by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Christine of France was the second of the three daughters and the third of the sixth children of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici. She was born at the Palais du Louvre in Paris, France on February 10, 1606, and was raised with her siblings by the royal governess Françoise de Montglat at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye outside of Paris.

Christine had five siblings:

• King Louis XIII of France (1601 – 1643), married Anne of Austria. Infanta of Spain, had two surviving sons including King Louis XIV of France
• Elisabeth of France (1602 – 1644) married Felipe IV, King of Spain, had one surviving daughter Marie Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain who married her first cousin King Louis XIV of France
• Nicolas Henri, Duke of Orléans (1607 – 1611), died in childhood
• Gaston, Duke of Orléans (1608) – married (1) Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier, had one daughter  (2) Marguerite of Lorraine, had five children
• Henrietta Maria of France (1609 – 1669), married King Charles I of England, had four surviving children including King Charles II of England and King James II of England

King Henri IV with his second wife Marie de’ Medici and their children; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 14, 1610, when Christine was four-years-old, her father King Henri IV of France was assassinated. While traveling through Paris, Henri’s carriage was stopped on the Rue de Ferronnerie. A Catholic zealot, François Ravaillac, took the opportunity to rush up to the carriage and stab the king twice in the chest. Quickly subdued, Ravaillac was taken into custody and later executed. The king was taken to the Palais du Louvre where he died. Christine’s nine-year-old brother ascended the French throne as King Louis XIII. The widowed Queen, Marie de’ Medici was appointed Regent for her son.

• Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Henri IV, King of France

Christine’s husband Vittoria Amadeo I, Duke of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

To strengthen the connection between France and the Duchy of Savoy, 12-year-old Christine was betrothed to Vittorio Amedeo, Prince of Piedmont, the heir of Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy. Vittorio Amadeo’s mother was Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain, daughter of King Felipe II of Spain. On February 10, 1619, her thirteenth birthday, Christine married Vittorio Amadeo at the Palais du Louvre in Paris, France.

Christine and Vittorio Amedeo had seven children:

• Prince Luigi Amadeo of Savoy (1622–1628), died in childhood
• Princess Luisa Cristina of Savoy (1629 – 1692), married her uncle Prince Maurice of Savoy, no children
• Francesco Giacinto, Duke of Savoy (1632 – 1638), succeeded his father but died in the next year
• Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy (1634 – 1675), married (1) his maternal first cousin Françoise Madeleine d’Orléans, died at age 15, no children (2) Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours, had one son
• Princess Margherita Violante of Savoy (1635 – 1663) married Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma, died in childbirth with her son
• Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, twin of Catherine Beatrice (1636 – 1676) married Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria, had seven children
• Princess Catherine Beatrice of Savoy, twin of Henriette Adelaide (1636 – 1637), died in infancy

Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

Christine was a beautiful, sensual, and frivolous woman who was fond of parties and dances. Her faithfulness to her husband was openly questioned. When she gave birth to her first daughter, court gossip said that the father was a French courtier named Pommeuse. Christine made no secret of her affair with the artist Filippo de San Martino, Conte d’Agliè.

Vittorio Amadeo became Duke of Savoy upon the death of his father on July 26, 1630. Christine introduced French culture to the Savoy court and was quite active in the renovations of Savoy palaces and castles. She rebuilt Palazzo Madama in Turin and later made it her residence. She was also the driving force for the reconstruction of the Castello del Valentino in Turin as well as the additions to the Royal Palace of Turin. Her sister Henrietta Maria had married King Charles I of England and the two sisters had a rivalry to see who had the more splendid court.

The widowed Christine with three of her children Henriette Adelaide, Margherita Violante, and Carlo Emanuele; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon the death of her husband on October 7, 1637, Christine became Regent for her five-year-old son Francesco Giacinto, Duke of Savoy and when he died in 1638, she became Regent for her other son Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy. During the time she served as Regent, Christine had to deal with her brothers-in-law Tommaso, Prince of Carignano and Cardinal Maurice, Prince of Savoy who both wanted to be Regent, and with the prime minister of her brother King Louis XIII of France, Cardinal Richelieu, who tried to annex the Duchy of Savoy to the Kingdom of France. However, Christine kept firm control of the Duchy of Savoy. When her son Carlo Emanuele came of age, he invited her to continue to rule which she did until her death.

Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy in 1663; Credit – Wikipedia

In later years, Christine had a religious conversion that radically transformed her from a life of pleasure to a life of extreme penitential practices. On December 27, 1663, Christine died at the Palazzo Madama in Turin at the age of 57. Dressed as a Discalced Carmelite nun, Christine was buried at the Basilica of Sant’Andrea in Turin. In 1802, her remains were transferred to the nearby Church of Saint Teresa of Avila.

The Church of Saint Teresa of Ávila in Turin, Italy where Christine is buried; Credit – Di Georgius LXXXIX – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17623511

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Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Christina von Frankreich. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_von_Frankreich [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Christine of France. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_of_France [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Christine de France. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_de_France [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].
• It.wikipedia.org. (2018). Cristina di Borbone-Francia. [online] Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristina_di_Borbone-Francia [Accessed 28 Oct. 2018].