family Saga
I found myself a little disappointed by this book because it had such a unique premise and then it got bogged down by random tangents, long quotes that sometimes rnaged to half a page and more, and semi irrelevant background information. Its like the author went into this with two objectives - 1) to talk about what happened to the kids of Charles I and 2) to talk about the Civil War and she kind of merged the two to the point that it felt very confused while reading.
What I did like about this book is that it shone a light on what happened to Princess Elizabeth and Prince Henry, especially considering that they're mostly forgotten by other Stuart writers, considering that they are essentialy irrelevant to the general historical narrative.
I found myself a little disappointed by this book because it had such a unique premise and then it got bogged down by random tangents, long quotes that sometimes rnaged to half a page and more, and semi irrelevant background information. Its like the author went into this with two objectives - 1) to talk about what happened to the kids of Charles I and 2) to talk about the Civil War and she kind of merged the two to the point that it felt very confused while reading.
What I did like about this book is that it shone a light on what happened to Princess Elizabeth and Prince Henry, especially considering that they're mostly forgotten by other Stuart writers, considering that they are essentialy irrelevant to the general historical narrative.
April 26, 2017
I did finish this book knowing more than I did about the Civil Wars and European politics and royalty of the time. However, the structure of the book was confusing, a fatal flaw when dealing with such a complicated period and network of relationships. Also, the author assumed a relatively high amount of prior knowledge of the Civil Wars, which I certainly didn't have.
The style of the book is quite dry but the author also imposes her voice and opinions quite firmly, very often without recourse to an explanation of her view. Her voice also suffers from being quite judgemental, which I find off-putting in a historical context.
So overall, this was an interesting subject which did increase my knowledge; but I think it can be done better than this.
The style of the book is quite dry but the author also imposes her voice and opinions quite firmly, very often without recourse to an explanation of her view. Her voice also suffers from being quite judgemental, which I find off-putting in a historical context.
So overall, this was an interesting subject which did increase my knowledge; but I think it can be done better than this.
August 27, 2017
I enjoyed reading this but I didn't feel it was as good as it could have been. Telling the story of Charles I's children during the English Civil Wars is a potentially fascinating subject but I felt the author got bogged down in giving an overview of the Civil Wars and lost the focus on the children. This meant the book was unsatisfactory as the story of the Stuart royal children and too scanty on the history of the Civil Wars. There was still lots of interest to be found here but I would rather the very dramatic story of the fates of Charles I's children had been more to the fore. Some background history was necessary but not quite as much as the author gave. Good to read a popular history on this period though rather than the Tudors.
September 1, 2023
The English Civil War has been written about a thousand times over but not much has been written on the children of Charles I (that aren't Charles II or James II) and their relationships with one another. Despite being almost universally acknowledged as a bad king, it would be difficult to argue that Charles I was a bad father. He was a family man who dearly loved his children and fostered a deep loyalty between them that lasted their entire lives. The hardships these children faced and how much they loved and supported each other makes my heart hurt. In a better time, they would've lived much longer lives and stayed together as they wished.
Here are a few of the moments that made me super soft:
- 10 year old Mary tearfully hugging her beloved father, not wanting to let go. She didn’t know she would never see him again.
- King Charles saying ‘We have no home’ to his sons
- Prince Charles going to visit his infant baby sister.
- Prince Charles having each of his arms held as he boarded a ship into exile as his men feared he would change his mind at the last minute.
