by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Catherine de’ Medici, Queen of France; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Henri II, King of France, Catherine de’ Medici was a member of the Italian House of Medici, a banking family and political dynasty that first came to prominence during the first half of the 15th century in the Republic of Florence. Catherine was born on April 13, 1519, in Florence, Republic of Florence, now in Tuscany, Italy. She was the only child of Lorenzo II de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino and Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne. Sadly, Catherine’s parents both died before she was one-month-old. Her mother died at age 20 on April 28, 1519, from puerperal fever (childbed fever), plague, or syphilis contracted from her husband. Her 26-year-old father died on May 4, 1519, from syphilis.

Catherine’s father Lorenzo II de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino, the only son of Piero de’ Medici and Alfonsina Orsini, was the grandson of Lorenzo de’ Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent),  the great Renaissance ruler of Florence. Niccolò Machiavelli had dedicated his now-famous political treatise The Prince to Catherine’s father, Lorenzo II,  to inform the young ruler of Florence about tactics to use to maintain his authority.

Catherine’s mother Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne was a daughter of Jean III de La Tour, Count of Auvergne and Lauraguais and Jeanne de Bourbon, Duchess of Bourbon. Madeleine had one sister Anne and they were the heirs of their father and so upon his death, they shared extensive properties in Auvergne, Clermont, Berry, Castres, and Louraguais in France. Their wealth did not go unnoticed by François I, King of France, Catherine’s future-father-in-law.

François I, King of France, Catherine’s father-in-law; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1515, François I, King of France made a political agreement with Pope Leo X, born Giovanni de’ Medici, the second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Pope Leo’s nephew Lorenzo II de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino (Catherine’s father) had just come to power in Florence, and François I suggested a marriage alliance to cement the political agreement and proposed that Lorenzo II should marry Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne, from a French noble family. Lorenzo II agreed and François I hosted an extravagant wedding for them at the Château d’Amboise in France.

Madeleine’s sister Anne survived her by five years but died childless and so five-year-old Catherine de’Medici not only had wealth from her father but also the wealth of the Counties of Auvergne and Boulogne and the Barony of La Tour from her mother’s family. In 1519, knowing all this might happen, it is no wonder that François I wanted to raise Catherine at the French court as a potential bride for one of his sons but Pope Leo X had other plans. He wanted Catherine to be raised within the de Medici family.

Initially, Catherine was placed under the care of her paternal grandmother Alfonsina Orsini. After Alfonsina died in 1520, Catherine was placed in the household of her paternal aunt Clarice de’ Medici. In 1523, Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, the illegitimate son of Giuliano de’Medici, brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was elected Pope Clement VII and he took over the responsibility of caring for Catherine. Pope Clement placed Catherine in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence where she lived until the troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor attacked and defeated Florence in 1530. Catherine then was moved to the safety of Pope Clement VII’s residence in Rome.

Henri II, King of France, Catherine’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

Due to her wealth, Catherine had several potential bridegrooms but Pope Clement jumped at the offer of François I, King of France to marry her to his second son Henri, Duke of Orléans (the future King Henri II). At this time, Henri’s elder brother François III, Duke of Brittany, Dauphin of France was the heir to the throne and there was little prospect of Henri becoming King of France. The two fourteen-year-olds were married at the Église Saint-Ferréol les Augustins in Marseille, France on October 28, 1533. Henri paid little attention to Catherine during the first ten years of their marriage, preferring mistresses, particularly Diane de Poitiers who became Henri’s mistress when he was fifteen and she was 35-years-old. She remained Henri’s mistress for the rest of his life. In 1536, Henri’s elder brother François died at the age of 18 and Henri became the heir to the French throne. There were suspicions that François was poisoned but he probably died of natural causes, most likely from tuberculosis.

Catherine and her four youngest surviving children, circa 1561; Credit – Wikipedia

Catherine and Henri did not have any children until they had been married for nearly eleven years. Eventually, they had ten children, seven surviving to adulthood.

• François II, King of France (1544 – 1560), married Mary, Queen of Scots, no children
• Elisabeth of Valois, Queen of Spain (1545 – 1568), married King Philip II of Spain, had two daughters
• 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

Henri succeeded his father on March 31, 1547, his 28th birthday, and was crowned King of France on July 25, 1547, at Reims Cathedral. Catherine was crowned Queen of France at the Basilica of Saint-Denis on June 10, 1549. Henri’s reign was marked by the Italian Wars against the House of Habsburg and the suppression of the Protestant Reformation, particularly the persecution of the Protestant French Huguenots, who were becoming a large minority.

On June 30, 1559, a great celebration and tournament was held in Paris at the Hôtel des Tournelles (now the site of the Place des Vosges) in honor of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis with France’s longtime enemies, the Habsburgs and the two marriages that occurred as a result of the Peace: Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy marrying Henri’s sister Marguerite of France, Duchess of Berry and King Philip II of Spain marrying Elisabeth, the eldest daughter of Catherine and Henri II.

