June 5, 1523: Birth of Marguerite de Valois, Duchess of Berry and Duchess of Savoy

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Catherine de Médici, Duke Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Emperor Charles V, Francis I of France, Henry II of France, Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain, Marguerite de Valois, Philip II of Spain

Marguerite de Valois, Duchess of Berry, Duchess of Savoy (June 5, 1523 – September 15, 1574)

Early life

Marguerite de Valois was born at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on June 5, 1523 the youngest daughter and child of King Francis I of France and Claude, Duchess of Brittany, the eldest daughter of King Louis XII of France and Duchess Anne of Brittany.

Marguerite was very close to her paternal aunt, Marguerite de Angoulême, the eldest child of Louise of Savoy and Charles, Count of Angoulême. Her father was a descendant of King Charles V of France, and was thus in the succession line to the French crown by male primogeniture, if both Charles VIII and the presumptive heir, Louis, Duke of Orléans, would die without producing male offspring.

Marguerite de Angoulême took care of Marguerite de Valois and her sister Madeleine during their childhood, along wih her sister-in-law Catherine de’ Medici.

Near the end of 1538, her father, King François I and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, agreed that Marguerite should marry Charles’ son, the future King Felipe II of Spain. However, the agreement between François and Charles was short-lived and the marriage never took place.

King François I died at the Château de Rambouillet on March 13, 1547, on his son (Henri, the Dauphin) and successor’s 28th birthday. It is said that “he died complaining about the weight of a crown that he had first perceived as a gift from God”. He was interred with his first wife, Claude, Duchess of Brittany, in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his son as King Henri II of France.

In 1557 Marguerite de Valois was appointed as lady in waiting Jacqueline d’Entremont, to whom she would remain close with later in life.

On April 29, 1550, at the age of 26, she was created suo jure Duchess of Berry by her brother.

Duchess of Savoy

Shortly before her 36th birthday, a marriage was finally arranged for her by her brother King Henri II of France and her former suitor Felipe II of Spain as part of the terms stipulated in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis which was signed by the ambassadors representing the two monarchs on April 3, 1559.

The husband selected for her was Felipe’s ally and his first cousin once removed, Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont, (1528 – 1580) only child of Charles III, Duke of Savoy, and Beatrice of Portugal to reach adulthood. His mother was sister-in-law to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the future duke served in Charles’s army during the war against François I of France, the father of his future bride.

At the time, Marguerite was described as having been a “spinster lady of excellent breeding and lively intellect”. She was five years older than her husband.

The wedding took place in tragic circumstances. On June 30 just three days after her marriage contract had been signed, King Henri II was gravely injured during a tournament celebrating the wedding of his eldest daughter Elisabeth to the recently widowed King Felipe II. King Felipe II’s wife, Queen Mary I of England and Ireland died the previous November.

A lance wielded by his opponent the Count of Montgomery accidentally struck King Henri II’s helmet at a point beneath the visor and shattered. The wooden splinters deeply penetrated his right eye and entered his brain. Close to death, but still conscious, the king ordered that his sister’s marriage should take place immediately, for fear that the Duke of Savoy might profit from his death and renege on the alliance.

The ceremony did not take place in Notre Dame Cathedral as had been planned. Instead it was a solemn, subdued event conducted at midnight on July 9, in Saint Paul’s, a small church not far from the Tournelles Palace where Margurite’s dying brother was ensconced. Among the few guests was the French Queen Consort Catherine de’ Medici who sat by herself, weeping.

King Henri II died the following day and was succeeded by his sickly fifteen-year-old son as King François II of France. King François II was married to sixteen-year-old Mary I, Queen of Scots, who had been his childhood friend and fiancée since her arrival at the French court when she was five.

Children

Marguerite and her husband had only one surviving child: Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy who was born in January 1562, when Margaret was 38 years of age. Charles Emmanuel later married his closely related cousin, Infanta Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain, the daughter of King Felipe II by his marriage to Marguerite’s niece, Elisabeth of Valois, the eldest daughter of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici.

Death

Marguerite died on September 14, 1574 at the age of 51. She was buried in Turin at the Cathedral of Saint Giovanni Battista.

February 18, 1516: Birth of Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland

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Francis I of France, Infanta Catherine of Aragon, jure uxoris, King Felipe II of Spain, King Henry VIII of England, Queen Mary I of England and Ireland, Queen Mary’s Marriage Act

From the Emperor’s Desk: I will not do a complete biography of Queen Mary on the anniversary of her birth, instead I will focus on how she came to marry King Felipe II of Spain.

