Henrietta of England of the execution of her husband Charles I, who had been beheaded on 30 January. At the end of the Fronde, Queen Henrietta Maria and her daughter moved into the Palais Royal with the young Louis XIV and his mother and brother Philippe. At the same time, Queen Henrietta Maria decided to have her daughter, who had been baptised in the Church of England, brought up as a Catholic. With the arrival of Henrietta's brother, Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, in 1652, their small court was increased. After the Fronde was over, the French court made it a priority to
Henrietta of England caused the flamboyant Philippe, a reputed bisexual who had been party to a series of sexual scandals, to ask Henrietta to marry him. Prior to this, rumours at court stated that Henrietta had received various proposals from Charles Emmanuel of Savoy and the Grand Prince of Tuscany but nothing came of them as a result of her status as an exile. An impatient Philippe was eager to make sure he married Henrietta as soon as possible, but Queen Henrietta Maria was intent on going to England to sort out her debts, secure a dowry for Henrietta and prevent the Duke