Tournament between Henri II and Gabriel de Lorges, Comte de Montgomery, Credit – Wikipedia

King Henri II, at age 40, still liked to participate in tournaments even though he had been advised not to participate because of dizziness he was suffering after physical exertion. During a joust with Gabriel de Lorges, Comte de Montgomery, captain of the Scotch Guard, de Montgomery’s lance struck Henri’s helmet, splintered, and went through the visor going through the king’s right eye and his temple into the brain. Henri survived for more than a week. On July 9, he was given the last rites and he died 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.

After only a 17-month reign, François II, King of France, aged 16, died in great pain on December 5, 1560, possibly from mastoiditis, meningitis, or otitis which turned into an abscess. François II was the first of the three husbands of Mary, Queen of Scots but he died childlessly, so his ten-year-old younger brother succeeded him as Charles IX, King of France, and his mother Catherine served as Regent of France until 1563 when Charles IX was declared to be of age. Charles IX was never able to adequately rule on his own and showed little interest in government and so Catherine remained the power behind the throne. In 1570, Charles IX married Elisabeth of Austria with whom he had one daughter who died in childhood.

Catherine observes the massacred Huguenots by Édouard Debat-Ponsan, 1880; Credit – Wikipedia

During Charles IX’s reign, the French Wars of Religion continued. On August 23-24, 1572, the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre took place, in which 5,000 to 30,000 Protestant French Huguenots were killed.  Catherine was a great influence on her son Charles IX when on August 23, 1572, he ordered the killings. Two years later, the childless 23-year-old Charles IX, King of France died from tuberculosis and was succeeded by his 22-year-old-brother Henri III, King of France.

Two days after his coronation, Henri III married Louise of Lorraine. It was hoped that Henri and Louise would produce an heir to the throne but it was not to be. Henri III was Catherine’s favorite son. Unlike his elder brothers, he came to the throne as an adult. Henri III attempted to give the Protestant French Huguenots more rights but he was undermined by political parties funded by foreign powers and the Catholic activist Henri I, Duke of Guise, who formed the Catholic League which promoted the eradication of Protestants in Catholic France and removing Henri III from the French throne.

In 1588, Henri I, Duke of Guise was assassinated by the king’s bodyguard as King Henri III looked on. Henri III had hoped that getting rid of the Duke of Guise would restore his authority with the French people. Instead, it caused a major outrage among the relatives and allies of the Duke of Guise and much of France. Again, Henri III’s mother played a role in his decisions. Ultimately, Henri III paid a price for his decisions. Seven months after his mother’s death, Henri III was assassinated by Jacques Clément, a fanatic Dominican monk who sided with the Catholic League.

Catherine as a widow; Credit – Wikipedia

Catherine continued to play a role in the government until the last few weeks of her life. She died on January 5, 1589, aged 69, at the Château de Blois in the Loire Valley of France from pleurisy. Because of all the unrest in Paris, it was impossible to bring Catherine’s remains to Paris for burial at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the traditional burial site of the French royal family. Instead, she was buried at the Saint-Sauveur de Blois Church in Blois, near where she had died. In 1610, Diane de France, Duchess of Angoulême in her own right, the illegitimate daughter of Catherine’s husband Henri II and his mistress Filippa Duci, arranged for Catherine’s remains to be transferred to the Basilica of Saint-Denis and be buried with her husband. Their tomb was desecrated during the French Revolution in October 1793. Archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir was able to save the tomb and preserved it at the Museum of French Monuments. It was returned to the Basilica of Saint-Denis during the Second Bourbon Restoration (1815 – 1830).

Tomb of Henri II of France and Catherine de’Medici; Credit – Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of France/French Empire Index
• French Royal Burial Sites – House of Valois

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Catherine De’ Medici. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de%27_Medici> [Accessed 18 June 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Lorenzo De’ Medici, Duke Of Urbino. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_de%27_Medici,_Duke_of_Urbino> [Accessed 18 June 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Madeleine De La Tour D’auvergne. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_de_La_Tour_d%27Auvergne> [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, 2020. King Henri III Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henri-iii-of-france/> [Accessed 18 June 2020].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Catherine De Médicis. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de_M%C3%A9dicis> [Accessed 18 June 2020].
• Goldstone, Nancy, 2015. The Rival Queens: Catherine De’medici And Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, And The Betrayal That Ignited A Kingdom. New York: Back Bay Books.

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Madame de Montespan was one of the most notable mistresses of King Louis XIV of France, from 1667 until the early 1680s.

Credit – Wikipedia

Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart was born on October 5, 1640 in Lussac-les-Châteaux, France, the 3rd of 5 children of Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Duke de Mortemart and Diane de Granseigne. Her father was a prominent member of the court of King Louis XIII of France, serving as First Gentleman of the Chamber, and was also a close confidante of Queen Anne of France (born Anne of Austria). Her mother also served as a lady-in-waiting to The Queen.

Raised at her family’s estates as well as the French court in Paris, she began her formal education at the Convent of Saint Mary at Saintes and became very religious. At 20 years old, she became a maid of honour to the Duchess of Orléans (born Princess Henrietta of England), and later a lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Therese of France (born Maria Teresa of Spain).

