vreuse, whom Charles had
appointed as his proxy, signed the contract of marriage, conjointly with
the Earl of Carlisle and Lord Holland, who officiated as Ambassadors
Extraordinary from the Court of St. James's. At the ceremonial of the
marriage, which took place on the 11th of May, the difference of
religion between the English monarch and the French Princess compelled
the observance of certain conventional details which were all
scrupulously fulfilled. The Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld, Grand Almoner
of France, pronounced the nuptial benediction on a platform erected
before the portal of Notre-Dame, after which the Duc de Chevreuse and
the English Ambassadors conducted the young Queen to the entrance of the
choir, and retired until the conclusion of the mass, when they rejoined
Louis XIII and their new sovereign at the same spot, and accompanied
them to the great hall of the archiepiscopal palace, where a sumptuous
banquet had been prepared.[91]

Some days subsequently, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, arrived
unexpectedly in Paris, to urge the immediate departure of the Princess
for her new kingdom, and to express the impatience of the King his
master to welcome her to his dominions. The extraordinary magnificence
displayed by Buckingham on this occasion was the comment of the whole
Court, while the remarkable beauty of his person excited no less
admiration than the splendour of his apparel; nor was it long ere the
scandal-mongers of the royal circle whispered that it had not failed in
its effect upon the fancy, if not upon the heart, of Anne of Austria,
who received his homage with an evident delight which flattered the
vanity of the brilliant visitor. High in favour with his sovereign, and
anxious to profit by so favourable an opportunity of enhancing his own
personal attractions, Buckingham appeared at the Court festivals attired
in the Crown jewels, and indulged in a reckless profusion which enriched
all with whom he came into contact, and soon rendered him a general
favourite. Aware of the impression that he had produced, the English
Duke, whose ambition was as great as his gallantry, soon suffered
himself to be betrayed into an undisguised admiration of the French
Queen, which led him to commit a thousand unbecoming follies; while Anne
was on her side so imprudent that her most partial biographer deemed it
necessary to advance an apology for her levity by declaring that "it
should excite no astonishment if h