Henriette-Anne, Duchess d' Orleans ("Minette")

"Minette"'s correspondence with her older brother, Charles II, from 1659 until her suspicious death in 1670, possibly by poisoning, has been gathered and published by Ruth, Lady Norrington (Peter Owen, 1996). The letters valuably document clandestine intrafamilial communications on serious political issues and especially foreign policy, such as the Secret Treaty of Dover, in which Minette's secret diplomacy played a role. The correspondence also documents the role of their childhood friend, Lady Mary Villiers, who acted as an effective conduit of royal intelligence during the Interregnum.