Mary was born on February 18, 1516 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, England. She was the only child of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Infanta Catherine of Aragon, to survive infancy. Her mother had suffered many miscarriages and stillbirths. Before Mary’s birth, four previous pregnancies had resulted in a stillborn daughter and three short-lived or stillborn sons, including Henry, Duke of Cornwall.

Throughout Mary’s childhood, Henry negotiated potential future marriages for her. When she was only two years old, Mary was promised to François, Dauphin of France, the infant son of King François I, but the contract was repudiated after three years.

In 1522, at the age of six, she was instead contracted to marry her 22-year-old cousin Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (Carlos I of Spain). However, Charles broke off the engagement within a few years with Henry’s agreement.

Cardinal Wolsey, Henry’s chief adviser, then resumed marriage negotiations with the French, and Henry suggested that Mary marry the French king François I, himself who was eager for an alliance with England. A marriage treaty was signed which provided that Mary marry either François I or his second son Henri, Duke of Orléans, but Wolsey secured an alliance with France without the marriage.

In 1528, Wolsey’s agent Thomas Magnus discussed the idea of her marriage to her cousin James V of Scotland with the Scottish diplomat Adam Otterburn. According to the Venetian Mario Savorgnano, by this time Mary was developing into a pretty, well-proportioned young lady with a fine complexion.

When aged 37, Mary and was Queen she turned her attention to finding a husband and producing an heir, which would prevent the Protestant Elizabeth (still next-in-line under the terms of Henry VIII’s will and the Act of Succession of 1544) from succeeding to the throne.

Edward Courtenay and Reginald Pole were both mentioned as prospective suitors, but her cousin Emperor Charles V suggested she marry his only legitimate son, Infante Felipe of Spain.

Infante Felipe’s first wife was his double first cousin, Infanta Maria Manuela of Portugal. She was a daughter of Felipe’s maternal uncle, King João III of Portugal, and paternal aunt, Archduchess Catherine of Austria. They were married at Salamanca on November 12, 1543. The marriage produced one son in 1545, after which Maria Manuela died four days later due to haemorrhage.

Lord Chancellor Gardiner and the English House of Commons unsuccessfully petitioned Mary to consider marrying an Englishman, fearing that England would be relegated to a dependency of the Habsburgs.

The marriage was unpopular with the English; Gardiner and his allies opposed it on the basis of patriotism, while Protestants were motivated by a fear of Catholicism.

When Mary insisted on marrying Felipe, insurrections broke out. Thomas Wyatt the Younger led a force from Kent to depose Mary in favour of Elizabeth, as part of a wider conspiracy now known as Wyatt’s rebellion, which also involved the Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane’s father.

Mary declared publicly that she would summon Parliament to discuss the marriage and if Parliament decided that the marriage was not to the kingdom’s advantage, she would refrain from pursuing it.

On reaching London, Wyatt was defeated and captured. Wyatt, the Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane Grey, and her husband Guildford Dudley were executed. Lady Jane Grey was a pawn in trying to usurp the throne at the beginning of Mary’s reign.

Courtenay, who was implicated in the plot, was imprisoned and then exiled. Princess Elizabeth, though protesting her innocence in the Wyatt affair, was imprisoned in the Tower of London for two months, then put under house arrest at Woodstock Palace.

Queen Mary I of England was—excluding the brief, disputed reigns of the Empress Matilda and Lady Jane Grey—England’s first queen regnant. Further, under the English common law doctrine of jure uxoris, the property and titles belonging to a woman became her husband’s upon marriage, and it was feared that any man she married would thereby become King of England in fact and name.

While Mary’s grandparents King Fernando II and Queen Isabella I had retained sovereignty of their respective realms during their marriage, there was no precedent to follow in England.

Under the terms of Queen Mary’s Marriage Act, Felipe was to be styled “King of England”, all official documents (including Acts of Parliament) were to be dated with both their names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple, for Mary’s lifetime only.

England would not be obliged to provide military support to Felipe’s father in any war, and Felipe could not act without his wife’s consent or appoint foreigners to office in England.

Felipe was unhappy with these conditions but ready to agree for the sake of securing the marriage. He had no amorous feelings for Mary and sought the marriage for its political and strategic gains; his aide Ruy Gómez de Silva wrote to a correspondent in Brussels, “the marriage was concluded for no fleshly consideration, but in order to remedy the disorders of this kingdom and to preserve the Low Countries.”

To elevate his son to Mary’s rank, Emperor Charles V ceded to Felipe the Crown of Naples as well as his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Queen Mary thus became Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Jerusalem upon marriage. Their wedding at Winchester Cathedral on July 25, 1554 took place just two days after their first meeting. Felipe could not speak English, and so they spoke a mixture of Spanish, French, and Latin.

