Princess Henrietta Anne of England (born Henrietta; later Duchess of Orléans; 16 June 1644 – 30 June 1670), in French Henriette d'Angleterre, sometimes known familiarly as Minette, was the youngest daughter of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. The Jacobite claims to the throne following the death of Henry Benedict Stuart descend from her.

Duchesse d'Orléans
Louis XIV was very close to his sister-in-law. In fact it was believed at the time that Louis was the real father of Henrietta's two daughters. Louis' mourning of her after her tragic death was even greater than that of Philippe, her husband, lending credence to that theory. However, Philippe was extremely jealous of his wife, possibly abusive, and paraded a succession of male lovers before her.
All of Louis XIV's mistresses (Louise de la Valliere and Athenais de Montespan) were originally ladies-in-waiting to the household of Henrietta. In fact Henrietta encouraged the king's dalliance with Louise to silence the gossip about her and Louis.

Louis XIV
Today, she is best known through her correspondence with her brother King Charles II of England, with whom she was very close. With her brother, she helped to negotiate the Secret Treaty of Dover (1670), which was an offensive and defensive alliance between England and France.
She died at the Palace of Saint-Cloud, near Paris on 30 June 1670, just two weeks after the treaty was signed. At the time of her death, it was widely believed that Henrietta-Anne had been poisoned by friends of her husband's jealous lover and exiled favourite, the Chevalier de Lorraine. An autopsy was performed, however, and it was reported that Henrietta-Anne had died of peritonitis caused by a perforated ulcer.

Later life

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