Wentworth, Henrietta Maria (c. 1657–1686)

British baroness, mistress and supporter of James Scott, duke of Monmouth . Name variations: Baroness Wentworth. Born around 1657; died on April 23, 1686; only child of Sir Thomas Wentworth (1613–1665), Baron Wentworth, and Lady Philadelphia Wentworth (d. 1696, daughter of Ferdinando Carey); mistress of James Crofts Scott (1649-1685), duke of Monmouth (son of Charles II and Lucy Walter, executed 1685).

Inherited the estate of her grandfather the earl of Cleveland and succeeded to the barony of Wentworth (1667); spent several years discharging his debts and establishing her rights; met James Scott, duke of Monmouth, while performing in a masque at court (1674); lived with him on her estate (1680); followed him to exile in Holland (1684); dissuaded him from entering imperialist service against the Turks and supplied funds for him to lead a failed rebellion against King James II (1685); returned to England (1685).

Henrietta Maria, Baroness Wentworth, influenced the course of English history through her liaison with James Crofts Scott, duke of Monmouth, who harbored an ambition to be king of England. Raised on her family estate of Toddington in Bedfordshire, Baroness Wentworth inherited her title and estates from her grandfather in 1667 while she was still a child. Her heritage included considerable debts and a host of creditors' suits that were settled for her by her mother Lady Philadelphia Wentworth and her guardian, leaving a still-considerable fortune at her disposal. In due course, she became involved in the social life of the royal court, and in December 1674, when she was about 17, she appeared with other ladies of the court in a masque written by John Crowne entitled Calisto, or the Chaste Nymph, performing the role of "Jupiter, in love with Calisto." It was on this occasion that her cousin, Baron John Lovelace, introduced her to the duke of Monmouth who was "one of the men that danced."

The duke, the illegitimate son of King Charles II and Lucy Walter , had grown up in Paris where his mother settled after being banished for claiming to be the king's wife. In 1662, he returned to England, by all accounts a strikingly handsome and charming man, where he was installed in his natural father's court as a favorite. At the time he met Wentworth, the engaging duke was both married, by arrangement, to the wealthy Anne Scott , countess of Buccleuch, and in liaison with Eleanor Needham , daughter of Sir Robert Needham, with whom he had had several children. Not at all deterred by these encumbrances, he followed Wentworth to her home in Toddington when she and her mother abruptly withdrew from court in 1680, and seems to have succeeded in frustrating a proposed marriage between Wentworth and the earl of Thanet. He lived with her in Toddington for several years, as a plan of the house attests, with rooms set aside for him adjacent to Wentworth's.

Monmouth's position at court at this time was tenuous. He had done well commanding troops as captain of the king's guard in several conflicts and in 1678 had been appointed captain general of all the king's forces in England. Ten years earlier, James (II), duke of York, heir to the throne, had converted to Catholicism and the succession to the throne had become a burning issue, with anti-papal hysteria aroused by rumors of a Catholic plot to seize power. Anthony Ashley Cooper, earl of Shaftsbury, leader of the anti-Catholic Whig Party in Parliament, championed Monmouth for succession. King Charles blocked all attempts to exclude James, and banished Monmouth from the country in 1679. Monmouth defied his father, built up a following and, in 1682 and 1683, was involved in a failed Whig conspiracy against Charles and James known as the Rye House Plot. He fled to Toddington, Wentworth's home, when the plot was discovered, and although he was pardoned, he was again banished from court. He took refuge in the Netherlands where Wentworth followed him. She was received at The Hague by Prince William of Orange as Monmouth's mistress.

Wentworth was one of Monmouth's chief financial supporters. In 1684, she briefly returned to England, probably to raise money for him, and he visited her when he secretly came into England in an attempt to gather followers. Back in Holland, William encouraged Monmouth to join the imperial forces in Hungary in a war against the Turks, but Wentworth wanted him to be king, and to that end placed all her resources, including her rents, her diamonds, and her credit, at his disposal. In 1685, after the death of Charles and the accession of James, Monmouth landed in Lyme Regis, Dorset, with 82 followers in an attempt to start a rebellion among the gentry and be declared king. However, he was unable to rally enough forces and was defeated and captured. On his arrest, a volume was found in his possession containing verses about the bowers of Toddington. On the scaffold several days later, Monmouth maintained that his connection with Lady Wentworth was blameless in the eyes of God, that she had reclaimed him from a licentious life, and that he remained faithful to her, claiming her to be "a lady of virtue and honour, a very virtuous and godly woman." One of his last acts before he was beheaded was to request one of the attendants to convey a memorial to her.

Wentworth remained in Holland until the end of the year, when she returned to England. She died in April of the following year, and her mother raised an elaborate monument to her. Another memorial left behind, touching in its affectionate simplicity, was her name, which could be traced for many years, carved by Monmouth on a stately oak next to the mansion at Toddington.

Malinda Mayer , writer and editor, Falmouth, Massachusetts