rhyssain – Page 14 – French Travel Boutique

Bedroom dedicated to Marguerite at Clos Lucé

2 Mins Read

Marguerite’s Bedroom

François’ legitimate* sister Marguerite became a major player throughout his reign. Their father had died when Marguerite was three years old and François a fifteen month old baby. Two years later, a strange set of circumstances led to François becoming heir to the throne – if the new king Louis XII died without a male heir. Louis decided François should come from Cognac to be brought up at the royal chateau in Amboise. A short walk from the chateau of Amboise was a smaller mansion, now known as Clos Lucé. It had been bought by Louis XII’s predecessor. His wife, the Queen Anne of Brittany used it as a sort of summer garden residence. Accounts vary saying that François’ mother Louise bought the Chateau and that Marguerite later used it as a residence when she and her first husband were visiting Amboise. A bedroom at Clos Lucé is now dedicated to Marguerite. Marguerite was described by the poet Clément Marot as having the “body of a woman, heart of a man, head of an angel”. When François became King he showered gifts and privileges on his sister. She was often at his side acting as hostess in place of Queen Claude who was pregnant most of the time. She had been very well educated. As well as being a writer herself, she was a protector of writers, with many dedicating their work to her. Marguerite’s book “Le Miroir de l’Ame pêcheresse” – Mirror of the Sinful Soul – was translated into English by the future Queen Elizabeth I of England when she was only 11. This book is one of a number of titles, along with her major work, “The Heptameron” which are still sold today. Marguerite’s second marriage made her the Queen of Navarre. Her grandson would be King of Navarre before becoming King Henri IV of France. *François also had three illegitimate sisters. He was born at the chateau of Cognac, where his father Charles lived happily in a ménage à 4, with François’ mother Louise and his two mistresses and their children. François’ mother Louise became a widow at the age of 19. Louise kept the strange household together when François became heir to the throne at the age of three. She shocked the court when she moved the entire family to Amboise. One of Charles’ illegitimate daughters became an Abbess and very good marriages were arranged for the other two. Even as King, François saw his half sisters regularly and they were present at all the important state occasions.

1 Min Read

Henri III’s Bed

Henri was Catherine de Medici’s favourite son. At the age of twenty, Henri fell in love with Marie de Cleves. Catherine did not consider Marie worthy of her favourite son and married her off. Always conscious of placing her children in positions of power, she pushed Henri to accept the offer of the Polish nobles to become their king. His older brother Charles was King and only 23 years old, so Henri’s prospects in France were not bright. In Nancy on his way to Poland Henri met Louise of Lorraine, a lovely young noblewoman. Six months after arriving in Poland, Henri learnt his brother Charles had died, making him King of France. He immediately fled from Poland without any explanation and returned to France. He was determined to annul Marie’s marriage and was devastated when she died shortly after his return. He remembered Louise of Lorraine and married her the day after his coronation. Henri III is the person who introduced a new court etiquette which reached its zenith later under Louis XIV at Versailles. Henri III was usually surrounded by his friends, referred to disparagingly as “the mignons” (little darlings). The emphasis on fashion, make up and earrings left the impression that Henri and his friends were effeminate. In fact, along with the perfume and posing, they were a group of young men who were as interested in fighting and bedding females as fashion. Henri had been married for fourteen years when he was himself the victim of an assassination when a monk stabbed him in the lower stomach—it’s a risk you take when you grant an audience while sitting on the toilet.

