Marriage by Proxy — The Wedding of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria Bourbon of Fr

Marriage by Proxy — The Wedding of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria Bourbon of France, 1625.When King Charles I first met Henrietta Maria, it was love at first sight.  After a two year courtship, the couple decided to tie the knot, a marriage that not only decided personal relationships but the fate of kingdoms.  In the 17th century religion was the most important civil and political institution in Europe.  Wars were fought over it, laws were passed because of it, and constitutions were signed that revolved around it.The wedding ceremony of Charles I and Henrietta Maria hit one major snag, Charles I was Protestant and Henrietta was a devout Catholic.  There was no way Charles I could be involved in a Catholic wedding ceremony, lest he enrage the English people and lose his head. However if he wanted the marriage to be deemed legitimate by the Bourbons (the ruling family of France) he needed to partake in a Catholic wedding. It seemed Charles and Henrietta were in a pickle.Fortunately there was a simple solution to this problem, one that nobles all over the world partook in on a number of occasions; wedding by proxy.  On the 11th of May, 1625 Henrietta Maria was officially wedded to Charles I in a Catholic ceremony held at Notre Dame.  Only one key person was absent; King Charles I. So that the Catholic wedding would not count, King Charles I arranged a marriage by proxy.  Taking his place was his good friend, George Villiers, the Duke of Bukingham.  So yes, poor Henrietta took marriage vows with an absolute stranger who “filled in for Charles”.  The kiss must have been awkward.Apparently the wedding between Henrietta and Charles’ proxy did not go well, as Buckingham was in a rush to get the wedding and reception over with because he had other things to do.  In the end the wedding turned into a nightmare when Buckingham and Henrietta fell into a furious argument and fight over religion.When Henrietta arrived in England, she was officially married in person to Charles at Canterbury in a Protestant ceremony.  The couple lived happily ever after until Charles I ticked off the English people and had his head chopped off by Oliver Cromwell. -- source link

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