Claude of France (1499-1524)

Biography

Claude of France , born the October 13rd 1499, dead the July 20th 1524, was in title duchess of Brittany in 1514, queen of France in 1515, countess of Soissons, Blois, Coucy, Stamps and, Montfort, duchess of Milan.

Girl of the king Louis XII and the duchess Anne of Brittany, it cannot like girl succeed her father on the throne of France, but the absence of a brother allows him the succession of the Brittany. Heiress of Brittany, it is promised in marriage to the archduke Charles of Austria (the future Charles Quint), duke of Burgundy and grandson of the emperor Maximilien (itself first husband of Anne of Brittany). This engagement would have made pass to the Brittany to died of Anne in the hands of this prince already heir to Austria, Spain and the " empire" Burgundian. In 1505, wanting to avoid the surrounding of the kingdom and the loss of Brittany, very sick Louis XII makes cancel this engagement by the General states, with the profit of the young count d' Angoulême, the future François I {{er}}, to which Claude had been promised for four years by a provision remained secret.

Claude thus marries on May 8th 1514 the count François of Angouleme, future François Ier de France, of which it is the first woman, ensuring the Brittany to him at least, if Louis XII and its new queen, Marie of England would have designed a dolphin. The Claude duchess never controlled the Brittany and usufruct yielded some to her husband, then on a purely perpetual basis in 1515. Contrary to its younger sister Renee, it seems to be never interested in its heritage maternal and to have shown no provision with policy, while it preferred to devote to the religion, under the influence, according to certain sources, of Cristoforo Numai, which had been the confessor of Louise of Savoy, mother of François Ist.

His/her oldest son the dolphin François succeeded to him on the throne of Brittany under the name of François III, his father the king preserving the usufruct of the duchy.

In connection with the queen Claude of France, Pierre de Brantôme wrote:

“ It is necessary to speak Mrs Claude about France, which fust very good and very charitable, and extremely soft with everyone, and fist never to desplaisir ny badly with any of its court ny of its kingdom. It fust aussy extremely aymée of the roy Louys, and the royne Anne, its father & mother, and estoit their good girl and bien-aymée, as ilz luy monstrarent well; because amprès that the roy fust peaceful duke of Milan, ilz made it declare and to proclaim in its court of Parliament of Paris, with huys open, duchess of two more beautiful duchez of chrestienté, which estoient Milan and Bretaigne, one coming from the father and the other from the mother. What a heiress! if it you plaist. These two duchez joinctes together had well faict a beautiful kingdom ”

As much François was large and athletic, as much Claude was small. Its successive maternities made it appear continuously well in flesh with the dires of the Court, which made a subject of mockery of it. The foreign ambassadors note his " strong corpulence" , its boitery, the strabism of its left eye, its very small size, its ugliness and its obliteration, not to stress that its noble-heartedness. She was liked little at the court after the death of her parents. Brantôme will testify " that the roy its mary luy gave the pox, which him advança its days. And Madam the regent (Louise of Savoy), rudoyait it extremely (...) " The king will impose the omnipresence of his mistress to him, Francoise de Châteaubriant.

The race of plum trees Reine-Claude owes him its name.

Children

Louise (August 19th, 1515 - September 21st, 1518)
Charlotte (October 23rd, 1516 - 1524)
François (February 28th, 1518 - August 10th, 1536), dolphin of France, crowned in Rennes duke of Brittany under the name of François III
Henri (March 31st, 1519 - July 10th, 1559) dolphin of France, last duke of Brittany in title with died of François III Duke of Brittany, king de France
Madeleine (August 10th, 1520 - July 2nd, 1537), queen of Scotland by its marriage in 1537 with Jacques V of Scotland
Charles (January 22nd, 1522 - September 9th, 1545), duke of Orleans
Marguerite (June 5th, 1523 - September 14th, 1574), duchess of Savoy by her marriage in 1559 with Emmanuel-Philibert of Savoy

The Claude queen died in layers of an eighth child still-born child in 1524. She was not any more that the shade of itself, exhausted by her successive pregnancies whose first had been carried whereas she was only 15 years old.

See too

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