The Remarks of Sir Henry Wotton upon Buckingham’s Uninterrupted Prosperity during the Reign of James--His Most Perilous Time yet to Come--The Character of Charles Difficult to Manage--His Affections Divided--Request of the Privy Council Regarding the Late King’s Funeral and the Young King’s Marriage--Good Taste displayed by Charles in his Conduct at the Funeral--The Influence of Buckingham still Paramount--Roger Coke’s Remark upon King James’s Regret on observing that his Son was overruled by the Duke--The Three Great Kingdoms of Europe at this Period ruled by Favourites--The Marriage of Charles and Henrietta Maria--Motive attributed to Buckingham--Preliminary Steps--Letter from Lord Kensington to the Duke of Buckingham detailing his Interview with the Queen-Mother--Description of the Young Princess--The Duke prepares for his Journey into France to fetch home the Bride--The Expense of his Mission objected to by the Nation--The Two Ambassadors Described--Rich--Lord Kensington, First Earl of Holland--His Beauty of Person, Address, and Early Favour at the Court of James--His resting solely upon Buckingham--His Marriage with the Daughter of Sir Walter Coke, the Owner of the Manor of Kensington--The Earl of Holland regarded by some as a Rival to Buckingham--James Relied more on the Earl of Carlisle--Character of the Two Noblemen by Bishop Hacket--Successful Interviews on the Part of Lord Holland with Mary de Medici--Her Disposition to favour Charles as a Suitor to her Daughter--Anecdote of Henrietta Maria and of Charles’s Portrait--Encomiums on Henrietta--The Duchess de Chevreuse--Her Influence over Anne of Austria--Her Splendour--Resentment of the Count de Soissons on Account of the Marriage Treaty with England--The Willingness evinced by Henrietta Maria to the Marriage--Lord Kensington’s Flattery of the Queen-Mother--Their Conversations on the Subject of the Spanish Match--The Marriage Finally Concluded--Charles’s Conduct to the Recusants regarded as a Proof of his Aversion to Catholic Hopes 161 CHAPTER V.