Suzanne de Bourbon was born on the 10th of May 1491 at Château de Châtellerault. Her parents were Pierre II, Seigneur de Beaujeu and later Duke de Bourbon and d’Auvergne, and Anne of France, who both served as co-regents of France during the minority of King Charles VIII of France...
Jeanne of France: a princess better suited to be a nun
Princess Jeanne of France was born on the 23rd of April 1464 (died on the 4th of February 1505) to King Louis XI of France known as the Cunning (le Rusé) or the Universal Spider (l’Universelle Aragne) and his second spouse, Charlotte de Savoy. Jeanne was the 5th couple’s child...
The Tragedy of Gaston de Foix, a stellar military commander
Gaston de Foix, Duke de Nemours, was born on the 10th of December 1489 to Jean de Foix, Viscount de Narbonne, and his wife, Marie d’Orléans, in the town of Mazères, County of Foix. Gaston was also Count d’Étampes and Viscount de Narbonne, for his father died in 1500. From...
A forgotten Valois prince: Charles, Count d’Angoulême and father of King François I (part 1)
Charles d’Orléans, Count d’Angoulême (born in 1459 and died on the 1st of January 1496) was a member of the French Valois-Orléans-Angoulême branch of the royal House of Valois. He was descended from Louis I, Duke d’Orléans, who was the youngest surviving son of King Charles V of France known...
Coronation of Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, in France
On the 5th November of 1514, the 18-year-old-year Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, was crowned Queen of France at the ancient Basilica of Saint-Denis, located in the suburbs of Paris, France. It was not a felicitous day for the English princess who had become an unwilling French queen,...
Renée of France: a Valois princess, a Protestant Duchess of Ferrara
The Valois Princess Renée of France was born on the 25th of October 1510 at Château de Blois, in the town of Blois, in the Loire Valley, France. The second surviving daughter of King Louis XII of France and Anne de Bretagne (Anne of Brittany), Renée was the first French...
Marie d’Anjou: a model queen as wife of King Charles VII of France
Marie d’Anjou, who was a daughter of Louis II d’Anjou and his wife, Yolande of Aragon, was born on the 14th of October 1404. Marie was betrothed to Charles de Valois for years: their betrothal agreement had first been signed when he had been the youngest son of Charles VI...
Doomed Dauphin Charles Orland and Anne de Bretagne’s unsuccessful pregnancies
Charles Orland, Dauphin of France, was born on the 11th of October 1492. His parents were King Charles VIII of France called the Affable (l’Affable) and Anne de Bretagne (Anne of Brittany), who was his consort and Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Charles Orland was their eldest son,...
Pierre II, Duke de Bourbon: a husband of the formidable Anne de Beaujeu
Pierre II, Duke de Bourbon, breathed his last on the 10th of October 1503 in Moulins, France, at the age of 64 (he was born on the 1st of December 1438). He was the son of Charles I, Duke de Bourbon, and Agnes de Bourgogne. Although he was originally betrothed...
Ludovico Maria Sforza: a Duke of Milan and a Renaissance Prince
Ludovico Maria Sforza, also known as Ludovico Il Moro, or ‘the Moor’, was born on the 27th of July 1452 and died in 1508. He ruled as Duke of Milan from 1494, following the death of his nephew Gian Galeazzo Sforza (the son of Ludovico’s elder brother, Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza)...
Louis XII of France: a king by accident with dreams of Italian conquests
King Louis XII of France was born on the 27th of June 1462 at Château de Blois. The son of Duke Charles d'Orléans, and Mary of Cleves, Louis XII succeeded his father only at the age of 3. King Louis XI appointed the chief councilors and servitors of the young...
Princess Mary Tudor: biding her time after marrying Louis XII
On the 13th of August 1514, Princess Mary Tudor was married to King Louis XII of France by proxy at Greenwich Palace. A young and beautiful maid became the wife of an ailing and old monarch! Mary was eighteen, while Louis was fifty-two! However, the age difference did not matter...