On this Day in French Royal/Imperial History

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, April 30, 1553 ~ Birth of Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont, Queen of France, spouse of King Henry III of France, in Nomeny, Francessssss

Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont was the daughter of f Nicolas de Lorraine , Count of Vaudémont and Duke of Mercœur and Marguerite d'Egmont.
Her father was related to the Houses of Guise and Lorraine whilst her mother was the daughter of the Count of Egmont.

Sadly Louise's mother died a little over a year later and her father remarried to Jeanne de Savoie-Nemours who raised Louise until her death in 1568 and her father was quickly remarried to Catherine de Lorraine-Aumale the same year.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, May 9, 1753 ~ King Louis XV of France disbanded French parliament

 

[An Ard Ri]

May 9th ,1315 : Death of Hugh V of Burgundy


Hugh V was Duke of Burgundy from 1306 until his death and was the son of Robert II and Agnes de France .
The duke died at Argilly and was buried at L’abbaye Notre-Dame de Cîteaux .As he never married he was succeeded by his younger Odo IV.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_V,_Duke_of_Burgundy

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, May 10, 1774 ~ Demise of King Louis XV of France at the Palace of Versailles

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, May 10, 1774 ~ Demise of King Louis XV of France at the Palace of Versailles

Louis XV had been king for just under 60 years and died of smallpox at 3.30pm on May 10th at the Palace of Versailles.
His remains were taken on May 12th to St Denis for burial.

Within hours his mistress Madame du Barry was exiled from court and banished to L'abbaye du Pont-aux-Dames.
The Countess was released in 1789 and took a new lover Louis,Duke of Brissac who was murdered during the September Massacres of 1792.
The Comtesse du Barry was arrested and executed December 8th , 1793.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, May 14, 1553 ~ Birth of Marguerite de Valois, Queen of France, wife of King Henry IV of France, at Chateau de Saint-\Germain-en-Laye in France

 

[An Ard Ri]

15th of May 1486 : Death of Marguerite de Foix,Duchess of Brittany.

Marguerite de Foix was the daughter of Eleanor I of Navarre and Gaston IV, Count of Foix and married François II of Brittany in 1471.
The couple had 2 children


Anne of Brittany (1477–1514), Duchess of Brittany and twice queen of France
Isabeau of Brittany (1478–1490)

Marguerite de Foix is buried at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes beside her husband and his first wife.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_Foix

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, May 20, 1825 ~ Charles X became King of France

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, May 20, 1825 ~ Charles X became King of France

Charles X became king upon the death of his childless brother Louis XVIII on the 16th of September 1824

Charles X was crowned King on the 29th of May 1825.

 

[An Ard Ri]

25th of May 1555 : Death of Henri II of Navarre


Henri II was the son of Catherine I of Navarre and Jean d'Albret,. He succeeded his mother in 1517 as king of Navarre but also her vast domains in France which included the Countdom of Foix ,de Périgord ,de Bigorre and the Viscounties of Béarn and of Limoges.
Henri married Marguerite d'Angoulême in 1527 and they had one surviving child ,Jeanne d'Albret .By this marriage he was the brother in law to François Ier.
Following his death he was buried alongside his parents at Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Lescar.
His grandson was Henri IV of France.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_Navarre

 

[An Ard Ri]

26 May 1250 : Death of Pierre de Dreux ,Duke of Brittany

Pierre de Dreux was the great grandson of Louis VII of France and was related to the French king.
In 1213 he was married to Alix, Duchess of Brittany and they had several children,the duchess however died in 1221 and Pierre acted as Regent for her son and successor Jean I of Brittany.
Pierre later took part in the Barons' Crusade to the Holy Land in 1239 and he joined King Louis IX in the Seventh Crusade to Egypt.
Following his death he was buried at the Dreux Family necropolis at Saint-Yved de Braine abbey.
His tomb was lost during the French Revolution vandalism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_I,_Duke_of_Brittany

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, May 27, 1652 ~ Birth of Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, Duchess of Orleans, spouse of Philippe, Duke of Orleans, at Heidelberg Castle in Heidelberg, Electorate of the Palatinate

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, May 29, 1814 ~ Demise of Josephine de Beauharnais, Empress of the French, at the Chateau de Malmaison, France

 

[lucien]

On this day, May 29, 1814 ~ Demise of Josephine de Beauharnais, Empress of the French, at the Chateau de Malmaison, France

An impressive life,and equally impressive sadness.

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, May 29, 1814 ~ Demise of Josephine de Beauharnais, Empress of the French, at the Chateau de Malmaison, France

Napoleon who by now had abdicated and was in exile on Elba.
The funeral took place on June 2nd and Joséphine is buried at the Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church in Rueil-Malmaison.The funeral was grand but the Bourbons refused to allow any mention of Imperial titles.
In 1837 the remains of her daughter Hortense de Beauharnais joined her in the vault.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, May 30, 1574 ~ Demise of King Charles IX of France at the Chateau de Vincennes

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, May 30, 1574 ~ Demise of King Charles IX of France at the Chateau de Vincennes

By his marriage to Elisabeth of Austria the couple had one surviving child , Marie Elisabeth de Valois who under Salic Law could not succeed and as such the crown passed to his younger brother Henri,Duke of Anjou who had been elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1573.
As the new king was out of the kingdom Queen Catherine continued to rule as Regent of France until his return in 1575.