October 23, 1516: Birth of Charlotte de Valois of France

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Anne of Brittany, Charles VIII of France, Charlotte de Valois of France, Claude of France, Francis I of France, Louis XII of France, Margaret of Angoulême

Charlotte de Valois of France (October 23, 1516 – September 18, 1524) was the second child and second daughter of King François I and his wife Claude, daughter of the French king Louis XII of France and the Duchess Anne of Brittany.

Charlotte was born in the Château d’Amboise, on October 23, 1516. She had greenish blue eyes and bright red hair. She was one of the six children of the King and Queen that had red hair, a trait inherited from Anne of Brittany, Claude’s mother. She lived a happy life, moving from the Château d’Amboise to the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye before March 1519.

Later life and death

The Princess spent all of her remaining days at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. She had always been a delicate, frail child. At age seven, she contracted measles, the same disease which had killed her half-uncle, Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France, thirty years earlier. Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France was the eldest son and heir of Charles VIII of France and Anne of Brittany.

Anne of Brittany was Duchess of Brittany in her own right from 1488 until her death, and queen consort of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the only woman to have been queen consort of France twice, as the spouse of Charles VIII and Louis XII.

The only person who looked after her while she was sick was her aunt, Margaret of Angoulême, as her mother had already died two months earlier, her grandmother Louise of Savoy was very sick, and her father had gone to war. He was later imprisoned, so was nowhere near his daughter at the time of her death. It appears as if Charlotte was very close to her aunt, who was heartbroken and distraught when her “little one” died, on September18, 1524 at the age of seven.

November 6, 1479: Birth of Philipp I, Margrave of Baden

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Baden-Durlach, Christopher of Baden, Francis I of France, Holy Roman Empire, Italian Wars, Margrave of Baden, Philip of Baden, Wilhelm IV of Bavaria

Margrave Philipp I of Baden (November 6, 1479 – September 17, 1533) took over the administration of his father’s possessions Baden (Baden-Baden), Durlach, Pforzheim and Altensteig and parts of Eberstein, Lahr and Mahlberg in 1515 and ruled as governor until he inherited the territories in 1527. From 1524 till 1527, he also acted as an imperial governor in the second Imperial Government.

Philipp I was the fifth son of the Margrave Christopher I of Baden and Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen. His father intended to avoid splitting the inheritance and regarded Philipp as his most capable son, so he wanted Philipp to inherit the sovereignty over all his territories. He intended Philipp to marry with Joan, the heiress of Margrave Philipp of Hachberg-Sausenberg — a junior branch of the House of Baden branch line, so that Philipp would become sovereign of a considerable territory. The plan failed due to resistance of the French king, François I. 

Because of the resistance of Philipp’s worldly brothers, Christopher later changed his will twice. Philip’s brother Bernhard III inherited the holdings on the left bank of the Rhine, his brother Ernst inherited the baronies Hachberg, Usenberg, Sausenburg, Rötteln and Baden Castle in Badenweiler in South Baden.

Margrave Philipp I married on January 3, 1503 Elisabeth of the Palatinate ( November 16, 1483 – June 24, 1522), the daughter of the Elector Philipp from his marriage to Margaret of Bavaria (1456–1501), daughter of Duke Ludwig IX of Bavaria-Landshut. Elisabeth of the Palatinate first married on February 12, 1496 in Heidelberg with Landgrave Wilhelm III of Hesse-Marburg (1471–1500). The nuptials took place in 1498 in Frankfurt am Main. The marriage was to last only three years ending with Wilhelm’s death in 1500.  

Three years after the death of her first husband Elisabeth married on January 3, 1503 in Heidelberg with Margrave Philipp I of Baden-Sponheim (1479–1533). In a contract concluded in 1508 with respect to Elizabeth’s dowry, it was stipulated that the part of Sponheim that Baden had ceded to the Palatinate in 1463, was to be returned to Baden.

Philipp fought on the French side in the Italian Wars. In 1501 he commanded a ship in the French fleet, that supported the Venice in the war against the Turks.

During his reign, Philipp was confronted a wave of rebellions all over southern Germany. In a continuation of the Bundschuh movement and again under the leadership of Joss Fritz the peasants stood up and fought for their rights. This often led to abuse and violence. The rebels marched through Durlach to the monastery Gottesaue, which was looted and completely destroyed — under the eyes of the Margrave. He responded by attacking the homes of the rebels and for example in Berghausen three houses were set on fire.

The real aim, however, was the territory of the bishop Georg of Speyer, who finally escaped to the court of the Elector Palatine in Heidelberg. It wasn’t until 1525 that Elector Ludwig V and his army managed to end the insurgency. On May 25, 1525, Philipp I concluded the Treaty of Renchen with his peasants.