On January 28, 1663, at the Église Saint-Eustache in Paris, she was married to Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin, Marquis de Montespan. The couple had two children:

• Marie Christine de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1663-1675)
• Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin, Duke d’Antin (1664-1736)

King Louis XIV of France. source: Wikipedia

A prominent figure in the French court, Madame de Montespan soon set out to become the primary mistress of King Louis XIV, replacing his current mistress, Louise de La Vallière. Before long, she developed an intimate relationship with the King and slowly pushed Louise out of his life. By 1669, she had become his primary mistress and gave birth to her first child with the King. They would have seven children together:

• Louise-Françoise (1669-1672)
• Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine (1670-1736)
• Louis César, Count of Vexin (1672-1683)
• Louise Françoise de Bourbon (1673-1743)
• Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon (1674-1681)
• Françoise Marie de Bourbon (1677-1749)
• Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse (1678-1737)

The children were raised by Madame Scarron, the Marquise de Maintenon, who would later become King Louis XIV’s second wife. In 1673, the living children were legitimized by the King, although Françoise-Athénaïs’s name was not listed, as she was still married to her husband at the time. The rest of their children were also legitimized. In 1674, she and her husband were officially separated but never divorced.

In 1677, Madame de Montespan was involved in the Affaire des Poissons (Affair of the Poisons) which would lead to the end of her influence and power at court – as well as the end of her relationship with the King. Over a period of several years, a number of prominent members of the court were charged and sentenced on charges of poisoning and witchcraft. Accusations were made that Madame de Montespan was involved, with allegations that she had engaged a midwife, Catherine Deshayes Monvoison, to perform black masses in order to retain the King’s favor. No charges were ever made against Françoise-Athénaïs, but it quickly led to rumors and scandal within the French court.

By 1691, Madame de Montespan was no longer in favor with King Louis XIV and left the French court for a convent in Paris. Louis XIV gave her a generous pension and she spent the remainder of her life supporting numerous hospitals and charities. On May 27, 1707, Madame de Montespan died at Bourbon-l’Archambault, France and was buried in the chapel of the Cordeliers convent in Poitiers, France.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – Wikipedia

Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany, the first wife of François I, King of France, was born on October 13, 1499, in Romorantin-Lanthenay, France. Her father was King Louis XII of France who had succeeded his second cousin once removed, King Charles VIII, because Charles had no surviving sons to succeed him, nor any surviving daughters either. Louis XII was the great-grandson of King Charles V of France through his second surviving son Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and the next in line of the throne after the line of Charles V’s eldest son and successor King Charles VI of France, represented by King Charles VIII, died out.

Claude’s mother was King Louis XII’s second wife Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Anne had been King Charles VIII’s wife and during her marriage to Charles VIII, she had three stillbirths, three children who died in infancy, and one son who died from measles at age three. Before he became king, Louis XII had been in a childless marriage to Jeanne of France, the sister of King Charles VIII. After he succeeded to the throne, Louis XII decided to annul his 22-year-marriage to Jeanne and marry the younger Anne of Brittany in hopes of a male heir.

Claude’s father King Louis XII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Claude’s mother Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France, at prayer surrounded by Saint Anne, Saint Ursula and Saint Helena; Credit – Wikipedia

Claude was her parents’ first child. She received her name, somewhat unusual for a female, because her mother had made a pilgrimage to the burial site of Saint Claude of Besançon, a 7th-century French bishop who became a popular French saint, in the hope of having a living child after the sad pregnancy history of her first marriage. However, Anne’s poor obstetrical history persisted. Louis XII and Anne had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages. Claude and her sister Renée were their only surviving children. In fact, out of Anne’s total of sixteen pregnancies from her two marriages, Claude and Renée were her only surviving children. The lack of sons again created a succession problem because France followed the Salic Law which allowed only male succession.

Claude had one surviving sibling:

• Princess Renée of France (1510 – 1574), married Ercole II, Duke of Ferrara, had five children

François I, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Because Louis XII and his first wife had no children, upon Louis XII’s accession to the French throne, four-year-old François, Count of Angoulême (the future King François I of France) became the heir presumptive to the French throne and remained the heir throughout Louis XII’s reign due to his lack of sons. François was a great-great-grandson of King Charles V of France through Charles V’s second surviving son Louis I, Duke of Orléans whose descendants were members of the Orléans cadet branch of the ruling House of Valois.

Because her parents had no sons, Claude was the heir to her mother’s Duchess of Brittany. The Duchy of Brittany was located on the northwestern peninsula of modern France, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north. Queen Anne did not want to leave her daughter without her Brittany inheritance and with the help of Cardinal Georges d’Amboise, separated the Duchy of Brittany from the French crown.

Engagement of François d’Angoulême and Claude de France by Guillaume II Le Roy , Chronicles of Louis XII; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1501, a marriage contract was signed between the two-year-old Claude and the fifteen-year-old future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. However, in 1505, Louis XII became very ill and fearing for his life and not wishing to threaten the reign of François, his heir, he canceled the 1501 marriage contract in favor of the eventual marriage of Claude and François. A marriage with François would mean that the Duchy of Brittany would remain united with the French crown if François succeeded Louis XII.

