History of the Stewarts | Famous Stewarts
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Henrietta Stewart was the daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, favourite of James VI of Scotland, and Catherine de Balsac. On 16 June 1581 the king gave Henrietta the right to award the marriage of the Earl of Huntly, which was forfeited to the crown. Their marriage contract was made in 1586, while she was in France, and James VI granted the Duke of Lennox 5000 merks to organise her transport from France.
On 21 July 1588, Henrietta married George Gordon, Earl of Huntly, at Holyroodhouse. Before the wedding the couple were made to declare their (Protestant) faith, without which the minister John Craig would not declare the banns.
In February 1593 King James came north to punish and subdue the earls of Huntly, Angus, and Erroll for plotting on behalf of the Catholic faith but they went into hiding. Henrietta and Elizabeth Douglas, Countess of Erroll came to him at Aberdeen and he allowed them to keep their houses and estates.She was at court in May 1593 with a "greater train and busier heads than are thought fit" according to the English diplomat Robert Bowes. He and some of the Privy Council tried to persuade James VI to send her away.
Henrietta came to be a favourite of the queen, and is supposed to have exerted an influence over her which became controversial. Henrietta was known to be a Catholic, and the friendship between her and Anne was therefore politically sensitive. At Princess Margaret´s baptism the Earl and Countess were made Marquis and Marchioness of Huntly. They had at least five sons and four daughters. The Marchioness looked after the family´s estates and interceded for her husband´s interests during his banishments.
After 1603, the king and Queen in England did not protect the Marquis from the Kirk, which had long detested his Catholicism. The Marquis was excommunicated, recanted and lapsed. Henrietta Stewart never recanted. She was widowed in 1636. She fled to France in 1641 to avoid further persecution by the Kirk. She died on 2 September 1642 in Paris. She was buried at Lyon where her mother was buried
