ABSTRACT
Very little is known about Charles the Prince of Wales’ visit to Paris in the spring of 1623. 1 The prince appears to have travelled incognito from Boulogne to Paris in the company of the Duke of Buckingham and three other companions (Sir Francis Cottington, Endymion Porter and Sir Richard Gresham). He then spent two days in the French capital, during which he attended a performance of the Queen’s ballet at court, and departed on hearing of the arrival of the Earl of Carlisle, who had been sent by James I to inform the French king of this journey and to offer excuses for the prince’s behaviour. Louis was said to have been ‘offended at this journey and at the prince having come so freely to the Louvre’ 2 and the French were apparently disheartened at the prospect of the impending Spanish marriage.