Weakened by sixteen pregnancies in twenty years, 36-year-old Anne, Queen of France, Duchess of Brittany died from a kidney stone attack on January 9, 1514, at the Château de Blois in Blois, France. Fourteen-year-old Claude succeeded her mother as Duchess of Brittany.

On May 18, 1514, François and Claude were married in the chapel at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

They had seven children:

• Louise (1515 – 1517), died in childhood, engaged to King Charles I of Spain (later also Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor)
• Charlotte (1516 – 1524), died in childhood from measles, engaged to King Charles I of Spain (later also Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor)
• François III, Duke of Brittany (1518 – 1536), unmarried, succeeded his mother Claude as Duke of Brittany, died aged 18
• Henri II, King of France (1519 – 1559), married Catherine de’ Medici, had ten children, including three Kings of France: François II, Charles IX, and Henri III
• Madeleine (1520 – 1537), married James V, King of Scots (1st wife), no children, died six months after the marriage from tuberculosis
• Charles II, Duke of Orléans (1522 – 1545), unmarried, died at age 23
• Marguerite of France, Duchess of Berry (1523 – 1574), married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, had one son

Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany surrounded by her daughters (Charlotte, Madeleine, and Marguerite), her sister Renée (or her deceased older daughter Louise) and her husband’s second wife Eleanor of Austria, in Catherine de Medici’s Book of Hours, 1550; Credit – Wikipedia

After Anne of Brittany’s death, the 52-year-old Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, in a proxy marriage on August 19, 1514, at Greenwich Palace in England and then in person in France on October 9, 1514. However, the marriage did not last long. Louis XII died on January 1, 1515, just three months after the wedding. He was succeeded by his son-in-law as King François I of France. François was crowned King of France on January 25, 1515, at Notre-Dame de Reims (Reims Cathedral), the traditional site for the coronation of the Kings of France. Claude’s coronation took place on May 10, 1517, at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris. Most likely the delay in Claude’s coronation was due to her first two pregnancies.

Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany, aged 24, died on July 20, 1524, at the Château de Blois in Blois, France. It is suspected that Claude had tuberculosis and contracted syphilis from her husband and certainly seven pregnancies in eight years weakened her health. Claude was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris.

In 1530, François married the widow of King Manuel I of Portugal, Eleanor, Archduchess of Austria, Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg. She was the daughter of Philip of Austria and Joanna of Castile, co-sovereigns of the Kingdom of Castile, and the sister of Charles V, Emperor of Austria. François preferred his mistresses, ignored Eleanor, and the marriage was childless. François survived Claude by twenty-three years, dying on March 31, 1547, at the Château de Rambouillet in Rambouillet, France at the age of 52 and was buried with Claude.

François and Claude’s tomb was desecrated during the French Revolution in October 1793. Archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir was able to save the tomb and preserved it at the Museum of French Monuments. It was returned to the Basilica of Saint-Denis during the Second Bourbon Restoration (1815 – 1830).

Tomb of François and Claude; Credit – Par Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France Tomb of François 1er @ Basilique de Saint-Denis @ Saint-Denis, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52701972

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of France/French Empire Index
• French Royal Burial Sites – House of Valois

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Claude Of France. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_of_France> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2020. François I, King Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/François-i-king-of-france/> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Claude De France (1499-1524). [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_de_France_(1499-1524)> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
• Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Клод Французская. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B4_%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%86%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F> [Accessed 15 June 2020]. (Claude of France from Russian Wikipedia)

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

François I, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

A contemporary of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King Henry VIII of England, François I, King of France was born on September 12, 1494, at the Château de Cognac in Cognac, Kingdom of France. He was the only son and the younger of the two children of Charles of Orléans, Count of Angoulême and Louise of Savoy. François was a great-great-grandson of King Charles V of France through Charles V’s second surviving son Louis I, Duke of Orléans whose descendants were members of the Orléans cadet branch of the ruling House of Valois. The Orléans branch came to the French throne in 1498 with the accession of King Louis XII, the great-grandson of King Charles V through his second surviving son Louis I, Duke of Orléans after the line of Charles V’s eldest son and successor King Charles VI of France died out.

François had one older sister:

• Marguerite of Angoulême (1492 – 1549), married (1) Charles IV, Duke of Alençon, no children (2) Henri II, King of Navarre, had one surviving child Jeanne III, Queen of Navarre who was the mother of Henri IV, King of France, the first King of the House of Bourbon.

François’ parents playing chess, circa 1496-1498; Credit – Wikipedia

During the winter of 1495, François’s father had a serious fall while out riding and he died from his injuries on January 1, 1496. 16-month-old François became Count of Angoulême and François’s mother was left a 19-year-old widow with two young children.

At the time of François’s birth, 24-year-old Charles VIII was King of France. Charles VIII had married Anne, Duchess of Brittany in 1491 and there were expectations that they would provide a male heir to the French throne as France followed the Salic Law which allowed only male succession. In 1498, Charles VIII violently hit his head on a stone lintel of a low door and died without a male heir. His wife Anne of Brittany had given birth to seven children but none survived.