Philipp I died in 1533 without male heirs. Of his six children only his daughter Maria Jakobäa (1507–1580) survived him. In 1522, she married Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria. His two brothers, Ernest and Bernhard III divided his estate among themselves — the resulting margraviates of Baden-Durlach and Baden-Baden were reunified in 1771.

September 12, 1494: Birth of François I, King of France.

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Charles of Orléans, Claude of France, Count of Angoulême, Filed of the Cloth of Gold, Francis I of France, King François I of France, King Henri II of France, King Louis XII of France, Kingdom of France, Kings and Queens of France, Louise of Savoy, Salic Law

From the Emperor’s Desk: Yesterday, September 11, was the Anniversary of the birth of Louise of Savoy, today is the anniversary the birth of her son, King François I of France.

François I (September 12, 1494 – March 31, 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547.

François of Orléans was born on September 12, 1494 (the day after his mother’s birthday) at the Château de Cognac in the town of Cognac, which at that time lay in the province of Saintonge, a part of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Today the town lies in the department of Charente.

François was the only son of Charles of Orléans, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy, eldest daughter of Philip II, Duke of Savoy and his first wife, Margaret of Bourbon, the daughter of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon (1401–1456) and Agnes of Burgundy (1407–1476). François was a great-great-grandson of King Charles V of France, through his father and it was from this line François drew his claim to the French throne.

His family was not expected to inherit the throne, as his third cousin King Charles VIII was still young at the time of his birth, as was his father’s cousin the Duke of Orléans, later King Louis XII. However, Charles VIII died childless in 1498 and was succeeded by Louis XII, who himself had no male heir. The Salic Law prevented women from inheriting the throne. Therefore, the four-year-old François (who was already Count of Angoulême after the death of his own father two years earlier) became the heir presumptive to the throne of France in 1498 and was vested with the title of Duke of Valois.

In 1505, Louis XII, having fallen ill, ordered that his daughter Claude and François be married immediately, but only through an assembly of nobles were the two engaged. Claude was heir presumptive to the Duchy of Brittany through her mother, Anne of Brittany. Following Anne’s death, the marriage took place on May 18, 1514. On January 1, 1515, Louis XII died, and François inherited the throne. He was crowned King of France in the Cathedral of Reims on 25 January 1515, with Claude as his queen consort.

By the time François ascended the throne in 1515, the Renaissance had arrived in France, and prodigious patron of the arts, he initiated the French Renaissance by attracting many Italian artists to work for him, including Leonardo da Vinci, who brought the Mona Lisa with him, which François had acquired. François’ reign saw important cultural changes with the rise of absolute monarchy in France, the spread of humanism and Protestantism, and the beginning of French exploration of the New World. Jacques Cartier and others claimed lands in the Americas for France and paved the way for the expansion of the first French colonial empire.

For his role in the development and promotion of a standardized French language, he became known as le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres (the ‘Father and Restorer of Letters’). He was also known as François du Grand Nez (‘Francis of the Large Nose’), the Grand Colas, and the Roi-Chevalier (the ‘Knight-King’) for his personal involvement in the wars against his great rival Emperor Charles V, who was also King of Spain.

Following the policy of his predecessors, Francis continued the Italian Wars. The succession of Charles V to the Burgundian Netherlands, the throne of Spain, and his subsequent election as Holy Roman Emperor meant that France was geographically encircled by the Habsburg monarchy. In his struggle against Imperial hegemony, he sought the support of Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. When this was unsuccessful, he formed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with the Muslim sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, a controversial move for a Christian king at the time.

His first wife, Claude of France, died in 1524 and On July 7, 1530, François I married his second wife Eleanor of Austria (November 15, 1498 – February 25, 1558), also called Eleanor of Castile, was born an Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg and a sister of the Emperor Charles V. The couple had no children. During his reign, François kept two official mistresses at court.

The first mistress was Françoise de Foix, Countess of Châteaubriant. In 1526, she was replaced by the blonde-haired, cultured Anne de Pisseleu d’Heilly, Duchess of Étampes who, with the death of Queen Claude two years earlier, wielded far more political power at court than her predecessor had done. Another of his earlier mistresses was allegedly Mary Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII and sister of Henry’s future wife, Anne Boleyn.

Death

François died at the Château de Rambouillet on March 31 1547, on his son and successor’s 28th birthday. It is said that “he died complaining about the weight of a crown that he had first perceived as a gift from God”. He was interred with his first wife, Claude, Duchess of Brittany, in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his son, Henri II.

