Claude de Valois-Orléans, reine de France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_of_France

and in French: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_de_France_%281499-1524%29

Claude of France (French: Claude de France, 14 October 1499 – 20 July 1524) was a princess and queen consort of France and ruling Duchess of Brittany, was the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany.

As the first spouse of Francis I of France, she was the mother of Henry II, and thus grandmother of the last three kings of the Valois line and also of Elisabeth, Queen consort of Spain; Claude, Duchess consort of Lorraine; and Margaret, the Queen consort of Henry IV of France. She is also the maternal grandmother of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy.

Betrothals and marriage

Because her mother, Anne, Duchess of Brittany, had no surviving sons, Claude became heiress to the Duchy of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. In 1504, Anne, eager to keep Brittany separate from the French crown, effected the Treaty of Blois, which promised Claude's hand in marriage to the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the promise of Brittany and the Duchy of Burgundy. The prospect of a reduced France surrounded on several sides was unacceptable to the Valois, and so the betrothal was soon canceled.

The French nobles argued against a betrothal to a foreigner, urging Louis XII to marry Claude to her cousin Francis, Duke of Angoulême, "who is at least all French", and was also the heir-presumptive to the French crown. In 1506, the child was betrothed to Francis. In 1514, when her mother died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany; and on 18 May 1514, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, she married Francis.

[edit] Court life

Claude, the pawn of so much dynastic maneuvering, was short in stature and afflicted with scoliosis, which gave her a hunched back. She was eclipsed at court by her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, and her sister-in-law, the literary Marguerite, Queen consort of Navarre.

When Francis became King in 1515, two of Claude's ladies-in-waiting were the English sisters Mary and Anne Boleyn, and another was Diane de Poitiers. Mary became the king's mistress before returning home in about 1519. Anne served as Claude's official translator whenever there were English visitors, such as in 1520. Anne was also a temporary companion to Claude's younger sister, Renée. Anne Boleyn returned to England in 1521, where she eventually became Queen of England as the second wife of Henry VIII. Diane de Poitiers was a principal inspiration of the School of Fontainebleau of the French Renaissance, and became the lifelong mistress of Francis's son and successor, Henry II.

Claude's life was spent in an endless round of annual pregnancies. Her husband had many mistresses, but was usually relatively discreet. Claude imposed a strict moral code on her own household, which only a few chose to flout.

[edit] ChildrenClaude and Francis I had seven children:

   * Louise, Princess of France (19 August 1515 – 21 September 1517) - died young.

* Charlotte, Princess of France (23 October 1516 – 8 September 1524) - died young.
* Francis, Dauphin of France (28 February 1518 – 10 August 1536) - died young.
* Henry II, King of France (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) - married Catherine de' Medici. Had issue.
* Madeleine, Princess of France (10 August 1520 – 2 July 1537) - married James V of Scotland. No issue
* Charles of Valois, Duke of Orleans (22 January 1522 – 9 September 1545) - Died young. Had no issue.
* Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry (5 June 1523 – 14 September 1574) - married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy in 1559. Had issue.
[edit] Death and later events

Claude died in 1524, when she was only twenty-four. She was initially succeeded as ruler of Brittany by her eldest son, the Dauphin Francis, who became Duke Francis III, with Claude's widower King Francis I as guardian. After the Dauphin's death in 1536, Claude's second son, Henry, Duke of Orleans, became Dauphin and Duke of Brittany. He later became King of France as Henry II.

Claude's widowed husband himself remarried several years after Claude's death, to Eleanor of Habsburg, the sister of Emperor Charles V. The atmosphere at court became considerably more debauched, and there were rumours that King Francis's death in 1547 was due to syphilis.

Queen Claude was named after St. Claude, a saint her mother had invoked during a pilgrimage so she could give birth to a living child.

[edit] "Reine Claude" plum

Claude is remembered in a classic small plum, the size of a walnut, pale green with a glaucous bloom. It is still called "Reine Claude" (literally, "Queen Claude") in France and is known in England as a "greengage".

Reign 9 January 1514 – 20 July 1524

Predecessor Anne

Successor Francis III

Queen consort of France

Tenure 1 January 1515 – 20 July 1524

Spouse Francis I of France

Issue

Charlotte of Valois

Francis III, Duke of Brittany

Henry II of France

Madeleine, Queen of Scots

Charles, Duke of Orléans

Margaret, Duchess of Savoy

House Valois-Orléans

Father Louis XII of France

Mother Anne, Duchess of Brittany

Born 14 October 1499(1499-10-14)

Died 20 July 1524 (aged 24)

Claude of France

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Claude of France (14 October 1499 – 20 July 1524), Queen Consort of France and Duchess of Brittany in her own right, was the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany.