King Charles VIII was succeeded by his second cousin once removed Louis II, Duke of Orléans as King Louis XII of France. Louis XII’s father Charles I, Duke of Orléans was the grandson of King Charles V of France through his second son, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. King Louis XII also had succession issues. His 22-year marriage to Charles VIII’s sister Jeanne of France had produced no children. Therefore, in 1498, four-year-old François, Count of Angoulême became the heir presumptive to the French throne. Louis XII had his marriage to Jeanne of France annulled and married Charles VII’s widow Anne, Duchess of Brittany, hoping the marriage would produce a male heir.

François’ mother Louise of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

Meanwhile, François’ mother Louise of Savoy, who never remarried, began the work that would secure each of her children a promising future. After her husband’s death, Louise and her two children Marguerite and François initially remained at the Château de Cognac. Upon the accession of King Louis XII to the throne of France, she moved her family to Louis XII’s court and Louise’s main goal was to prepare her son to become King of France. Louise was quite aware of court politics and diplomacy and was interested in the flourishing of the arts and sciences during the Renaissance. With the help of her Italian confessor Cristoforo Numai of Forli, Louise ensured that Marguerite and François were educated in the spirit of the Renaissance. She commissioned books specifically for them and she taught them Italian and Spanish.

Meanwhile, King Louis XII and his second wife Anne of Brittany failed to produce a male heir. They had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages. They did have two daughters who survived to adulthood, Claude (1499 – 1524) and Renée (1510 – 1574), but because of the Salic Law neither could succeed their father. On January 9, 1514, 36-year-old Anne, Duchess of Brittany, the only woman to have been Queen of France twice, weakened by sixteen pregnancies in twenty years, died from a kidney stone attack.

Anne’s elder daughter Claude succeeded her as Duchess of Brittany. Claude had previously been contracted to marry the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. However, in 1505, Louis XII had become very ill and fearing for his life and not wishing to threaten the reign of François, his only heir, he canceled the marriage contract in favor of the eventual marriage of Claude and François. A marriage with François would mean that the Duchy of Brittany would remain united with the French crown.

Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany surrounded by her daughters (Charlotte, Madeleine, and Marguerite), her sister Renée (or her deceased older daughter Louise) and her husband’s second wife Eleanor of Austria, in Catherine de Medici’s Book of Hours, 1550; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 18, 1514, François and Claude were married in the chapel at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. They had seven children:

• Louise (1515 – 1517), died in childhood, engaged to King Charles I of Spain (later also Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor)
• Charlotte (1516 – 1524), died in childhood from measles, engaged to King Charles I of Spain (later also Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor)
• François III, Duke of Brittany (1518 – 1536), unmarried, succeeded his mother Claude as Duke of Brittany, died aged 18
• Henri II, King of France (1519 – 1559), married Catherine de’ Medici, had ten children, including three Kings of France: François II, Charles IX, and Henri III
• Madeleine (1520 – 1537), married James V, King of Scots (1st wife), no children, died six months after the marriage from tuberculosis
• Charles II, Duke of Orléans (1522 – 1545), unmarried, died at age 23
• Marguerite of France, Duchess of Berry (1523 – 1574), married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, had one son

After Anne of Brittany’s death, the 52-year-old Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, in a proxy marriage on August 19, 1514, at Greenwich Palace in England and then in person in France on October 9, 1514. However, the marriage did not last long. Louis XII died on January 1, 1515, just three months after the wedding. As Louis XII had no sons, he was succeeded by his son-in-law as King François I of France. François was crowned King of France on January 25, 1515, at Notre-Dame de Reims (Reims Cathedral), the traditional site for the coronation of the Kings of France. Claude’s coronation took place on May 10, 1517, at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris. Most likely the delay in Claude’s coronation was due to her first two pregnancies.

Some accomplishments and events during the reign of François I, King of France:

François at the deathbed of Leonardo da Vinci; Credit – Wikipedia

Patron of the arts: The magnificent art collection of the French kings began. It can still be seen at the Musée du Louvre, which occupies most of the former Louvre Palace. Among the artists François patronized were Andrea del Sarto and Leonardo da Vinci. da Vinci lived in France during the last years of his life. He brought with him many of his greatest works, including the Mona Lisa and these works remained in France after his death.

Construction: François focused on both new construction and renovations. Among his projects was the renovation of the Louvre Palace from a medieval fortress into a Renaissance palace and the building of a new City Hall (the Hôtel de Ville) for Paris.

The Field of the Cloth of Gold, circa 1545; Credit – Wikipedia

Foreign Policy: François continued with the Italian Wars (1494 – 1559). As Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also King of Spain) of the House of Habsburg gained power and land, France was surrounded by Habsburg land. François unsuccessfully attempted to gain the support of King Henry VIII of England at a summit and a tournament called the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Instead, François allied with the Muslim Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, a controversial move for a Christian king. France became the first European country to establish formal relations with the Ottoman Empire.