- King Charles desperately wanting to see his kids
- King Charles being sorry for causing his children misery (which made Elizabeth and James cry)
- King Charles’ reunion with his children was so tender and loving that it brought Oliver Cromwell (!!!) to tears
- King Charles being offended that someone inferred that he might use his daughter’s ill health to his own advantage
- Elizabeth helping James escape even though she had to stay behind
- Mary impatiently waiting for her brother to arrive then running and embracing James when he finally arrived at The Hague
- King Charles telling Prince Charles he should be a good king rather than great
- King Charles writing to Elizabeth while imprisoned but not sharing his hardship because he didn't want to “trouble those I desire to please”
- King Charles sending a letter to comfort Prince Charles despite his own impending death
- Elizabeth and Henry sitting on King Charles’ knees as he tries to comfort them after being condemned to death
- King Charles telling Elizabeth not to grieve or torment herself for him and to give his blessings to all her siblings and mother
- King Charles saying that his children would be happy once Prince Charles was king, happier than if he had lived
- King Charles telling Elizabeth “Sweetheart you will forget this” but she replied she would not forget as long as she lived
- King Charles calling Henry sweetheart and telling him not to let them make him king bc they’ll kill his older brothers and Henry replying he’d be “torn in pieces first”
- King Charles trying to leave his children but coming back to comfort them after hearing Elizabeth’s uncontrollable sobs :(
- King Charles spending his last hours writing letters to his family and reading Prince Charles’ last letter
- Henrietta Marie sitting motionless for two hours when hearing of her husband’s death
-Prince Charles going back to The Hague to be with Mary after hearing their father would be executed
- Prince Charles bursting into tears when he heard of his father’s death :(((
- Elizabeth always wearing black for her father
- Elizabeth being horrified she would have to live in the place her father was imprisoned
- Elizabeth thinking of her little brother as she died, leaving him her pearl necklace (one of only two personal possessions she owned)
- There was going to be a vote for Elizabeth to go to be with her sister in the Netherlands (something she desperately wanted) but died before it could be voted on :(((
- Prince Charles being anxious to hear about Mary after she gave birth
- Mary wanting to name her son Charles after her father and brother
- Mary spending all her money to help her siblings and countrymen
- Mary and Prince Charles going to each other after she was forbidden to see him in the Netherlands and he had to leave France, then finding places to live together
- Mary and Henriette meeting for the first time when Henriette was 12 :((((
- Prince Charles protecting Mary’s honour from a known womaniser
- James and Mary going riding together and going past the English embassy to hear people insulting Cromwell
- Elizabeth of Bohemia being desperate to get her nephew Henry out of captivity and telling her son to accept him without condition
- Mary fervently wanting to keep Henry with her and cried when he had to leave
- Prince Charles not wanting to leave Henry behind
- Henriette and Henry crying as they said goodbye to each other (not knowing they would never see each other again)
- Mary having dinner with her siblings before they returned to England
- Charles being devastated when Henry died, James being chief mourner at his funeral, Mary being alone and struck by grief
- Mary asking Charles to look after her son while she was dying
- Mary asking to be buried beside Henry “her late dear brother” :(((
- Charles writing to Henriette to be careful and that he was worried she would miscarry
- Henriette dedicating herself to “furthering the interests of the king my brother”
- Charles locking himself away for days when Henriette died
- James being so concerned for Charles when he was dying that he came to his bedside with odd shoes (one normal, one slipper)
My only critcism is that the book sometimes went off on tangents about other figures and their family backgrounds. Not all of the information provided seem pertinent.
Here are a few of the moments that made me super soft:
- 10 year old Mary tearfully hugging her beloved father, not wanting to let go. She didn’t know she would never see him again.
- King Charles saying ‘We have no home’ to his sons
- Prince Charles going to visit his infant baby sister.
- Prince Charles having each of his arms held as he boarded a ship into exile as his men feared he would change his mind at the last minute.
- King Charles desperately wanting to see his kids
- King Charles being sorry for causing his children misery (which made Elizabeth and James cry)
- King Charles’ reunion with his children was so tender and loving that it brought Oliver Cromwell (!!!) to tears
- King Charles being offended that someone inferred that he might use his daughter’s ill health to his own advantage
- Elizabeth helping James escape even though she had to stay behind
- Mary impatiently waiting for her brother to arrive then running and embracing James when he finally arrived at The Hague
- King Charles telling Prince Charles he should be a good king rather than great
- King Charles writing to Elizabeth while imprisoned but not sharing his hardship because he didn't want to “trouble those I desire to please”
- King Charles sending a letter to comfort Prince Charles despite his own impending death
- Elizabeth and Henry sitting on King Charles’ knees as he tries to comfort them after being condemned to death
- King Charles telling Elizabeth not to grieve or torment herself for him and to give his blessings to all her siblings and mother
- King Charles saying that his children would be happy once Prince Charles was king, happier than if he had lived