François’ tomb and that of his wife and mother, along with the tombs of other French kings and members of the royal family, were desecrated on 20 October 1793 during the Reign of Terror at the height of the French Revolution.

François I has a poor reputation in France–his 500th anniversary was little noted in 1994. Popular and scholarly historical memory ignores his building of so many fine chateaux, his stunning art collection, his lavish patronage of scholars and artists. He is seen as a playboy who disgraced France by allowing himself to be defeated and taken prisoner at Pavia. The historian Jules Michelet set the negative image.

British historian Glenn Richardson considers Francis a success:

“He was a king who ruled as well as reigned. He knew the importance of war and a high international profile in staking his claim to be a great warrior-king of France. In battle he was brave, if impetuous, which led equally to triumph and disaster. Domestically, François exercised the spirit and letter of the royal prerogative to its fullest extent. He bargained hard over taxation and other issues with interest groups, often by appearing not to bargain at all.

He enhanced royal power and concentrated decision-making in a tight personal executive but used a wide range of offices, gifts and his own personal charisma to build up an elective personal affinity among the ranks of the nobility upon whom his reign depended….Under Francis, the court of France was at the height of its prestige and international influence during the 16th century. Although opinion has varied considerably over the centuries since his death, his cultural legacy to France, to its Renaissance, was immense and ought to secure his reputation as among the greatest of its kings.”

September 11, 1476: Birth of Louise of Savoy

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Charles Orléans, Count of Angoulême, Duchy of Savoy, Francis I of France, Henri IV of France, Kingdom of France, Louise of Savoy

Louise of Savoy
Mother of King Francis I of France (1476-1531)

Louise of Savoy (September 11, 1476 – September 22, 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess suo jure of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours, and the mother of King François I of France. She was politically active and served as the regent of France in 1515, in 1525–1526 and in 1529.

Family and early life

Louise of Savoy was born at Pont-d’Ain, the eldest daughter of Philip II, Duke of Savoy and his first wife, Margaret of Bourbon. Her brother, Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, succeeded her father as ruler of the duchy and head of the House of Savoy. He was, in turn, succeeded by their half-brother Charles III, Duke of Savoy.

Because her mother died when she was only seven, she was brought up by Anne de Beaujeu,who was regent of France for her brother King Charles VIII of France. At Amboise she met Margaret of Austria, who was betrothed to the young king and with whom Louise would negotiate peace several decades later.

Marriage

At age eleven, Louise married Charles of Orléans, Count of Angoulême, aged 29, on February 16, 1488 in Paris. She only began living with him when she was fifteen, though. Despite her husband having two mistresses, the marriage was not unhappy and they shared a love for books.

The household of Charles was presided over by his châtelaine, Antoinette de Polignac, Dame de Combronde, by whom he had two illegitimate daughters, Jeanne of Angoulême and Madeleine.

June 5, 1523: Birth of Marguerite de Valois of France, Duchess of Berry, Countess of Savoy.

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Anne of Brittany, Charles V, Claude of France, Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Felipe II of Spain, Francis I of France, King Henri II of France, Louis XII of France, Marguerite de Valois

Marguerite de Valois of France, Duchess of Berry (June 5, 1523 – September 15, 1574)

Family

Marguerite de Valois was born at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, was the youngest daughter of King François I of France and Claude, Duchess of Brittany.

Marguerite de Valois of France, Duchess of Berry

Claude of France (1499-1524) was a queen consort of France by marriage to François I. She was also ruling Duchess of Brittany from 1514. She was a daughter of the French King Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany.

Because her mother, Anne, Duchess of Brittany, had no surviving sons, Claude was heir presumptive to the Duchy of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. Eager to keep Brittany separated from the French crown.

François I, King of France

On August 10, 1501 at Lyon was signed the marriage contract between Claude and the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V by François de Busleyden, Archbishop of Besançon, William de Croÿ, Nicolas de Rutter and Pierre Lesseman, all ambassadors of Duke Philippe of Burgundy, (Felipe I of Spain) Charles’ father.

In 1505, King Louis XII of France was very sick, fearing for his life and not wishing to threaten the reign of his only heir, cancelled the engagement in the Estates Generals of Tours, in favor of the young Duke of Valois, the future François I. Indeed, previously Louise of Savoy obtained from the king a secret promise that Claude could be married to her son.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany (grandmother)

Louise of Savoy was married to Charles d’Orléans (1459-1496) was the Count of Angoulême from 1467 until his death. Charles was a grandson of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, a younger son of King Charles V of France. He was thus a member of the Orléans cadet branch of the ruling House of Valois. The Orléans came to the throne in 1498 in the person of Charles’s nephew Louis XII, who was followed in 1515 by Charles’s own son François I.

