MARGUERITE
François’ legitimate* sister Marguerite became a major player throughout his reign.
They spent their childhood together at the royal chateau of Amboise. Marguerite was physically active, an excellent horse rider and had no problem keeping up with her brother and his friends.
When Marguerite was 17 King Louis XII arranged her marriage to 20 year old Charles d’Alençon. She moved to Normandy to live in an old château with her husband who was, like most young nobles, a soldier.
When they visited the court, they stayed near the Chateau of Amboise at Clos Lucé, the small mansion purchased by Charles VIII as a sort of retreat for his Queen Anne of Brittany.
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 François’ wife Queen Claude who was pregnant most of the time.
Marguerite 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 husband died in 1525. Two years later at 34 she became the Queen of Navarre when
she married Henri II of Navarre, who was then 23. We meet Marguerite’s grandson further down the track when he becomes King Henry IV of France.
Before we move on to the other women in François’ life, while we are at Clos Lucé we can do a quick
detour to discover the bed of the man who became a surrogate father to François – Leonardo de
Vinci –