Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate Princess Palatine Benedicta Henrietta (Benedicta Henrietta Philippina; 14 March 1652 – 12 August 1730) was Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg, or of Hanover, by her marriage to Duke John Frederick. She was the third and youngest daughter of Prince Palatine Edward and the political hostess Anna Gonzaga. Born in Paris to the landless Prince Palatine Edward, "Bénédicte Henriette"'s paternal grandparents were Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth Stuart, the "Winter Queen". Her maternal grandparents were Charles I, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat and his French wife Catherine de Mayenne, daughter of Charles de Lorraine-Guise, Duke of Mayenne.
Henrietta Maria of France marriage was Lucy Hay. Lucy was the wife of James Hay, who had been a favourite of King James and who was now a gentleman of the bedchamber to Charles; James had helped negotiate Charles's marriage to Henrietta Maria. Lucy was a staunch Protestant, a noted beauty and a strong personality. Many contemporaries believed her to be a mistress to Buckingham, rumours which Henrietta Maria would have been aware of, and it has been argued that Lucy was attempting to control the new queen on his behalf. Nonetheless, by the summer of 1628 the two were extremely close friends, with