Anne of Brittany, furious to see the triumph of Marshal of Gié, exerted all her influence to obtain his conviction for treason before the Parliament of Paris.

Henri II, King of France (Brother)

On January 9, 1514, when her mother died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany; and four months later, on May 18, she married her cousin François at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. With this union, it was secured that Brittany would remain united to the French crown, if the third marriage of Louis XII with Mary of England (celebrated on October 9, 1514) would not produce the long-waited heir. However, the union was short-lived and childless: Louis XII died less than three months later, on January 1, 1515, reputedly worn out by his exertions in the bedchamber. François and Claude became king and queen, the third time in history that the Duchess of Brittany became Queen of France.

Early Life

Marguerite de Valois was very close to her paternal aunt, Marguerite de Navarre, who took care of her and her sister Madeleine during her childhood, and her sister-in-law Catherine de’ Medici.

Near the end of 1538, her father and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, agreed that Marguerite should marry Charles’ son, the future Felipe II of Spain. However, the agreement between François and Charles was short-lived and the marriage never took place.

On April 29, 1550 at the age of 26 she was created suo jure Duchess of Berry.

Marriage

Shortly before her 36th birthday, a marriage was finally arranged for her by her brother King Henri II of France and her former suitor Felipe II of Spain as part of the terms stipulated in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis which was signed by the ambassadors representing the two monarchs on April 3, 1559.

The husband selected for her was Felipe II’s ally, and a cousin of Marguerite, Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy, Prince of Piedmont. At the time, Marguerite was described as having been a “spinster lady of excellent breeding and lively intellect”.

Emanuele-Filiberto I, Duke of Savoy

Emanuele-Filiberto was the only child of Carlo III, Duke of Savoy, and Beatrice of Portugal to reach adulthood. His mother was sister-in-law to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the future duke served in Charles’s army during the war against his future father-in-las, François I of France.

The wedding took place in tragic circumstances. On June 30, 1559 just three days after her marriage contract had been signed, King Henri II was gravely injured during a tournament celebrating the wedding of his eldest daughter Elisabeth to the recently widowed King Felipe II.

A lance wielded by his opponent the Count of Montgomery accidentally struck his helmet at a point beneath the visor and shattered. The wooden splinters deeply penetrated his right eye and entered his brain. Close to death, but still conscious, the king ordered that his sister’s marriage should take place immediately, for fear that the Duke of Savoy might profit from his death and renege on the alliance.

The ceremony did not take place in Notre Dame Cathedral as had been planned. Instead it was a solemn, subdued event conducted at midnight on July 9, in Saint Paul’s, a small church not far from the Tournelles Palace where Margaret’s dying brother was ensconced. Among the few guests was the French queen consort Catherine de’ Medici who sat by herself, weeping. King Henri II died the following day.

Marguerite and her husband had only one surviving child: Charlo-Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy who was born in January 1562, when Marguerite was 38 years of age. He later married Infanta Catherine-Michelle of Spain, the daughter of King Felipe II by his marriage to Marguerite’s niece, Elisabeth de Valois.

Marguerite died on September 15 1574 at the age of 51. She was buried in Turin at the Cathedral of Saint Giovanni Battista.

June 2, 1489: Birth of Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme.

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Charles de Bourbon, Charles III of Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, Francis I of France, Henri IV of France, House of Bourbon, Kingdom of France, Louis I de Bourbon, Prince of Conde

Charles de Bourbon (June 2, 1489 – March 25, 1537) was a French Prince du Sang and military commander at the court of King François I of France. He is notable as the paternal grandfather of King Henri IV of France and Navarre.

Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme

Charles was born at the Château de Vendôme, eldest son of François de Bourbon, Count of Vendôme and Marie of Luxembourg. Marie of Luxembourg (died April 1, 1547) was a French princess, the elder daughter and principal heiress of Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Soissons, and Margaret of Savoy, a daughter of Louis I, Duke of Savoy. She belonged to the French, cadet branch of a dynasty which had reigned as Dukes of Luxembourg, and whose senior line provided several Holy Roman Emperors, before becoming extinct in 1437.

Charles succeeded his father as Count of Vendôme in 1495. Charles’s first military service was in Italy, under King Louis XII of France. In 1514, he was created Duke of Vendôme when the county of Vendôme was elevated into a duchy. He fought at the Battle of Marignano (1515) and participated in the Flemish campaign. Because of his loyalty to the King, he was appointed head of the council when King François I was captured at the Battle of Pavia.