Exploration: In 1524, François financed the expedition of Giovanni da Verrazzano to North America. On this expedition, Verrazzano was the first documented European to visit the present site of New York City (where the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge is named after him) and claimed Newfoundland in present-day Canada for the French crown. In 1534, François sent Jacques Cartier to explore the St. Lawrence River in the present-day Canadian province of Quebec.

Religion: The Reformation began during the reign of the Roman Catholic François. Initially tolerant of the Reformation and its effect upon France, François’ attitude toward Protestants changed from tolerance to persecution with the issue of the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1540.

François’ wife Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany, aged 24, died on July 20, 1524, at the Château de Blois. It is suspected that Claude had tuberculosis and contracted syphilis from her husband and certainly seven pregnancies in eight years weakened her health.

François with his second wife Eleanor of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1529, the Treaty of Cambrai was signed ending the Seventh Italian War, also known as the War of the League of Cognac, fought between Charles V’s Holy Roman Empire and Habsburg Spain and François I’s Kingdom of France and his allies. To seal the treaty, François I agreed to marry Charles V’s sister Eleanor, Archduchess of Austria, Infanta of Castile, the widow of King Manuel I of Portugal. Eleanor was the daughter of Philip of Austria and Joanna of Castile, co-sovereigns of the Kingdom of Castile. François and Eleanor were married on July 4, 1530, and Eleanor was crowned Queen of France at the Basilica of Saint-Denis on May 31, 1531.

Eleanor was ignored by François who preferred his mistresses. Needless to say, Eleanor and François had no children. However, Eleanor was useful as an intermediary between France and her brother’s Holy Roman Empire.  She took an active role in the care and education of François’ two youngest daughters Madeleine and Marguerite. Eleanor played her role as Queen of France on official occasions such as the marriage of François’ heir, the future King Henri II, and Catherine de Medici in 1533.

There is suspicion that François suffered from syphilis and primary documents say he had some urinary tract issues. François I, King of France died on March 31, 1547, at the Château de Rambouillet, aged 52, after a reign of thirty-two years. According to the report of his autopsy, the cause of his death was sepsis associated with severe kidney failure due to nephritis. He was succeeded by his only surviving son Henri II who became King of France on his 28th birthday.

François was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris with his first wife Claude of France. François and Claude’s tomb was desecrated during the French Revolution in October 1793. Archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir was able to save the tomb and preserved it at the Museum of French Monuments. It was returned to the Basilica of Saint-Denis during the Second Bourbon Restoration (1815 – 1830).

Tomb of Francois and Claude; Credit – Par Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France Tomb of François 1er @ Basilique de Saint-Denis @ Saint-Denis, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52701972

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of France/French Empire Index
• French Royal Burial Sites – House of Valois

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Francis I Of France. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I_of_France> [Accessed 13 June 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louise Of Savoy. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_of_Savoy> [Accessed 13 June 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan and McMahon, Emily, 2013. Louis XII, King Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-27-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 5 June 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Claude Of France. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_of_France> [Accessed 13 June 2020].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Claude De France (1499-1524). [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_de_France_(1499-1524)> [Accessed 13 June 2020].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. François Ier (Roi De France). [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Ier_(roi_de_France)> [Accessed 13 June 2020].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louise De Savoie. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_de_Savoie> [Accessed 13 June 2020].

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Charles VIII, King of France; Credit – Wikipedia

King Charles VIII of France was born at the Château d’Amboise in France on June 30, 1470. He was the seventh of the eight children and the fourth and the only surviving son of the five sons of King Louis XI of France and his second wife Charlotte of Savoy. Out of his parents’ eight children, only Charles and his sisters Anne and Jeanne survived childhood. Charles’ father had no children from his first marriage to Margaret of Scotland, daughter of James I, King of Scots.

• Louis (1458 – 1460)
• Joachim (born and died 1459)
• Louise (born and died 1460)
• Anne of France (1461 – 1522), married Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, had two children
• Jeanne of France (1464 – 1505), married King Louis XII of France (first of three wives), no children, marriage annulled, founded the monastic Order of the Sisters of the Annunciation of Mary, canonized as a saint in 1950
• François ( born and died 1466)
• François, Duke of Berry (1472 – 1473)

King Louis XI of France; Credit- Wikipedia

Since Charles was his father’s only surviving son and was often ill, his father Louis XI was more concerned with his health than his education. Accordingly, Charles’ education was less rigorous than it normally would have been. The study of Latin was eliminated although Louis XI had first studied Latin at the age of six. Charles was given a humanist tutor Guillaume Tardif. Tardif ordered simplified treatises written for Charles and read them to him. One such treatise was on the Wars of Roses which was occurring at the time in England.

In 1475, the Treaty of Picquigny between King Edward IV and the Kingdom of England and King Louis XI and the Kingdom of France ended the Hundred Years War. One of the agreements was that five-year-old Charles would marry nine-year Elizabeth of York, the eldest child of King Edward IV of England. That arrangement did not come to fruition and Elizabeth of York eventually married King Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch.

