Picturing Confessional Politics at the Stuart Court: Henrietta Maria and Catherine of Braganza †

The deep confessional tensions in Stuart Britain were embodied in its Catholic queens. Queens, in their portraits and in the artworks in their palaces and chapels, were positioned within this dialectic, with the competing expectations of their husbands, their families, their religious retinues, the papacy, their own personal devotions, and the public against a changing political situation. This article examines how the visual arts provided a powerful tool for Henrietta Maria and Catherine of Braganza in this dynamic, both in claiming and facilitating piety and in advancing the Catholic cause. The themes of Catholic devotion and saintly embodiment are discussed through two important aspects of their engagement with the visual arts: palace display in which devotional works were hung prominently and portraits in which the queens embody saintly guises. Artworks from their chapels, too, will be considered; these spaces were dominated by Marian imagery, which suited both theological and dynastic interests. Although operating within different political contexts and personal agendas, they marshalled such imagery to promote the Catholic cause and perform their piety.