On May 18, 1513, Charles married Françoise d’Alençon (1490 – September 14, 1550) she was the eldest daughter of René of Alençon and Margaret of Lorraine, and the younger sister and despoiled heiress of Charles IV, Duke of Alençon.

They had thirteen children:

1. Louis de Bourbon (1514–1516), died in infancy.
2. Marie de Bourbon (1515–1538), unmarried, prospective bride of King James V of Scotland in 1536.
3. Marguerite de Bourbon (1516–1589), married in 1538, Francis I, Duke of Nevers (1516–1561)
4. Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (1518–1562)
5. François de Bourbon, Count of Enghien (1519–1546), unmarried.
6. Madeleine de Bourbon (1521–1561), Abbess of Sainte-Croix de Poitiers.
7. Louis de Bourbon (1522–1525), died in infancy.
8. Charles de Bourbon (1523–1590), Archbishop of Rouen.
9. Catherine de Bourbon (1525–1594), Abbess of Soissons.
10. Renée de Bourbon (1527–1583), Abbess of Chelles.
11. Jean de Bourbon, Count of Soissons and Enghien (1528–1557), married in 1557, his first cousin, Marie, Duchess of Estouteville (1539–1601).
12. Louis I de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (1530–1569), married Eléonore de Roye, daughter of Charles de Roye, Count of Royce.
13. Léonore de Bourbon (1532–1611), Abbess of Fontevraud.

The successive deaths of his cousins Charles IV, Duke of Alençon (1525) and Charles III, Duke of Bourbon (1527) made him the fourth in the order of succession to the French throne, just behind the king’s sons. At the natural course of affairs his wife, a sister of the last duke of Alençon, would have been the heiress of her brother; but François I allowed his sister, Marguerite of Angoulême, the late duke’s wife, to keep them, even though they did not have children.

Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme

Charles would also have been heir to the duchy of Bourbon, but it was forfeited to the crown by the treason of the last holder. At the death of Constable de Bourbon in 1527, he became the Head of the House of Bourbon.

His son Antoine married Jeanne III d’Albret, Queen of Navarre, daughter of Marguerite of Angoulême, settling the Alençon inheritance. Their son would succeed to the French throne as Henri IV. Antoine and Louis, Prince of Condé, became powerful military leaders on opposite sides in the French Wars of Religion. Charles died at Amiens in 1537 at the age of 47.

Anne of Brittany: Conclusion

Tags

Anne of Brittany, Brittany, Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany, Francis I of France, Henri III of France, Henry VIII, King Henri II of France, King Henry VIII of England, Louis XII of France, Margaret Tudor, Salic Law

Three days after the death of Charles VIII the terms of Anne’s marriage contract became an issue. The contract stipulated that Anne had to marry her husbands successor if Anne and Charles did not have an heir. This clause in the contract was made so France would be able to maintain control over the Duchy of Brittany. There was one significant obstacle to adhering to the clause in the contract. The new King, Louis XII, was already married, to Joan of France, daughter of Louis XI and sister to the recently deceased Charles VIII. On August 19, 1498, at Étampes, Anne agreed to marry Louis XII if he obtained an annulment from Joan within a year. Days later, the process for the annulment of the marriage between Louis XII and Joan of France began. In the interim, Anne returned to Brittany by October of 1498 and began the administration of her Duchy.

(Louis XII of France & Naples)

With Anne being a fierce defender of the independence of Brittany it may seem odd that she agreed to abide by the contract and marry Louis XII. It has been theorized by many historical scholars that Anne was hoping that Pope Alexander VI would not grant the annulment. That was not the case, for Pope Alexander VI dissolved the marriage between Louis XII and Joan of France before the end of the year. * At Nantes, on January 7, 1499 Anne’s signed her third marriage contract and was married to Louis XII that very same day. Anne was 21 and Louis XII was 37.

Since Anne was no longer a child as she was at her first two marriages, she was now a Dowager Queen of France and about to turn the ripe old age of 22 two weeks after her marriage to Louis XII, she was determined to ensure the recognition of her rights as sovereign Duchess of Brittany from the start of this marriage.

Although after the marriage Louis XII exercised Anne’s powers in Brittany, and issued decisions in her name, he did formally recognize her right to the title “Duchess of Brittany” and allowed her to formally use her title. The marriage contract settled the issue of the succession to Duchy. The Contract ensured that their second child, son or daughter, would inherit the duchy of Brittany. Sadly this was a clause that would not be respected in the future. Anne also had her second coronation ceremony as Queen of France which took place on November 18, 1504, again at St. Denis Basilica.