- King Charles telling Elizabeth “Sweetheart you will forget this” but she replied she would not forget as long as she lived
- King Charles calling Henry sweetheart and telling him not to let them make him king bc they’ll kill his older brothers and Henry replying he’d be “torn in pieces first”
- King Charles trying to leave his children but coming back to comfort them after hearing Elizabeth’s uncontrollable sobs :(
- King Charles spending his last hours writing letters to his family and reading Prince Charles’ last letter
- Henrietta Marie sitting motionless for two hours when hearing of her husband’s death
-Prince Charles going back to The Hague to be with Mary after hearing their father would be executed
- Prince Charles bursting into tears when he heard of his father’s death :(((
- Elizabeth always wearing black for her father
- Elizabeth being horrified she would have to live in the place her father was imprisoned
- Elizabeth thinking of her little brother as she died, leaving him her pearl necklace (one of only two personal possessions she owned)
- There was going to be a vote for Elizabeth to go to be with her sister in the Netherlands (something she desperately wanted) but died before it could be voted on :(((
- Prince Charles being anxious to hear about Mary after she gave birth
- Mary wanting to name her son Charles after her father and brother
- Mary spending all her money to help her siblings and countrymen
- Mary and Prince Charles going to each other after she was forbidden to see him in the Netherlands and he had to leave France, then finding places to live together
- Mary and Henriette meeting for the first time when Henriette was 12 :((((
- Prince Charles protecting Mary’s honour from a known womaniser
- James and Mary going riding together and going past the English embassy to hear people insulting Cromwell
- Elizabeth of Bohemia being desperate to get her nephew Henry out of captivity and telling her son to accept him without condition
- Mary fervently wanting to keep Henry with her and cried when he had to leave
- Prince Charles not wanting to leave Henry behind
- Henriette and Henry crying as they said goodbye to each other (not knowing they would never see each other again)
- Mary having dinner with her siblings before they returned to England
- Charles being devastated when Henry died, James being chief mourner at his funeral, Mary being alone and struck by grief
- Mary asking Charles to look after her son while she was dying
- Mary asking to be buried beside Henry “her late dear brother” :(((
- Charles writing to Henriette to be careful and that he was worried she would miscarry
- Henriette dedicating herself to “furthering the interests of the king my brother”
- Charles locking himself away for days when Henriette died
- James being so concerned for Charles when he was dying that he came to his bedside with odd shoes (one normal, one slipper)
My only critcism is that the book sometimes went off on tangents about other figures and their family backgrounds. Not all of the information provided seem pertinent.
December 7, 2016
An o.k read.Bit disappointing as there wasn't as much written about Charles's 1st's children as i would have liked. Ms Porter spent most of her book discussing the civil war. Not the best piece of history I've read.
April 12, 2025
Throughout history, many civil wars have altered the course of the history of the countries where they occurred. While we think about the American Civil War, the French Revolution, and the Wars of the Roses, another civil war often overlooked outside of England is the English Civil Wars. A series of conflicts between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists led to the execution of King Charles I and the rise of the English Republic under Oliver Cromwell. We often view the conflict from either Charles’ or Oliver’s perspective, but we have to consider the family that Charles left behind. How did the English Civil Wars mold the children of Charles I and his Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria? Linda Porter explores the lives of the royal children in her book, “Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars.”
I am a relative novice when it comes to the Stuart dynasty, especially the English Civil Wars. I have seen Linda Porter's books but have not read any of them yet. I like a challenge so when I saw this book, I decided to give it a try.
Before we explore the lives of the children of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, we must understand how their relationship began in the 1620s. A Protestant English king married a French Catholic princess, the daughter of King Henry IV of France and Marie de Medici. To say that the English did not like having a Catholic queen would be an understatement. Charles I and Maria had nine children in total, but only five would survive into adulthood; Charles II, Princess Mary, James II, Prince Henry, and Henriette Anne. It is through the lives of these five children that we can get a grasp of what kind of impact Charles I’s decisions had on his family as the English Civil Wars took place.
The most difficult part of this book for me was understanding the conflict of the English Civil Wars themselves as it was not an area that I normally study. I think Porter does an admirable job of explaining the causes of the English Civil Wars and how Charles and his family dealt with the anti-royalist resentment. We see the children and Henrietta Maria escape to other countries like France and the Netherlands by any means necessary while Charles I stayed behind. Porter shows her audience that Charles I was a good father until his execution on January 30, 1649. The death of Charles I left a mark on his children. Charles II and James II would have to bid their time and fight for their right to rule after Oliver and Richard Cromwell with a few scandals mixed in. Henriette Anne and Mary would get used to married life with their husbands Philippe Duke of Orleans and William II of Orange respectively.
