History offers us the lives of many historical figures who are forgotten or almost forgotten, some of them having quite interesting life stories. One of such people is Charles II de Valois, Duke d’Orléans. Born on the 22nd of January 1522, Charles was a 3rd son of King François I...
Bonne de Luxembourg: a Queen of France in waiting
Bonne de Luxembourg, first wife of King Jean II the Good (le Bon), was born on the 20th of May 1315. She was the second daughter of John the Blind, King of Bohemia, and his first spouse, Elisabeth of Bohemia. When the baby girl first saw the world, she was...
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...
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...
King Jean II of France: family background, personality, and actions
King Jean II of France known as the Good (le Bon) was born on the 16th of April 1319 at Château du Gué-de-Maulny near Le Mans, in France. Given the horrendous troubles his reign brought to France, I think that he should be known not as the Good, but as...
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...
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...
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...
Eleanor of Austria: a daughter of illustrious parents, a marriage pawn
It is not enough to have illustrious parents and lineages to be happy. The life of a queen, a princess, or a royal descendant did not belong to her: from her birth, a royal girl was a valuable commodity in the European marriage market, especially if her parents were the...
Charlotte de Savoy: a virtuous and traditional Queen of France
Charlotte de Savoy, a daughter of Duke Louis de Savoy and his wife, Anne of Cyprus, was born on the 11th of November 1441 or 1443. She was one of her parents’ 19 children; 14 of them survived into adulthood. Although the House of Savoy often intermarried with their French...
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...
The Treaty of Brétigny: English temporary triumph over the French
On the 24th of October 1360, the Treaty of Brétigny was ratified, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War. This treaty was a sheer calamity for France and a temporary victory for England. This document was drafted on the 8th of May 1360 between King...