Since Anne, as the reigning Duchess of Brittany fiercely defended the independence of her Duchy, she arranged the marriage of her daughter, Claude, heiress of the Duchy, born October 13, 1499, to Archduke Charles of Austria, (future Holy Roman Emperor Karl V, King of Spain) to reinforce the Franco-Spanish alliance and ensure French success in the Italian Wars. This marriage contract was signed on August 10, 1501 in Lyon by François de Busleyden, Archbshop of Besançon, William de Croÿ, Nicolas de Rutter and Pierre Lesseman, all ambassadors of Archduke Philipp of Austria, reigning Duke of Burgundy, Charles’ father.

After several years of marriage, and with Claude being the only surviving child of Anne and Louis XII, it became readily apparent that Anne would not produce a male heir. Therefore, Louis XII had the arranged marriage between Claude and Archduke Charles of Austria canceled. Alternatively, Louis XII arranged a marriage between Claude and the perspective heir to the French throne, Francis of Angoulême. This would continue to bring Brittany under the direct control of the French Crown. Anne was determined to maintain independence for her Duchy and refused to approve of this union. Anne continued to support the planned marriage between Claude and Archduke Charles, and added the addendum that her other daughter, Renée, would inherit the Duchy, forever keeping it out of the clutches of the French Crown. She was so against the marriage between Claude and Francis of Angoulême that she withheld any support or sanctioning of the union until her dying day.

Death

At the still young age of 37 Anne died at 6 a.m. on January 9, 1514 of a kidney-stone attack while at the Château de Blois. It has been theorized that her health declined, hastening her demise, due to her many pregnancies and miscarriages. According to her will her body was partitioned. The customary partitioning of her body (dilaceratio corporis, “division of the body” in heart, entrails and bones) allowed for multiple burials, a privilege of the Capetian dynasty, which also allowed for multiple ceremonies.

(Arms of Anne of Brittany)

Anne’s will also granted the succession of Brittany to her second daughter, Renée. Louis XII ignored Anne’s Will and confirmed Claude as Duchess of Brittany. On May 18, 1514, Francis of Angoulême married his second cousin Claude, the new reigning Duchess of Brittany. The younger daughter, Renée (1510–1575), married Duke Ercole II of Ferrara. After the death of Anne, Louis XII married Mary Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII of England, in Abbeville, France, on October 9, 1514. This represented a final attempt to produce an heir to the French throne, for despite two previous marriages the king had no living sons. On December 24, 1514, Louis was reportedly suffering from a severe case of gout. In the early hours of January 1, 1515, he had received the final sacraments and died later that evening. Louis XII was interred in Saint Denis Basilica. He was 52 years old and had reigned for 17 Years.

Succession

The succession to the throne of France followed Salic Law, which did not allow women to inherit the throne or pass on succession right to their issue. As a result, Louis XII was succeeded by Francis I. Born to Louise of Savoy, on September 12, 1494. Francis I was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême and he was a great-great grandson of King Charles V of France. This meant that the Duchy of Brittany was once again the property of the queen consort of France.

(Tomb of Anne of Brittany and Charles VIII of France)

Anne’s marriage with Louis XII of France, produced at least another nine pregnancies:

* Claude of France (13 October 1499 – 20 July 1524), who succeeded her as Duchess of Brittany and later also became Queen consort of France as wife of Francis I.
* miscarriage (1500).
* Stillborn son (21 January 1503).
* miscarriage (end 1503).
* miscarriage (1505).
* miscarriage (1508).
* miscarriage (1509).
* Renée of France (25 October 1510 – 12 June 1574), married Ercole II d’Este, the Duke of Ferrara, and became Duchess of Ferrara of Chartres, and Lady of Montargis on occasion of her wedding.
* Stillborn son (January 1512).

Each miscarriage or stillbirth is said to have delighted the ambitious Louise of Savoy, whose son Francis was the heir apparent under the Salic Law. There even existed contemporary rumours that Louise used witchcraft to kill Anne’s sons. Anne’s male bloodline ended with her great-grandson Henri III of France in 1589.

Through her granddaughter Margaret, Duchess of Savoy (Claude’s youngest daughter), Anne of Brittany was the ancestor of Vittorio Emanuele IV, Prince of Naples, and the current pretender to the throne of Italy. Through her great-granddaughter Claude, Duchess of Lorraine (daughter of Henri II of France), Anne is also the ancestor of Karl II von Habsburg, Archduke of Austria, the current pretender to the throne of Austria. Through her granddaughter Anna d’Este (Renée’s eldest daughter), Anne of Brittany is also the ancestor of the Houses of Guise and Savoy-Nemours.

* The marriage and annulment between Louis XII and Joan of France was rather complex and the details of this will be addressed in a future blog post.