This is a story of a resilient family who fought for what they believed in, even if it meant that their father died in the process and their country hated them for a time. It is a story of how love and endurance brought the monarchy back from the brink to survive another few centuries. I now want to dive deeper into the Stuart dynasty and read more books by Porter. If you are like me and you want to learn more about the Stuarts and the English Civil Wars, I recommend you read, “Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars” by Linda Porter.
I am a relative novice when it comes to the Stuart dynasty, especially the English Civil Wars. I have seen Linda Porter's books but have not read any of them yet. I like a challenge so when I saw this book, I decided to give it a try.
Before we explore the lives of the children of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, we must understand how their relationship began in the 1620s. A Protestant English king married a French Catholic princess, the daughter of King Henry IV of France and Marie de Medici. To say that the English did not like having a Catholic queen would be an understatement. Charles I and Maria had nine children in total, but only five would survive into adulthood; Charles II, Princess Mary, James II, Prince Henry, and Henriette Anne. It is through the lives of these five children that we can get a grasp of what kind of impact Charles I’s decisions had on his family as the English Civil Wars took place.
The most difficult part of this book for me was understanding the conflict of the English Civil Wars themselves as it was not an area that I normally study. I think Porter does an admirable job of explaining the causes of the English Civil Wars and how Charles and his family dealt with the anti-royalist resentment. We see the children and Henrietta Maria escape to other countries like France and the Netherlands by any means necessary while Charles I stayed behind. Porter shows her audience that Charles I was a good father until his execution on January 30, 1649. The death of Charles I left a mark on his children. Charles II and James II would have to bid their time and fight for their right to rule after Oliver and Richard Cromwell with a few scandals mixed in. Henriette Anne and Mary would get used to married life with their husbands Philippe Duke of Orleans and William II of Orange respectively.
This is a story of a resilient family who fought for what they believed in, even if it meant that their father died in the process and their country hated them for a time. It is a story of how love and endurance brought the monarchy back from the brink to survive another few centuries. I now want to dive deeper into the Stuart dynasty and read more books by Porter. If you are like me and you want to learn more about the Stuarts and the English Civil Wars, I recommend you read, “Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars” by Linda Porter.
November 18, 2021
A detailed look at the lives of the six children who outlived their father, the doomed king Charles I, this book also gives a fairly good description of the English Civil Wars and what was at stake for the various sides, as well as what made the Anglican King's French Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria so unpopular with so many people. None of the six had anything like an easy time of it. The eldest daughter, Mary, was whisked out of England ahead of the outbreak of war to the relative safety of the Netherlands, where she became the child bride of the Prince of Orange, the mother of the future King William III, and a very young widow. The boy who would become Charles II upon the Restoration spent 14 years in exile after evading his father's enemies (at one point by sleeping aloft in an oak tree while they hunted him on the ground below), seeking allies abroad, all the while with no home of his own. His next younger brother, James, was held hostage along with his still younger siblings, Elizabeth and Henry, by Parliament and never provided a real education though he would himself eventually inherit the throne as James II and VII. Ironically, while James made his escape from England in women's clothing, his youngest sister, baby Henriette, was smuggled out by her daring governess while wearing boy's clothes. The gifted Princess Elizabeth never escaped at all, and died of tuberculosis in captivity, while her brother Henry was eventually allowed to leave and rejoin his mother but died of smallpox before he ever had a chance to make his mark. The text is somewhat repetitive, perhaps a necessity given the broad cast of characters and the complexity of the politics and religious conflicts of the time. I'm not at all sure why the book was titled Royal Renegades, when none of the six really had an opportunity to rebel against anyone but their unrelenting mother, and in Mary's case, her hateful mother-in-law. Still, it is a period not given much attention by most historians or by historical novelists, aside from their Bourbon cousin Louis XIV and the Restoration itself. The author provides full portraits of the lesser known Stuarts as well as the two much-more-familiar nascent kings of England. Recommended.
October 8, 2018
For the first time in a long time, I read a history book for fun, and not as background for something else. It was good, and fun, to climb back on that horse. I grabbed this from a display at my local library, because who doesn't love good measure of royal gossip, however dated? As I was reading, I realized that my knowledge of the history of England gets hazy between James I and the Regency; for anyone else in a similar situation this is a decent place to begin to remedy that gap. (If the name "Cromwell" doesn't ring any bells, you might want to start elsewhere.)