Next, Louis XI tried to make two Burgundian marriages for his only son Charles. After the death of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in 1477, Louis XI had plans to take over the guardianship of Charles the Bold’s only child Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. He planned to marry his seven-year-old son Charles to the twenty-year-old Mary and reunite Burgundy with France. However, Mary was of legal age, the sovereign ruler of the Duchy of Burgundy, and decided to marry Archduke Maximilian of Austria, later Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.

Archduchess Margaret of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1482, 25-year-old Mary, Duchess of Burgundy died of internal injuries following a severe fall from her horse. France and Burgundy had been at war over land and Mary’s widower decided to settle the situation. The Treaty of Arras ended the dispute. Mary’s two-year-old daughter Archduchess Margaret of Austria would marry Louis XI’s son Charles. The Imperial County of Burgundy, west of the Duchy of Burgundy, would come to the French crown as part of Margaret’s dowry. Charles and Margaret were betrothed in 1483 and Margaret’s guardianship was transferred to King Louis XI of France. She was to be raised in France as a fille de France (daughter of France) and prepared for her future role as Queen of France. However, within months of the betrothal, King Louis XI died and his thirteen-year-old son became King Charles VIII of France.  The coronation of King Charles VIII took place on May 30, 1484, in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Reims, France, the traditional site for the coronation of the Kings of France.

Under Louis XI’s will, his daughter Anne and her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon ruled as regents until 1491. Margaret of Austria remained in France where she continued to be educated and prepared for her future role as Charles’ wife and Queen of France. However, the sudden death of François II, Duke of Brittany as a result of a fall from his horse, on September 9, 1488, changed the situation. François II had only two surviving children, both daughters, and the elder daughter succeeded him as Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Fearing for the independence of her duchy against the might of France, Anne arranged a marriage for herself with Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the widower of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany at prayer surrounded by Saint Anne, Saint Ursula and Saint Helena by Jean Bourdichon; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne of France and her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, the regents of France, refused to allow a marriage between Anne of Brittany and Maximilian of Austria because it would put the Habsburgs, Maxililian’s family, on two French borders. A month before Anne of Brittany’s father died, he had been forced to sign the Treaty of Verger and thereby becoming a vassal of King Charles VIII of France and agreeing to seek Charles’ consent before arranging the marriage of his daughters. The Treaty of Verger was used to force Anne to renounce Archduke Maximilian of Austria, who she had married by proxy, and marry King Charles VIII of France. Likewise, Margaret of Austria was also jilted and she resented the House of Valois for the rest of her life. However, Margaret became one of the greatest government administrators, political negotiators, and patrons of her time. She served her nephew Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands.

Waxwork reenactment of the marriage of Anne, Duchess of Brittany and King Charles VIII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne, Duchess of Brittany and King Charles VIII of France were married at the Château de Langeais on December 6, 1491. On February 8, 1492, Anne was crowned Queen of France at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France.

Anne and Charles had seven children but none survived:

• Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France (1492 – 1495), died from measles at the age of three
• François (stillborn 1493)
• Stillborn daughter (1494)
• Stillborn daughter (1495)
• Charles, Dauphin of France (September 1496 – October 1496)
• François, Dauphin of France (1497), died several hours after birth
• Anne of France (1498), died several hours after birth

French troops under Charles VIII entering Florence, November 17, 1494, by Francesco Granacci; Credit – Wikipedia

The main event of Charles VIII’s reign was the Italian War of 1494–1498 fought against the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and an alliance of Italian powers led by Pope Alexander VI. Charles made a series of concessions to neighboring monarchs and conquered Italy without much opposition. However, a coalition of armies ultimately drove out Charles’ army.

On March 20, 1498, Queen Anne had given birth to a daughter at the Château d’Amboise, who died on the day of her birth. To distract her from her sadness, on April 7, 1498, Charles decided to take Anne to watch a game of jeu de paume (real tennis). As they were walking to the tennis court at the Château d’Amboise, Charles violently hit his head on a stone lintel of a low door. He stumbled but did not lose consciousness and proceeded to the tennis court where he watched the game. At around two o’clock in the afternoon, Charles suddenly collapsed, fell into a coma, and died nine hours later at the age of 27. Modern medical experts suspect that Charles died from a head trauma that led to a stroke with a subdural hematoma and neurological damage.

King Charles VIII had a grand funeral with the services lasting until May 1, 1498, when the tomb was closed. He was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France but his heart was buried at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Cléry in Cléry-Saint-André, France so he could be near his parents. His tomb at the Basilica of Saint-Denis was one of the most beautiful tombs there. It was made of gilded bronze and enamel and was quite large. The enameled statue of Charles VIII showed him praying, wearing a blue robe with fleur-de-lis (lily flowers). At the four corners were bronze angels and around the base were female figures in medallions. During the French Revolution, Charles’ tomb was destroyed and the materials melted down.

