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.