As the first wife of Francis I of France, she was the mother of Henry II, and thus grandmother of the last three kings of the Valois line and also of Elisabeth, Queen consort of Spain; Claude, Duchess consort of Lorraine; and Marguerite, the Queen consort of Henry IV of France.

Betrothals and marriage

Since her mother, Anne of Brittany, had no surviving sons, Claude was the heiress of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. In 1504, Anne, eager to keep Brittany separate from the French crown, effected the Treaty of Blois, which promised Claude's hand in marriage to the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the promise of Brittany and the Duchy of Burgundy. The prospect of a reduced France surrounded on several sides was unacceptable to the Valois, and so the betrothal was soon canceled.

The French nobles argued against a betrothal to a foreigner, urging Louis XII to marry her to her cousin François, Duke of Angoulême, "who is at least all French," and was also the heir-presumptive to the French crown. In 1506, the child was betrothed to François. In 1514, when her mother died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany; and on 18 May 1514, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, she married François.

Court life

Claude, the pawn of so much dynastic maneuvering, was short in stature and afflicted with scoliosis, which gave her a hunched back. She was eclipsed at court by her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, and her sister-in-law, the literary Marguerite, Queen Consort of Navarre.

When François became King in 1515, two of Claude's ladies-in-waiting were the English sisters Mary and Anne Boleyn. Mary became the king's mistress before returning home in about 1519. Anne served as Claude's official translator whenever there were English visitors, such as in 1520. Anne was also a temporary companion to Claude's younger sister, Renée. Anne Boleyn returned to England in 1521, where she eventually became the Queen Consort of Henry VIII.

Claude's life was spent in an endless round of annual pregnancies. Her husband had many mistresses, but was usually relatively discreet. Claude imposed a strict moral code on her own household, which only a few like Mary Boleyn chose to flout.

Death and later events

Claude died in 1524, when she was only twenty-four. She was initially succeeded as ruler of Brittany by her eldest son, the Dauphin François, who became Duke François III, with Claude's widower King François I as guardian. After the Dauphin's untimely death in 1536, Claude's second son, Henry, Duke of Orleans, became Dauphin and Duke of Brittany. He later became King of France as Henry II.

Claude's widowed husband himself remarried several years after Claude's death, to Eleanor of Habsburg, the sister of Emperor Charles V. The atmosphere at court became considerably more debauched, and there were rumours that King François's death in 1547 was due to syphilis.

[edit]"Reine Claude" plum

Claude is remembered in a classic small plum, the size of a walnut, pale green with a glaucous bloom. It is still called "Reine Claude" (literally, "Queen Claude,") in France and is known in England as a "greengage."

Claude of France (14 October 1499 – 20 July 1524), Queen Consort of France and Duchess of Brittany in her own right, was the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany.

As the first wife of Francis I of France, she was the mother of Henry II, and thus grandmother of the last three kings of the Valois line and also of Elisabeth, Queen consort of Spain; Claude, Duchess consort of Lorraine; and Marguerite, the Queen consort of Henry IV of France. She is also the maternal grandmother of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy.

Betrothals and marriage

Because her mother, Anne, Duchess of Brittany, had no surviving sons, Claude became heiress to the Duchy of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. In 1504, Anne, eager to keep Brittany separate from the French crown, effected the Treaty of Blois, which promised Claude's hand in marriage to the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the promise of Brittany and the Duchy of Burgundy. The prospect of a reduced France surrounded on several sides was unacceptable to the Valois, and so the betrothal was soon canceled.

The French nobles argued against a betrothal to a foreigner, urging Louis XII to marry Claude to her cousin François, Duke of Angoulême, "who is at least all French," and was also the heir-presumptive to the French crown. In 1506, the child was betrothed to François. In 1514, when her mother died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany; and on 18 May 1514, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, she married François.

Court life

Claude, the pawn of so much dynastic maneuvering, was short in stature and afflicted with scoliosis, which gave her a hunched back. She was eclipsed at court by her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, and her sister-in-law, the literary Marguerite, Queen Consort of Navarre.

