ABSTRACT
The marriage of James and Clementina was regrettable from the beginning. Their temperaments and expectations of each other were woefully mismatched. James was almost twice the age of his girlish, chattering bride, and he differed greatly from her in character; he was cold and formal in the presence of company. An approximation of the formal etiquette used at the French and English courts was required of those presented to James and Clementina. It entailed bows and curtsies, hand kissing, kneeling, and retreating from royal presentations without turning one’s back or tripping over the furniture. The required protocol also hampered international relations. Powerful foreign ambassadors to the Vatican were bound by treaty to make no move that could be construed as sympathy for James Stuart’s claims. James and Clementina arrived at the opera house flanked by the liveried palace guard provided by the Pope and made their progression toward the royal box.
