NAME

Maryland's name honors Queen Henrietta Maria (1609-1666), wife of Charles I (1600-1649), King of Great Britain and Ireland, who signed the 1632 charter establishing the Maryland colony.

Queen Henrietta Maria was the daughter of Henry IV of France (1553-1610). Of her nine children, three died in infancy and two assumed the throne after her death. In 1644, Henrietta Maria left England for France. Her husband was executed in 1649. Her son, Charles II ruled Great Britain and Ireland from 1667 to 1685; her son, James II ruled from 1685 to 1688.

Maryland Manual On-Line