On 21 May 1662, Charles II and Catherine of Braganza were formally married at Portsmouth.

Charles had been restored to the throne two years earlier, after civil war, republic and exile. His marriage was part of the effort to restore the Stuart monarchy to European politics. Catherine was a Portuguese princess, and the match tied England more closely to Portugal at a time when alliance, trade and overseas possessions mattered heavily.

The marriage settlement gave the wedding its wider force. Catherine’s dowry included Tangier and Bombay, two places far from Portsmouth but important to England’s ambitions. Tangier gave England a position on the North African coast and a foothold near the entrance to the Mediterranean. It was useful, but it was also expensive and difficult to defend.

Bombay had a longer future. It gave England a base on the west coast of India and later passed to the East India Company. What began as part of a royal marriage settlement became one part of the growth of English commercial and imperial power.

The marriage itself had limits. Catherine was Catholic, which made her position sensitive in a Protestant kingdom still marked by the conflicts of the previous generation. She and Charles had no surviving children, so the match did not solve the Stuart succession problem.

Even so, the marriage mattered beyond court life. A royal wedding in Portsmouth helped draw England into a closer alliance with Portugal and brought overseas territories into English hands. It was a court event, but its consequences reached far beyond England.