Cathrine Loé

About Cathrine Loé

When King Charles II married Catherine of Braganza on 21 May 1662, few knew her name would echo through centuries of English history.

Catherine was born on 25 November 1638 in Portugal. She was the daughter of John IV, who had just reclaimed Portugal's throne from Spanish rule in 1640. Her early life was shaped by royal protocol and Catholic devotion in Lisbon's palaces.

The marriage to King Charles II made her Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. She arrived in England as a foreign bride, carrying Portuguese customs and Catholic faith into a Protestant court. The union lasted until Charles II's death on 6 February 1685.

Her religious conviction became her greatest struggle. England's Protestant majority distrusted her deeply. In 1678, she became caught in the Popish Plot, a fabricated conspiracy that nearly destroyed her. Titus Oates accused her of plotting to poison the king. Edmund Berry Godfrey's murder was blamed on her servants.

The charges were absurd, but they nearly cost her life. On 28 November 1678, the House of Commons voted to remove her from Whitehall Palace. The king himself had to intervene to save her from trial. Catherine showed him gratitude for years afterward.

After Charles II's death in 1685, Catherine's life changed completely. She returned to Portugal as a widow. Her brother Peter II needed her steady hand. She served as regent of Portugal during his absence in 1701. Again in 1704 and 1705, she took control of the kingdom.

Catherine died on 31 December 1705 in Lisbon. She had lived 67 years, spanning two kingdoms and two continents. Her story was one of survival against impossible odds. She endured false accusations, religious persecution and exile. Yet she remained dignified until the end.