by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Elisabeth of Valois was the third of the four wives of King Philip II of Spain, son of Carlos I, King of Spain/Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Isabella of Portugal. Born on April 2, 1545, at the Château de Fontainebleau in Fontainebleau, France, Elisabeth was the eldest of the four daughters and the second of the ten children of Henri II, King of France and Catherine de’Medici.

Elisabeth had nine siblings but only six survived childhood:

• François II, King of France (1544 – 1560), married Mary, Queen of Scots, no children
• Claude of Valois, Duchess of Lorraine (1547 – 1575), married Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, had nine children
• Louis, Duke of Orléans (1549 – 1550), died in infancy
• Charles IX, King of France (1550 – 1574), married Elisabeth of Austria, had one daughter who died young
• Henri III, King of France (1551 – 1589), married Louise of Lorraine, no children
• Marguerite of Valois, Queen of France and Navarre (1553 – 1615), married Henri III, King of Navarre, the future Henri IV of France, no children
• Hercule François, Duke of Anjou (1555 – 1584), unmarried
• Victoria of Valois (born and died 1556), twin of Joan, died in infancy
• Joan of Valois, twin of Victoria, died in utero

Elisabeth grew up with her elder brother, the future François II, King of France, a year older than Elizabeth, and François’ fiancée Mary, Queen of Scots, who was three years older. In July 1548, the Scottish Parliament had approved Mary’s marriage to François and in August 1548, five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots set sail for France where she would be raised with her future husband. She would not return to Scotland for thirteen years, after the death of François, whom she married in 1558. Elisabeth shared a bedroom with Mary and had to give precedence to Mary because she was already a crowned queen. Elisabeth and Mary remained close through their correspondence for the rest of their lives.

In 1551, when Elisabeth was six years old, her father Henri II began negotiations for a marriage to the Protestant 13-year-old King Edward VI of England. Pope Julius III said he would excommunicate Henri II and Elisabeth if the marriage occurred. Despite this, Henri II continued with the marriage negotiations and agreed upon a dowry. However, King Edward VI died in 1553.

In 1559, Elisabeth was betrothed to 14-year-old Carlos, Prince of Asturias, the only child and the heir apparent of King Philip II of Spain of the House of Habsburg. Carlos was sickly, deformed, and showed signs of mental instability. His condition was probably due to the inbreeding common among the House of Habsburg, and the royal houses of Portugal and Spain. Carlos’ parents, Philip of Spain and María Manuela of Portugal, were double first cousins which meant Carlos had only four different great-grandparents instead of the usual eight. Carlos was imprisoned in his rooms by his father Philip in early 1568 after participating in a plot to murder him. He died after six months, probably as the result of his delicate health although there were rumors of poisoning. Modern historians now think that Carlos died of natural causes.

The marriage between Elisabeth and Carlos never occurred. Instead, 14-year-old Elisabeth married Carlos’ 32-year-old father King Philip II of Spain. Philip had already been married twice: first to Carlos’ mother María Manuela of Portugal who died giving birth to Carlos and next to his first cousin once removed Queen Mary I of England who had died in 1558. In 1559, the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed with France’s longtime enemies, the Habsburgs, and two marriages were stipulated by the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis: Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy marrying Henri II’s sister Marguerite of France, Duchess of Berry, and King Philip II of Spain marrying Elisabeth.

The proxy marriage of Elisabeth and Philip II took place at Notre-Dame de Paris on June 22, 1559, with Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba representing King Philip II. On June 30, 1559, a great celebration and tournament were held in Paris at the Hôtel des Tournelles (now the site of the Place des Vosges) in honor of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis and the two marriages that occurred as a result of the Peace. During a joust with Gabriel de Lorges, Comte de Montgomery, captain of the Scotch Guard, de Montgomery’s lance struck King Henri II’s helmet, splintered, and went through the visor going through the king’s right eye and his temple into the brain. Henri II survived for more than a week, dying on July 10, 1559, at the age of 40, probably from a subdural hematoma and sepsis. Henri II’s fifteen-year-old eldest son succeeded as King François II of France. Because of her father’s death, Elisabeth’s departure for Spain was postponed until November 18, 1559. She did not meet King Philip until January 31, 1560. On February 2, 1560, Elisabeth and Philip were married in person in Guadalajara, Spain.

