Charles VIII of France, known as the Affable, was born at Château d'Amboise on the 30th of June 1470. He was the only surviving son of King Louis XI of France, called the Prudent and the Spider, and his second queen, Charlotte de Savoy. His four brothers were all either...
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...
King François I’s Book of Hours!
King François I’s Book of Hours! It belonged to the art-loving Knight-King, the first Renaissance King of France! It appears in my novels from time to time as François uses it quite often for prayers. Purchased in the 1530s, François used it every day. It is a stunning masterpiece of...
A goddess to fill the royal nursery with Tudor sons
King Henry VIII met Anne von Cleves privately on New Year’s Day 1540 at Rochester Abbey on her journey from Dover. The king, accompanied by his few courtiers, arrived at the abbey with the intention to woo his bride with courtly love. He went to Anne’s rooms disguised, so Anne,...
Fulk III Nerra, Count of Anjou: incredible and savage
On the 21st of June 1040, Fulk III Nerra, also known as Fulk the Black (French: Foulques le Noir), who was Count of Anjou from 987 to 1040, died at the old age of 69-70. Fulk was a powerful early ruler of the Angevin dynasty that originated in the County...
Entrancing brown eyes
In accordance with my contract with my new publisher, I have the right to submit the final version of my novel ‘Between Two Kings’ about Anne Boleyn by the 30th of June 2020. Therefore, I am now polishing the manuscript, adding something and making some descriptions more compact. I’ve added two...
The Château de Chenonceau: “Château des Dames” of the Loire Valley
The Château de Chenonceau is a magnificent castle spanning the River Cher. It is located close to the village of Chenonceaux in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. One of the most famous châteaux of the Loire valley, it is a unique Renaissance castle, a fairytale and...
Marguerite de Valois, Duchess de Berry: birth and late marriage
Marguerite de Valois, Duchess de Berry, was born on the 5th of June 1523 at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. She was the youngest daughter and child of King François I of France and his first wife – Queen Claude of France, Duchess de Bretagne. In a year after her birth,...
Isabella of Angoulême, second wife of King John of England
Isabella of Angoulême, second wife of King John of England, died on the 4th of June 1246 at Fontevraud Abbey, where she was buried in the abbey’s churchyard, as if seeking atonement for her misdeeds. Years after her death, her eldest son with John, King Henry III of England, arrived at Fontevraud...
Death of Queen Adela of France, King Louis VII’s third wife
Queen Adela of France, King Louis VII of France’s third wife, died on the 4th of June 1206 and was buried in the Church of Pontigny Abbey near Auxerre. She was also known as Adelaide, Alix, and Adela of #Champagne. She was the third child of Theobald II, Count of Champagne; she...
Birth of Charles de Bourbon, Duke de Vendôme – King Henri IV of France’s grandfather
Charles de Bourbon, Duke de Vendôme, was born on the 2nd of June 1489. He was a French noblewoman ranked as prince du sang – a person legitimately descended in dynastic line from any of a realm’s hereditary monarchs. Born at the Château de Vendôme, his birth brought a profound...
Birth of Geoffrey Plantagenet, second son of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou and Empress Matilda
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Nantes, was born in Rouen on the 1st of June 1134. He was second of the three sons of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou and Empress Matilda. Also known as Geoffrey of Anjou and Geoffrey FitzEmpress, he was Count of Nantes from 1156 to 1158. Geoffrey’s...