The Queen of Queens

Have you ever wanted to be a Queen? Do you now or have you ever lived in Queens? Then this entry in the La Reina del Barrio blog of Queens is for you!

Some New Yorkers have noticed that one of our boroughs, Queens (Queens County), is next to Brooklyn, which is called Kings County. Who were the King and Queen who left their mark on the city? There is a love story behind all of this.

The lady's name was Infanta Catarina of Braganza. She was born in 1638 in Portugal, which at that time had been taken over by Spain. In 1640, Spain had run into trouble from terrorizing other countries in Europe (and in the New World) and allowed the House of Braganza to become Kings of Portugal again. And what did that make the beautiful Catarina? A tool for uniting royal households.

Look at her lovely portrait. Does this look like a tool to you?

One of the possible husbands for her was Louis XIV of France, the famous Sun King. You know, the one who wore those incredibly fashionable (at the time) wigs. Looking at Catarina's portrait here, I am tempted to say of her curls, HEY AT LEAST THEY'RE REAL!

While Catarina grew up, Spain continued to fight everyone in Europe. But by 1659 they had signed the Treaty of The Pyrenees where, among other settlements, France was no longer an ally of Portugal. Oh dear, they seemed to be running out of princes. But all of a sudden, the great experiment of the Commonwealth of England was crushed and Charles II (whose father's head had been cut off a few years before) was King of England again. Portugal jumped on this, and Charles was engaged to Catarina (Catherine).

Maybe the most remarkable thing about this wedding is, both spouses were Catholic but "in the closet" to preserve the Church of England power structure. In fact, there was a secret Catholic ceremony before the royal British ceremony.

And then they lived happily every after. Even when Catholics were accused of trying to poison the King in 1679, he personally defended Catherine against the angry House of Commons. He died in 1685. Later, when New Amsterdam became New York, Charles and Catherine were immortalized.