The politico-religious usage of the queen's chapel, 1623-1688

Abstract

After setting its foundation within the context of prevailing domestic and international religious and political developments, the chief occupants of the Queen's Chapel under Henrietta Maria are revealed to be Oratorians. Their efforts and those of others associated with the Queen’s Chapel, such as Benedictines, Franciscans and Jesuits, are associated with different perspectives on ways to advance/restore Roman Catholicism, through conversions, the advocacy of religious liberty, the suspension of Penal Laws, or re-Unification with the Church of England. International structures of authority influencing these orders as they operated at the Queen’s Chapel are explored, ranging from internal structures of the catholic Church to foreign Embassies and secular diplomacy. Deploying primary research undertaken across Europe, this thesis argues that the revival of the Queen’s Chapel at the Restoration was more than a technicality in a Treaty; rather it reflected Charles II’s Catholicity, and ought to be seen in the context of other such manifestations typified by Bellings's Missions, the Secret Treaty of Dover, Acts of Indulgence and other actions. The choice, practice and actions of Benedictines, Jesuits, Arabadoes, and Queen’s Chapel attachments to the Chapel then take on a new significance. The Chapel is examined as a platform for calculated politico-religious sallies by book and sermon in preparation for, and defence of actions both of Charles II and his brother in favour of Catholicism. Chaplaincies and Devotions are examined, including the important ministry of Saint Claude de La Colombiere, whose legacy can be identified in the subsequent actions of James II. The study analyses the Chapel's architecture, music, and liturgy, as expressions of its politico-religious usage. The continuance of the Dowager Queen's Chapel following the "Old Pretender" hiatus and James II's exile in 1688 challenges the universality of "the Glorious Revolution", revealing thereby the international heritage of the Queen's Chapel.