Elisabeth and Philip made the Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Madrid, Spain their primary home. Enchanted by his 14-year-old wife, Philip eventually gave up his mistresses. Despite the 18-year-age gap, Elisabeth was also quite pleased with her husband. At first, Elisabeth found it very difficult in Spain. She missed France and her family very much but she worked hard to get used to her new role in the Kingdom of Spain. Elisabeth’s efforts left a good impression on the aristocrats of the Spanish royal court. Born and raised in Renaissance France, Elisabeth began to spread French customs in Spain. She was very fond of gambling, picnics, and most importantly masquerade balls and soon these customs became commonplace at the Spanish court.

Elisabeth continued to concentrate on her role as Queen of Spain. She considered her main duty to give birth to sons but she was unable to do so. She had five pregnancies but had only two surviving daughters:

• Stillborn son (1560)
• Miscarried twin daughters (1564)
• Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia (1566 – 1633), married Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, no children
• Infanta Catherine Michelle (1567 – 1597), married Carlo Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, had ten children
• Premature daughter Juana (born and died October 3, 1568)

In May 1568, Elisabeth’s health suffered. A new pregnancy caused severe vomiting and dizziness which the doctors tried to relieve by bleeding which would have further weakened her and not helped her as the doctors then believed. On October 3, 1568, at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Madrid, Spain, Elisabeth went into premature labor which turned out to be very complicated and so all of the doctors of the royal court were called. Elisabeth demanded that Philip be brought to her. She begged him to look after their two daughters and to help her brother Henri III to reign in France. Elisabeth also told him that she had known that she would not live a long life and had prayed constantly for her soul. She asked Philip to pray for her soul and Philip immediately fell to his knees. After much suffering, Elisabeth gave birth to a daughter of five months of gestation. The daughter was baptized Juana but only lived for ninety minutes. An hour later, 23-year-old Elisabeth died. It was said that Philip II was only seen crying once in his life, during the funeral of his wife Elisabeth.

Philip wanted to have all the kings and queens of Spain buried at the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial which was still under construction and so Elisabeth and her daughter Juana were temporarily buried at the Carmelite Convent of Las Descalzas Reales in Madrid which had been founded by Philip’s sister Joanna of Austria. In 1573, Elisabeth’s remains were transferred to El Escorial where she was buried in the Pantheon of the Infantes (Princes) and not where her husband would be buried in the Pantheon of the Kings because she had not been the mother of a King of Spain.

Philip II dressed in deep mourning for the rest of his life and only the lack of a male heir pushed him into a fourth marriage. In 1570, Philip married his niece Anna of Austria, daughter of first cousins Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria of Spain, who was Philip’s sister. Philip and Anna had five children and the only one who survived was Philip II’s successor King Philip III of Spain. Philip II was a widower four times, outliving all four of his wives.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Elisabeth Of Valois. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_of_Valois> [Accessed 18 June 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Philip II Of Spain. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II_of_Spain> [Accessed 18 June 2020].
• Es.wikipedia.org. 2020. Isabel De Valois (1546-1568). [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_de_Valois_(1546-1568)> [Accessed 18 June 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2013. King Henri II Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-30-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 18 June 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2019. King Philip II Of Spain. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-philip-ii-of-spain/> [Accessed 18 June 2020].
• Ka.wikipedia.org. 2020. ელიზაბეტ დე ვალუა. [online] Available at: <https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%94%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98%E1%83%96%E1%83%90%E1%83%91%E1%83%94%E1%83%A2_%E1%83%93%E1%83%94_%E1%83%95%E1%83%90%E1%83%9A%E1%83%A3%E1%83%90> [Accessed 18 June 2020]. (Elisabeth of Valois from Georgian Wikipedia)

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