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 Oxford was a combination of a fortified city and a royal court, and Henrietta Maria was frequently stressed with worry. By early 1644, however, the King's military situation had started to deteriorate. Royalist forces in the north came under pressure, and following the Royalist defeat at the battle of Alresford in March, the royal capital at Oxford was less secure. The Queen was pregnant with the future Princess Henrietta and the decision was taken for her to withdraw safely west to Bath. Charles travelled as far as Abingdon with her before returning to Oxford with his sons – it was