Catherine de Medici ‘s bed in the Chateau of Blois

1 Min Read

Catherine de Medici’s Beds

In spite of all sorts of weird and wonderful measures, Catherine did not become pregnant for ten years. When Henri became heir to the throne after the unexpected death of his older brother, this became a pressing issue. Francois I liked his daughter in law and refused her offer to disappear to a convent and allow Henri to remarry. Henri’s mistress Diane was also supportive. It was not in her interests to have Catherine replaced. The problem was finally identified, a solution found, and Catherine gave birth to a son, named Francois after the King. The following year she gave birth to a daughter who would become the Queen of Spain. In all Catherine had 10 children, three of whom became Kings of France. As King, Henri appeared to the world to be a devoted husband . His relationship with Diane seemed innocent, given their age difference. Catherine de Medici bought the Chateau of Chaumont about three years after Henri became king. Her new chateau was exactly half way between the royal chateaux of Blois and Amboise. Shortly after becoming King, Henri showered Diane with gifts and made her a duchess. He also gave her the Chateau of Chenonceau. When Henri died, Catherine forced Diane to swap it for her own chateau of Chaumont. Catherine turned Chenonceau into a party venue. Although she remained the austere widow, always dressed in black, Catherine surrounded herself with beautiful young noble women—”the flying squadron” – who entertained the important men of the court and acted as spies for her.

1 Min Read

Catherine de Medici’s Astrologer

Catherine de Medici, believed to have psychic powers herself, was a great believer in astrology. In addition to consulting Nostradamus, she had ongoing advice from her astrologer Cosimo Ruggieri. The Chateau of Chaumont It is often stated that she summoned Ruggieri to Chaumont on her last visit before handing it over to Diane de Poitiers. He used a mirror to predict the future which was not overly encouraging for Catherine or her sons. There is a dispute whether it was actually Nostradamus who made the prediction as he had already prophesied the death of Henri II. Chaumont has been a state owned museum since 1938. The rooms have been furnished to evoke some of the past occupants. Because of a symbol over the fireplace which was thought to be associated with astrology, this room was set up as Ruggieri’s bed chamber. Ruggieri is mainly credited with warning Catherine de Medici that she would die “near Saint Germain”. At the time, as Queen Mother, she was no longer occupying the Queen’s apartment at the Louvre and was building her own palace at the Tuileries. As this was near the St Germain de l’Auxerrois church, she decided to abandon the idea of having this as her principal residence. She built a lavish new palace in the parish of Saint Eustache. More than 15 years later, Catherine was ill at the Chateau of Blois. A priest was called and she asked his name. He told her it was Julien de Saint-Germain. She knew her time had come. All that still exists of Catherine’s residence in Paris is the Medici Column, next to the Bourse de Commerce near Les Halles. This was the perfect place for Ruggieri to observe the sky. It is also where we can see Catherine’s version of Henri’s coat of arms with the extended “C”

1 Min Read

Louise of Lorraine’s Bed

Louise had planned to establish a convent in her chateau. After she died, her sister-in-law, in keeping with her wishes, set up a convent for the Capucine nuns, Twelve nuns initially lived in the upper level of the chateau while their permanent convent (which ended up being in Paris) was built. Louise had not been able to have a child. It was the end of the Valois line which had begun with Henri’s grandfather François I. The heir to the throne was the grandson of François’ sister Marguerite— Henri de Navarre.

Less than a minute

Diane de Poitiers’ Beds

Diane had married Louis de Brézé when she was 15 and he in his mid 50’s. Louis went straight off to war with François in Italy and Diane became a maid of honour for the King’s mother Louise. The marriage was very solid in spite of the age difference. When Diane became a widow at the age of 31, she decided to wear only black and white from then on, as François’ mother Louise had done, as a public demonstration she did not intend to remarry. When he became King, Henri made Diane a duchess. He also rebuilt Louis de Brézé’s Chateau of Anet for her where this bed is featured. After Henri gave Diane the Chateau de Chenonceau, she turned it into a model of business based on agriculture. Her bed there is just one of an impressive collection which includes queens, princesses and king’s mistresses. After Henri II’s death, Diane retired to her Chateau d’Anet where she died seven years later at the age of 66. The discovery of her skeleton in 2010 revealed the secret of her timeless beauty—a daily dose of liquid gold.

