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...
Catherine de’ Medici: birth, loss of parents, and Italian politics
Caterina Maria Romula de’ Medici, who was destined to become Queen of France as wife of King Henri II of France, was born at around 11 o’clock on the 13th of April 1519 in Florence. Her father was a Italian nobleman and scion of the ruling Medici House of Florence...
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 3)
Let’s speak about genealogy. Count Charles d’Angoulême was not as highly inbred as many of his Valois cousins were. However, how was the count related to his wife, Louis de Savoy? Louise de Savoy was the eldest daughter of Philippe II, Duke of Savoy and his first wife, Marguerite de...
A forgotten Valois prince: Charles, Count d’Angoulême and father of King François I (part 2)
Charles d’Orléans, Count d’Angoulême, spent a lot of money on books. He had a network of agents in Italy, France, and other countries, who purchased rare and old manuscripts for him. The count collected in his library at Château de Cognac. His large library included more than 1000 manuscripts. Charles...
Anne Boleyn’s Education and Life at the French Court
In 1522, a young, sophisticated woman arrived at the English court after spending most of her life in two continental courts. Intelligent, educated, and stylish beyond the typical English lady, Anne Boleyn dazzled the court and set herself on a path that would lead to the heights of power before...
Between Two Kings: Q & A session with Olivia Longueville
Between Two Kings (Book One in Anne Boleyn Alternate History Trilogy) Blog Materials – use as much or as little as you like; please don’t feel that you have to use everything. I’ve included a variety of things so that you can select what you want to use for your...
The novel ‘Between Two Kings’ is out! Anne Boleyn lives!
Dear friends and subscribers! The novel ‘Between Two Kings’ is out! Anne Boleyn lives in my new Historical Fiction Alternate Aeries about Anne Boleyn! My novel ‘Between Two Kings’ is finally out! It was rewritten in my new style, and new plotlines were added. I hope you will enjoy this...
Veronica Gambara: a Renaissance poetess and stateswoman
Veronica Gambara was born on the 29 or 30th of November 1485 (she died on the 13th of June 1550). This illustrious woman was not only an Italian poet, stateswoman, and political leader, but also the ruler of the County of Corregio from 1518 until 1550. Veronica was born in...
Jeanne d’Albert: childhood and first marriage
Jeanne d’Albert was born at Château de Fontainebleau on the 7th of January 1528 (she died on the 16th of November 1572 in Paris, France, at the age of 43). This wonderful princess, later Queen of Navarre in her own right, deserves several articles dedicated to her, for she lived...
The goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini: a turbulent and artistic soul
Born on the 3rd of November 1500 in Florence, Benvenuto Cellini was a son of Giovanni Cellini and Maria Lisabetta Granacci. As his father and mother were a musician and a creator of musical instruments, Benvenuto’s father wanted his son to become a musician. At the age of 15, Giovanni...
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,...
Marriage of Catherine de’ Medici and Prince Henri, Duke d’Orléans
Royal weddings were rarely fascinating fairytales of love – they aimed to foster allegiances and cement alliances. Soon after his return home, Prince Henri, Duke d’Orléans (future King Henri II of France), found himself at the center of his father King François I’s marial plans for him. Henri and his...
The meeting of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn with François I of France in Calais
Imagine that we are in the city of Calais in Tudor England. This place had a special meaning for King Henry VIII because it was the last remnant of the once substantial English possessions on the continent. King Henry and his beloved Anne Boleyn sailed to Calais to meet with...
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...