The style is stiff in places, and sometimes the author seems to judge her subjects in a way that is more personal than historical. However, she conveys the personalities and the events of the time in a clear and basically understandable way, and I came away from the book feeling like I knew more than I did when I started it.
The style is stiff in places, and sometimes the author seems to judge her subjects in a way that is more personal than historical. However, she conveys the personalities and the events of the time in a clear and basically understandable way, and I came away from the book feeling like I knew more than I did when I started it.
January 6, 2018
This book is very good for someone wanting to know about the children of Charles I and the impact that the Civil Wars had on them. It is full of information and is clearly well researched. I felt like it focused on Charles I and his wife, Henrietta Maria, a lot more in the first half especially during the Civil Wars and their children were rather overlooked. However I did learn a lot about a subject that I hadn't known much about before. I think it`s a good read for anyone interested in History and in particular this period.
September 15, 2020
Great insight into the other children of Charles I. I find it fascinating that Charles and Henrietta Maria let their children stay within England as the Civil Wars began instead of moving them to the continent. Also, gives more insight into James II's brief reign and going into exile. I wished they had included a bit more about his children Mary & Anne development. Anne spent time at the French court of her cousin Louis XIV.
February 6, 2019
Linda Porter brings the Stuarts and their intrigues to life. The contrast between the family life that Henrietta Maria and Charles I created for their children and the chaos they wought on the land could not be more marked.
May 24, 2024
An excellent book that delves into the lives of King Charles I's children whose lives were torn apart by civil war and exile.
A 'must-have' book for anyone interested in the Stuart Era, especially during King Charles I's reign.
A 'must-have' book for anyone interested in the Stuart Era, especially during King Charles I's reign.
December 14, 2016
A very readable account of the quite sad lives of these children against the background of Charles 1 and the English Civil War.
May 16, 2018
I wish there had been more in this book and the reign of Charles II and his brother James II than a mere synopsis but what subject matter it covered in-depth was great!
Want to read
July 6, 2019E
January 3, 2020
One of the best historical books! Linda Porter never disapoints!
July 10, 2023
good history of Charles I and his family - not a widely written about part of English history
October 30, 2025
Such a fascinating book. Wish there were historical fiction books about Charles I and his family.
June 1, 2017
4.5 stars
April 24, 2018
I picked up this book at the Royal Academy on one of my seven visits to the Charles 1st Collector exhibition. As you might imagine I loved the Exhibition, and the whole idea of getting 140 of the 2000 artworks that the Royal family once owned together under one roof, shown together for the first time since the 1651 Commonwealth sale, but I also wanted to know more about what happened to all those children. Despite a rocky start to their marriage Henrietta Maria and King Charles 1 grew to love one another passionately and the Queen had nine full-term pregnancies - with 6 children surviving the Civil War. We are taught about the Restoration Kings Charles II and James II but I never quite understood how we arrived at the Hanover Succession. (From William, the son of Charles I daughter Mary, & William of Orange, marrying Charles I son James's daughter Mary - ie they were 1st cousins - they had no children so James II second daughter Anne becomes Queen Anne, and she too dies without an heir so they go back to Charles I sister's grandson George to get George I - barely confusing at all!) Anyway, it is all explained very clearly and rather movingly in this fascinating book where Linda Porter unearths the stories of the children left behind; Elizabeth and Henry and their last child, known as Minette, aged only 2 was smuggled out of England dressed as a boy by Lady Dalkeith in order to join her mother in penury in France. As the Tudors dazzled the Stuarts have been somewhat neglected in comparision - but it is from the Stuarts that all the British Monarchs from 1603 have decended.
April 6, 2025
Who would have thought when I picked this book up for a very reduced price, I would now want to become the an amateur expert on the period. Linda’s writing never feels like a slog to read and I was wanting to read on constantly.
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August 14, 2018Fascinating part of English history, even though the Tudor dynasty gets a lot more attention. The Stuart dynasty, for the most part, did not have the strength of character that the Tudors seemed to have, but the 17th century in England and Scotland was a time of upheaval -- political, religious, governmental. There were three distinct civil wars mid-century. The children of Charles I included two monarchs (Charles II and James II), and they lived in the toughest of times, exiled and pursued. All in all, Linda Porter has made the book lively and a good read, a page turner even. I highly recommend this book.
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