2 Mins Read

Roi de Rome’s Cradle

Josephine was a widow with two children when she married Napoleon. He was keen to have an heir but initially Josephine was indifferent. As she already had children (Hortense and Eugene) it was a natural assumption that it was Napoleon who had a problem. By the time she realised it was a major issue, her age came into play (she was seven years older than Napoleon). When the young Polish Countess Marie Walewska gave birth to Napoleon’s son, Josephine knew her days were numbered. Napoleon looked around for a young wife who would bring both a royal connection and a son and heir. He married the Austrian emperor’s eldest daughter Marie-Louise (who was also the great niece of Marie-Antoinette). Less than a year after the arrival of the 18 year old bride, she gave birth to Napoleon’s much desired son. Named Napoleon François Joseph Charles, the son was given the title of King of Rome. Napoleon had decided to make Rome the second capital of the empire and his son was called the King of Rome. He had grand plans for his son including a magnificent residence where Trocadero now stands. The City of Paris presented the imperial couple with a cradle worthy of the Emperor’s heir. It was a magnificent creation made of gilded silver lavishly decorated with bronze and gold with the requisite eagle and winged victory among its symbols. When Napoleon was exiled on Elba, his wife took her son and his lavish cradle back to Vienna with her. It is now on display at the Hofberg Palace in Vienna. However the governess appointed by Napoleon, had ordered other cradles – an elm wood cradle for the Tuileries Palace with its green fabric as well as another rocker for the imperial residence at Saint Cloud (also fitted with green fabric, believed to be the ideal colour for creating a tranquil environment for sleeping) . They are both on display at the Chateau of Fontainebleau. By all accounts, Napoleon was a wonderful father. At Compiègne he furnished Marie-Antoinette’s former apartments for the baby. The walls were left as they were in her time with new furniture added. After he was forced to abdicate, he did so in favour of his son who would become Napoleon II. Although this was not accepted, he had expected that Marie-Louise would bring the three year old child to live with him on the island of Elba. Unfortunately she took him back to her father, the Austrian Emperor, who changed his name and raised him as an Austrian Duke, forbidding any association with France or the French. He died of tuberculosis in Schonbrunn Palace in Austria at the age of 21. For the supporters of Napoleon, he was Napoleon II which was why Napoleon’s nephew called himself Napoleon III when he took power in 1851. The body of Napoleon’s son remained in Germany until the Second World War. Hitler made a short visit to Paris which included Les Invalides where Napoleon’s tomb takes pride of place. As a PR gesture, Hitler decided to return the King of Rome’s remains in 1940. The sarcophagus was placed in one of the chapels until 1969. On the two hundredth anniversary of Napoleon’s birth, his son was buried downstairs near his father.

Portrait,_The_Duke_of_Bordeaux,_Dubois-Drahonet

1 Min Read

Henri d’Artois

After the French Revolution and the defeat of Napoleon, Louis XVI’s brothers returned to France. As Louis XVIII had never had children, he would be succeeded by his younger brother the Comte d’Artois (who became Charles X in 1824 when Louis died). His elder son married his cousin, Marie-Thérèse, the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. They were married in exile. With the returned monarchy under Charles X they were next in line to the throne. However, they never had children so the fate of the Bourbon monarchy depended on Charles X’s younger son, known as the Duke de Berri. The Duke de Berri married Princess Marie-Caroline of Naples and Sicily after the re-establishment of the Bourbon monarchy in France. Unfortunately the prospects for an heir from them were also not looking good when the Duchess’ first two babies died within days of their birth. Their third child was a girl (who therefore could not inherit the throne). Five months after his daughter’s birth, the Duke de Berri was assassinated. It meant the end of the Bourbon dynasty – EXCEPT that the Duchess de Berri happened to be several weeks pregnant at the time. The Bourbons awaited the birth with baited breath. The “miracle child” was born in September 1820 and occupied this oak cradle with a veneer of ash, elm, walnut and amaranth and extensive gilded bronze trim. Silver braided white velvet lined the inside with two green silk curtains with a border of gold fleur de lys hanging from the top of the horn of abundance above two other gold fringed muslin curtains. When Charles X was forced to abdicate in 1830, he convinced his reluctant elder son to abdicate at the same time. He made it known they were abdicating in favour of his grandson, who was then 9 years old.* The Chambers did not agree and Louis-Philippe was named King of the French. *This “miracle child” grew up to be known as the Comte de Chambord. He almost became king many years later when Napoleon III was defeated but his insistence that the French tricolour flag be replaced with a white fleur de lys flag was unacceptable and a Third Republic took over from the Second Empire. It was the end of the Bourbon dynasty.

