Henrietta Maria of France along with her sisters, in riding, dancing, and singing, and took part in French court plays. Although tutored in reading and writing, she was not known for her academic skills; the princess was heavily influenced by the Carmelites at French court. By 1622, Henrietta Maria was living in Paris with a household of some 200 staff, and marriage plans were being discussed. Henrietta Maria first met her future husband in Paris, in 1623, while he was travelling to Spain with the Duke of Buckingham to discuss a possible marriage with the Infanta Maria Anna of Spain – Charles first saw
Henrietta Maria of France was widely believed to have encouraged Charles to arrest his Parliamentary enemies in January 1642, although no hard proof of this exists. The Marquis de La Ferté-Imbault, the French ambassador, was keen to avoid any damage to French prestige by an attack on the Queen, but was equally unimpressed by Charles' record on relations with France. He advised caution and reconciliation with Pym. The arrest was bungled, and Pym and his colleagues escaped Charles' soldiers, possibly as a result of a tip-off from Henrietta Maria's former friend Lucy Hay. With the anti-royalist backlash now in full swing, Henrietta Maria and