When François became King in 1515, two of Claude's ladies-in-waiting were the English sisters Mary and Anne Boleyn, and another was Diane de Poitiers. Mary became the king's mistress before returning home in about 1519. Anne served as Claude's official translator whenever there were English visitors, such as in 1520. Anne was also a temporary companion to Claude's younger sister, Renée. Anne Boleyn returned to England in 1521, where she eventually became the Queen Consort of Henry VIII. Diane de Poitiers was a principal inspiration of the School of Fontainebleau of the French Renaissance, and became the lifelong mistress of François' son and successor, Henri II.

Claude's life was spent in an endless round of annual pregnancies. Her husband had many mistresses, but was usually relatively discreet. Claude imposed a strict moral code on her own household, which only a few chose to flout.

Claude and Francis I had seven children:

Louise, Princess of France (August 19, 1515 - September 21, 1517) - died young.

Charlotte, Princess of France (October 23, 1516 - September 8, 1524) - died young.

Francis, Dauphin of France (February 28, 1518 - August 10, 1536) - died young.

Henry II, King of France (March 31, 1519 - July 10, 1559) - married Catherine de' Medici. Had issue.

Madeleine, Princess of France (August 10, 1520 - July 2, 1537) - married James V of Scotland. No issue

Charles of Valois, Duke of Orleans (January 22, 1522 - September 9, 1545) - Died young. Had no issue.

Marguerite of France (June 5, 1523 - September 14, 1574) - married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy in 1559. Had issue.

Death and later events

Claude died in 1524, when she was only twenty-four. She was initially succeeded as ruler of Brittany by her eldest son, the Dauphin François, who became Duke François III, with Claude's widower King François I as guardian. After the Dauphin's untimely death in 1536, Claude's second son, Henry, Duke of Orleans, became Dauphin and Duke of Brittany. He later became King of France as Henry II.

Claude's widowed husband himself remarried several years after Claude's death, to Eleanor of Habsburg, the sister of Emperor Charles V. The atmosphere at court became considerably more debauched, and there were rumours that King François's death in 1547 was due to syphilis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude,_Duchess_of_Brittany

Claude of France

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 (Redirected from Claude, Duchess of Brittany)

Jump to: navigation, search

This article does not cite any references or sources.

Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007)

Claude

Duchess of Brittany

Reign 9 January 1514 – 20 July 1524

Predecessor Anne

Successor Francis III

Queen consort of France

Tenure 1 January 1515 – 20 July 1524

Spouse Francis I of France

Issue

Charlotte of Valois

Francis III, Duke of Brittany

Henry II of France

Madeleine, Queen of Scots

Charles, Duke of Orléans

Margaret, Duchess of Savoy

House Valois-Orléans

Father Louis XII of France

Mother Anne, Duchess of Brittany

Born 14 October 1499(1499-10-14)

Died 20 July 1524 (aged 24)

Claude of France (French: Claude de France) (14 October 1499 – 20 July 1524) was a princess and queen consort of France and ruling Duchess of Brittany, was the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany.

As the first spouse of Francis I of France, she was the mother of Henry II, and thus grandmother of the last three kings of the Valois line and also of Elisabeth, Queen consort of Spain; Claude, Duchess consort of Lorraine; and Margaret, the Queen consort of Henry IV of France. She is also the maternal grandmother of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy.

Contents

[show]

   * 1 Betrothals and marriage

* 2 Court life
* 3 Children
* 4 Death and later events
* 5 "Reine Claude" plum
* 6 Ancestors
[edit] Betrothals and marriage

Because her mother, Anne, Duchess of Brittany, had no surviving sons, Claude became heiress to the Duchy of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. In 1504, Anne, eager to keep Brittany separate from the French crown, effected the Treaty of Blois, which promised Claude's hand in marriage to the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the promise of Brittany and the Duchy of Burgundy. The prospect of a reduced France surrounded on several sides was unacceptable to the Valois, and so the betrothal was soon canceled.

The French nobles argued against a betrothal to a foreigner, urging Louis XII to marry Claude to her cousin Francis, Duke of Angoulême, "who is at least all French", and was also the heir-presumptive to the French crown. In 1506, the child was betrothed to Francis. In 1514, when her mother died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany; and on 18 May 1514, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, she married Francis.

[edit] Court life

Claude, the pawn of so much dynastic maneuvering, was short in stature and afflicted with scoliosis, which gave her a hunched back. She was eclipsed at court by her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, and her sister-in-law, the literary Marguerite, Queen consort of Navarre.