1 Min Read

Prince Louis Napoleon’s Cradle

When Napoleon III came to power, like his uncle Napoleon, he was conscious of the need for an heir. He married Eugenie, a Spanish countess who had been educated in Paris. The 33 year old bride quickly became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage. Three years later she gave birth to a son – Napoleon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph, known as the Prince Imperial. Queen Victoria was his godmother. As they had done before for Napoleon’s son, the City of Paris presented the Imperial couple with an elaborate cradle. It was designed, made and decorated by all of the most important names of the period. When Napoleon III was forced to abdicate the family moved to England. He died there two years later. In 1872 at the age of 16 the Prince Imperial he passed the entry exam for the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. Like Napoleon Bonaparte, he graduated as an artillery officer. He was very conscious of his military heritage and insisted on joining his class mates from Woolwich in the British combat against the Zulus in South Africa. He was killed there at the age of 23. Paying homage to his courage, the Zulus returned his uniform and other personal items they had taken from his body. He was finally buried with his father in England. Queen Victoria had a monument erected to mark the place he had died and placed a memorial tomb in his honour which can be seen in the chapel at Windsor castle.

2 Mins Read

Louis XIV’s Legitimised Children

Louise de la Vallière Louis XIV legitimised his two surviving children by Louise de la Vallière and the six he had with Athenaïs de Montespan. Not content with legitimising them, he married them off to princes and princesses of the blood* much to the chagrin of the families concerned. Enormous dowries helped the deals. He went a step further with his youngest daughter and married her to his own brother’s son and heir. Marie-Anne de Bourbon was Louis’ favourite child. At thirteen he organised a grand celebration for her marriage to the nineteen year old Prince de Conti. He died five years later. They had no children and she did not remarry. Louis, named after his father, was made a Count when he was two years old. When he was thirteen he was seduced by Philippe de Lorraine, the lover of the Duke of Orleans (Louis XIV’s brother and Henriette’s husband, who was notoriously homosexual). When the beautiful young Louis became involved in a relationship with his sister’s brother-in-law, it was too much for Louis XIV. Young Louis died in disgrace at sixteen. Madame de Montespan Louis-César had a twisted spine from birth which discounted a military career. Louis made him the abbot of Saint Denis. He died at the age of ten. His sister Louise Marie Anne died at the age of six. The up-side of Mme de Montespan’s rejection by Louis was that she had time to personally care for her son who was often bed ridden at her residence. Louis-Auguste was the eldest and favorite son. Louis made him the Duke of Maine. Louis wanted him to be able to inherit the throne if his legitimate heirs died, which suited his ambitious wife but was never going to happen. At twelve Louise-Françoise had married the Duke of Bourbon, future Prince of Condé. Although it was not a happy marriage, they produced nine children. She was close to Louis XIV’s legitimate son and heir, the Grand Dauphin. Like her siblings, Françoise-Marie’s marriage was not happy. Louis’ nephew called his wife “Madame Lucifer”. In spite of that they had eight children, most of whom were regarded as badly brought up and unpleasant. Louis-Alexandre turned out to be a brave military man and, like his father, had an interest in fine residences. He bought the Chateau of Rambouillet and his magnificent Paris residence now houses the Bank of France. Louis did not arrange his youngest son’s marriage. He married for love, after his father had died. The only problem was his wife was the widow of his mother’s son from her marriage. *Princes of the Blood—direct descendants of the Capetians through the male line not in the King’s immediate family. Louis XII, François I and Henri IV were Princes of the Blood before inheriting the throne when the previous king died without a direct male heir. In the time of Louis XIV, the Princes of Condé and Conti were the “Princes of the Blood” which placed them second in line to the King’s direct family, above the dukes. When Louis married his children into those families, it meant their descendants were “Princes of the blood”.