country was tense, and in February Mary and her mother left for The Hague. Henrietta Maria hurriedly said goodbye to Henry and Elizabeth at Hampton Court Palace and did not see her son again until 1653: in August 1642, the English Civil War broke out, and two-year-old Henry and his sister were held as hostages in the hands of the English Parliament. English Civil War As a result of the civil war that began in August, Charles I and Henrietta Maria were forced to leave their two youngest children at that time, Henry and Elizabeth, in the care of Parliament. In October 1642, the plague reached the outskirts of Hampton Court Palace, where the siblings lived together. Elizabeth, who had not been in good health since childhood, fell ill again and was so weak that she could not leave the capital. On the recommendation of the governess, the Countess of Roxburghe, and with the permission of the House of Lords, the children were transferred to St. James's Palace for lack of a more suitable residence. Although Parliament did not intend to punish the children for the actions of their father, at the same time, the amount of expenses for the court of the prince and princess was considered, and in the process of discussion it was decided to dismiss without payment of salary almost all the servants who, in the opinion of Parliament, were papists, sympathizers or simply opponents of Parliament. However, Elizabeth achieved some mitigation for the court, although the children were replaced by a chaplain and cut costs for the wardrobe, which became truly puritanical. In December 1642 and January 1643, Henry and Elizabeth were visited by two of the King's squires, with the permission of Parliament, to make sure that the children were healthy and did not need anything. Later, the prince and his sister were completely deprived of wardrobe payments: this was the result of the confrontation between Charles I and the Parliament; as the representative of the House of Commons wrote: "...if the King wants to fight with us, they [children] must pay for clothes at their own expense!". This action angered not only the King, but also the children's governess, the Countess of Roxburghe, who wrote a letter to the Parliament. After an investigation by the House of Commons and a second discussion, it was decided to return the payments, however, all expenses of