Funeral of Charles IX
Queen Catherine with his widow Queen Elisabeth and the kings sister Marguerite de Navarre kneeling in prayer.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, June 1, 1879 ~ Demise of Napoleon Eugene, Prince Imperial of France, in the Anglo-Zulu War

On this day, June 2, 1805 ~ Demise of Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois, spouse of the future King Charles X of France, in Graz, Italy

On this day, June 3, 1844 ~ Demise of Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angouleme (King Louis XIX of France) in Gorz, Austria

On this day, June 5, 1554 ~ Birth of Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France, wife of King Charles IX of France, in Vienna, Austria

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, June 5, 1554 ~ Birth of Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France, wife of King Charles IX of France, in Vienna, Austria

The marriage negotiations began way back in 1559 when the Archduchess was just 5 years old but stalled following the death of Henri II.
In 1562 queen Catherine reopened negotiations and sent a diplomatic team to Vienna as Catherine wanted a Catholic bride for Charles to thwart Protestant influence on the king.
Finally in 1570 the Franco-Habsburg alliance was signed and Elisabeth married by proxy on 22 October 1570 and in person in November 1570 at Mézières.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, June 8, 1795 ~ Demise of Louis Charles, Dauphin of France, King Louis XVII, in Paris, France

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, June 9, 1701 ~ Demise of Philippe I, Duke of Orleans, son of King Louis XIII of France, at the Chateau de Saint-Cloud

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, June 9, 1701 ~ Demise of Philippe I, Duke of Orleans, son of King Louis XIII of France, at the Chateau de Saint-Cloud

The death of Monsieur greatly affected his brother the king .His widow Elisabeth Charlotte, Duchesse d'Orléans burnt all the love letters from his numerous male lovers which were stored in boxes at the Château de Saint-Cloud.

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans body was buried at the crypt of the Bourbons at St Denis and his heart at the Sainte-Anne chapel at the Val-de-Grâce church.

Philippe de France (1640-1701).

 

[An Ard Ri]

12 June 1574 : Death of Renée de France ,Duchess de Chartres, Comtesse de Gisors et Dame de Montargis



Renée was the daughter of Louis XII Anne de Bretagne.
In 1534 she was married off to the Duke of Ferrara and later embraced Calvinism but did not publicly profess it until her widowhood and return to France in 1560.
Renée enjoyed a good relationship with queen Catherine who relentlessly pressured her to recant however her relationship with her Protestant cousin Jeanne d'Albret,queen of Navarre was sour.
Renée died at her chateau of Montargis and was buried according to Calvinist rites at the chapel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renée_of_France

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, June 16, 1644 ~ Birth of Princess Henrietta Anne, Duchess of Orleans, spouse of Duke Philippe I of Orleans, at Bedford House in Exeter, England

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, June 16, 1644 ~ Birth of Princess Henrietta Anne, Duchess of Orleans, spouse of Duke Philippe I of Orleans, at Bedford House in Exeter, England

Henrietta Anne of England was baptized into the Church of England soon after her birth and during the English Civil War .Her mother queen Henrietta Maria had left England in disguise for France looking for French support for husband.
Later when reunited Queen Henrietta raised her daughter as a Roman Catholic.

 

[An Ard Ri]

9th of June 1572 : Death of Jeanne III/Jeanne d'Albret ,Queen of Navarre


Jeanne III was the mother of the future Henri IV of France and queen regnant of Navarre since 1555.
In December 1560 the queen announced her conversion to Calvinism and was a major power player during the French Wars of Religion and a thorn in the side of the French Queen-Regent ,Catherine de Médicis .
Jeanne died suddenly in Paris during the wedding negotiations between her son Henri and Marguerite de Valois.
Following her death the queen was buried beside her husband at the Collégiale Saint-Georges de Vendôme.
The collegiate church was the resting place of the dukes of Vendôme but was ransacked in 1793 and torn down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_d'Albret

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, June 23, 1703 ~ Birth of Maria Leszczynska of Poland, Queen Consort of King Louis XV of France in Trzebnica, Habsburg Monarchy

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day, June 23, 1703 ~ Birth of Maria Leszczynska of Poland, Queen Consort of King Louis XV of France in Trzebnica, Habsburg Monarchy

Queen Marie descended from the Polish Princely House of Leszczyński and he was father was made King of Poland in 1704 but was deposed in 1709 during the Swedish Invasion.
The family were taken to Sweden where they remained until 1714 and later settled in Lorraine.
Marie lived in exile with her mother queen Catherine and her grandmother Princess Anna Leszczyńska.

Marie's only sibling,Princess Anna died in 1717 and was buried at Gräfinthal Abbey in the Saarland,Germany.
During restoration work in 2012 her remains were rediscovered.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On this day, June 24, 1768 ~ Demise of Marie Leszczynska of Poland, Queen Consort of King Louis XV of France at the Palace of Versailles

 

[An Ard Ri]

June 24, 1556 Birth and death of Jeanne de France

Jeanne was the daughter of Henri II and Catherine de Médicis and twin sister of Victoire de France.
Sadly Jeanne died shortly after her birth which was very difficult and almost killed the queen.
Her twin sister died a month later and both were buried together at St Denis.
Following this the Royal physician advised that Queen Catherine should not have any further pregnancies.