Tomb of Charles VIII; Credit – Wikipedia

Because King Charles VIII had no surviving sons (nor daughters), he was succeeded by his second cousin once removed Louis II, Duke of Orléans as King Louis XII of France. Louis XII’s father Charles I, Duke of Orléans was the grandson of King Charles V of France through his second son, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. In 1476, the future Louis XII had married Jeanne of France, daughter of King Louis XI of France and sister of King Charles VIII. Charles VIII’s widow Anne returned to her Duchy of Brittany after his death and began taking steps to ensure the independence of her duchy. Louis XII did not want this to happen and so he had his 24-year childless marriage to Charles VIII’s sister Jeanne of France annulled. Once more, Anne of Brittany, had the Treaty of Verger used against her as Louis XII, as King of France, had to consent to her marriage. She was forced to agree to marry King Louis XII.

King Louis XII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis XII married Anne, Duchess of Brittany on January 7, 1499, in Nantes, Duchy of Brittany, now in France. Louis XII never did get his male heir. Anne and Louis had four stillborn sons and three miscarriages but they did have two daughters who survived to adulthood. Weakened by sixteen pregnancies in twenty years, 36-year-old Anne, twice Queen of France, Duchess of Brittany died from a kidney stone attack on January 9, 1514. After Anne’s death, the 52-year-old Louis XII, still seeking a son to succeed him, married 18-year-old Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII of England, but Louis XIII died three months after the marriage – without a male heir.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

France Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of France/French Empire Index
• French Royal Burial Sites – House of Valois

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Charles VIII Of France. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_of_France> [Accessed 11 June 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louis XI Of France. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XI_of_France> [Accessed 1 June 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Anne, Duchess Of Brittany, Queen Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/anne-duchess-of-brittany-queen-of-france/> [Accessed 11 June 2020].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Charles VIII (Roi De France). [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_(roi_de_France)> [Accessed 11 June 2020].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louis XI. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XI> [Accessed 11 June 2020].
• McMahon, Emily and Flantzer, Susan. 2013. Louis XII, King Of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-27-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 1 June 2020].

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Louise de la Vallière was the mistress of King Louis XIV of France from 1661 until 1667. She later entered a convent, becoming Sister Louise de la Miséricorde (Sister Louise of Mercy) until her death in 1710.

source: Wikipedia

Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc was born on August 6, 1644 at the Hôtel de la Crouzille in Tours, France. She was the daughter of Laurent La Baume Le Blanc, Marquis of La Vallière and Françoise Le Provost.

Following her father’s death in 1651, Louise’s mother was remarried to the Marquis de Saint Rémy, who served in the court of the Gaston, Duke of Orléans, son of King Henri IV of France. Louise became a companion to the Duke’s three younger daughters and was educated alongside them. After the Duke died, Louise accompanied the widowed Duchess and her daughters to Paris where they took up residence at the Palais de Luxembourg.

Soon, Louise became a Maid of Honor to Princess Henrietta Anne of England, the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, brother of King Louis IV of France. Henrietta then presented Louise to King Louis XIV, and within months she had become his mistress. Although discreet, their relationship soon became well-known within the French court, causing Louise much distress. She continued to serve as a Maid of Honor to Princess Henrietta, which caused a falling out with the King in 1662. Louise refused to reveal any information to him about the Princess’s alleged affair with the Count of Guiche, and fled to a convent before King Louis XIV convinced her to return. Pregnant with her first child, Louise was removed from service to the Duchess, and given apartments in the Palais Royal.  Over the next five years, gave birth to five children – only two of whom would survive:

• Charles de La Baume Le Blanc (1663-1665)
• Philippe de La Baume Le Blanc (1665-1666)
• Louis de La Baume Le Blanc (1665-1666)
• Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666-1739) – legitimized by the King in 1667, and later married to Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti
• Louis de Bourbon (1667-1683) – legitimized by the King in 1669, created Count of Vermandois

It was after the birth of her daughter, Marie Anne, in 1666 that the relationship began to change between Louise and the King. Much of this was due to the return to the court of Madame de Montespan who quickly drew the King’s attention and replaced Louise as his favorite mistress.

Marie Anne de Bourbon, later Princess of Conti. source: Wikipedia

In 1667, King Louis legitimized their daughter, who became known as Mademoiselle de Blois, and he created Louise Duchess de La Vallière and Duchess de Vaujours. This allowed Louise a greater position at court, however, she would not remain there for much longer. Pregnant at the time, she gave birth to their last child – Louis – in October 1667. For the next several years, Louise remained at court – sharing apartments with Madame de Montespan, but her relationship with King Louis XIV was long over. Two years later, the King legitimized their son, creating him Count of Vermandois.

By 1670, having been forced to remain at court and live with the King’s new mistress, Madame de Montespan, Louise became ill and at one point was near death. Upon recovering, she sought solace in religion, and the following year, made the decision to leave the court and enter a convent. However, King Louis XIV forced her to return for several years. Finally, in 1674, she was given permission to leave the court and entered the Carmelite convent in Faubourg-Saint-Jacques. She took her vows the following year, becoming Sister Louise de la Miséricorde.

Louise remained at the convent until her death, 35 years later, on June 6, 1710. Per her wishes, she was buried in the convent cemetery. By that time, she was survived only by her daughter Marie Anne, who inherited the Duchies of La Vallière and Vaujours, as well as Louise’s entire estate.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.