Catherine of Braganza, Infanta of Portugal, was queen consort to King Charles II of Great Britain from 1662 to 1685. As part of her dowry Tangiers and Bombay were signed over to England from Portugal and it was Queen Catherine who introduced the custom of tea-drinking to England. The marriage was controversial because of Catherine's Catholicism and her inability to have children but Charles II, despite his constant affairs, tolerated no insults against his wife and refused to hear of divorcing her. On his deathbed he asked her forgiveness. She remained in England during the reign of James II but after the takeover of William and Mary her Catholicism was no longer tolerated and she returned to Portugal in 1692. However, she continued to support the long-standing alliance between England and Portugal for the rest of her life. She died in 1705.
From The Mad Monarchist (11 March 2012)
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