Marguerite de Valois
Written on 7/09/2008 12:23:00 上午 by Katherine
Born Marguerite de Valois at the Royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye and nicknamed Margot by her brothers,she was the daughter of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici.Three of her brothers became kings of France: Francis II,Charles IX and Henry II.Her sister,Elisabeth of Valois,became the third wife of King Philip II of Spain.
Although Marguerite loved Henry of Guise,her mother would never allow the House of Guise any chance of controlling France.Instead,she offered to marry Marguerite to Philip II’s son Carlos,Prince of Asturias,but that did not work out.Serious negotiations for Marguerite’s marriage to King Sebastian of Portugal were also considered but abandoned.
Marguerite was forced to marry Henry of Bourbon,the son of Jeanne d' Albret,the Protestant Queen of Navarre,in a marriage that was designed to reunite family ties and create harmony between Catholics and Huguenots.Although Henry’s mother,Jeanne d' Albret,Queen of Navarre,opposed the marriage,many of her nobles supported it,and the marriage was arranged.Jeanne d' Albret died before the marriage was concluded.
On August 18,1572,the 19 year old Marguerite married Henry de Bourbon,who had become King of Navarre on the death of his mother.The groom,a Huguenot,remained outside the church for much of the wedding.It was reported that during the ceremony,the bride and groom stared straight ahead,never looking at each other.
Just six days after the wedding,on Saint Bartholomew’s Day,a massacre of Huguenots was conducted by Parisian mobs.
After more than three years of confinement at court,Henty(who had saved his life by pretending to convert to Catholicism)escaped Paris in 1576,leaving his wife behind.Finally granted permission to return to her husband in Navarre,for the next three and a half years Queen Marguerite and her husband lived a scandalous life in Pau.Both openly kept other lovers,and they quarrelled frequently.
After an illness in 1582,Queen Marguerite returned to her brother’s court in France.But Henry III was soon scandalized by her reputation and forced her to leave the court.After long negotiation,she was allowed to return to her husband’s court in Navarre,but she received an icy reception.Determined to overcome her difficulties,Queen Marguerite masterminded a coup d'état and seized power over Agen,one of her appanages.After several months of fortifying the city,the citizens of Agen revolted and Queen Marguerite fled to the castle of Carlat.In 1586,she was imprisoned by her brother Henry III in the castle of Usson,in Auvergne,where she spent eighteen years.
In 1589,her husband succeeded to the French throne as Henry IV.Negotiation to dissolve the marriage were entered in 1592 and concluded in 1599 with an agreement that allowed her to maintain the title of queen.In the end,her beauty fading,Queen Marguerite lived in near poverty hounded by creditors to the point of selling all of her jewels. Reconciled to her former husband and his second wife, Marie de' Medici, Queen Marguerite returned to Paris and established herself as a mentor of the arts and benefactress of the poor. She often helped plan events at court and nurtured Henry IV and Marie's children. Marguerite died in Paris on May 27, 1615, and is buried in the Chapel of the Valois.
Reference:www.wikipedia.com