When Francis became King in 1515, two of Claude's ladies-in-waiting were the English sisters Mary and Anne Boleyn, and another was Diane de Poitiers. Mary became the king's mistress before returning home in about 1519. Anne served as Claude's official translator whenever there were English visitors, such as in 1520. Anne was also a temporary companion to Claude's younger sister, Renée. Anne Boleyn returned to England in 1521, where she eventually became Queen of England as the second wife of Henry VIII. Diane de Poitiers was a principal inspiration of the School of Fontainebleau of the French Renaissance, and became the lifelong mistress of Francis's son and successor, Henry II.

Claude's life was spent in an endless round of annual pregnancies. Her husband had many mistresses, but was usually relatively discreet. Claude imposed a strict moral code on her own household, which only a few chose to flout.

[edit] Children

Claude of France with her daughters: at the front, Charlotte (left) and Louise (right), both of whom died young; right and behind, Madeleine, Queen consort of Scotland; left and behind, Marguerite, Duchess consort of Savoy

French Monarchy-

Capetian Dynasty, House of Valois

(Valois-Orléans branch)

Arms of the Kingdom of France (Moderne).svg

Louis XII

Children

  Claude of France         

Renée of France
Claude and Francis I had seven children:

   * Louise, Princess of France (19 August 1515 – 21 September 1517) - died young.

* Charlotte, Princess of France (23 October 1516 – 8 September 1524) - died young.
* Francis, Dauphin of France (28 February 1518 – 10 August 1536) - died young.
* Henry II, King of France (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) - married Catherine de' Medici. Had issue.
* Madeleine, Princess of France (10 August 1520 – 2 July 1537) - married James V of Scotland. No issue
* Charles of Valois, Duke of Orleans (22 January 1522 – 9 September 1545) - Died young. Had no issue.
* Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry (5 June 1523 – 14 September 1574) - married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy in 1559. Had issue.
[edit] Death and later events

Claude died in 1524, when she was only twenty-four. She was initially succeeded as ruler of Brittany by her eldest son, the Dauphin Francis, who became Duke Francis III, with Claude's widower King Francis I as guardian. After the Dauphin's death in 1536, Claude's second son, Henry, Duke of Orleans, became Dauphin and Duke of Brittany. He later became King of France as Henry II.

Claude's widowed husband himself remarried several years after Claude's death, to Eleanor of Habsburg, the sister of Emperor Charles V. The atmosphere at court became considerably more debauched, and there were rumours that King Francis's death in 1547 was due to syphilis.

Queen Claude was named after St. Claude, a saint her mother had invoked during a pilgrimage so she could give birth to a living child.

[edit] "Reine Claude" plum

Claude is remembered in a classic small plum, the size of a walnut, pale green with a glaucous bloom. It is still called "Reine Claude" (literally, "Queen Claude") in France and is known in England as a "greengage".

This page was last modified on 15 July 2010 at 11:58.

Claude de Valois, Duchesse de Bretagne1 F, #103080, b. 13 October 1499, d. 20 July 1524

Claude de Valois, Duchesse de Bretagne|b. 13 Oct 1499\nd. 20 Jul 1524|p10308.htm#i103080|Louis XII, Roi de France|b. 27 Jun 1462\nd. 1 Jan 1515|p10525.htm#i105242|Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne|b. 25 Jan 1476\nd. 9 Jan 1514|p10319.htm#i103187|Charles d'Orléans, Duc d'Orléans|b. 1394\nd. 4 Jan 1465|p10495.htm#i104948|Maria von Kleve|b. 19 Sep 1426\nd. 23 Aug 1487|p10319.htm#i103185|François I. de Dreux, Duc de Bretagne|b. 23 Jun 1435\nd. 9 Sep 1488|p10826.htm#i108256|Marguerite de Foix|b. 1449\nd. 1486|p40321.htm#i403209|

Last Edited=9 Oct 2009 Consanguinity Index=0.72%

Claude de Valois, Duchese de Bretagne by Francois Clouet, 1520 2 Claude de Valois, Duchesse de Bretagne was born on 13 October 1499 at Romorentin. She was the daughter of Louis XII, Roi de France and Anne de Dreux, Duchesse de Bretagne. She married François I, Roi de France, son of Charles d'Orléans, Duc d'Angoulême and Louise di Savoia, on 18 May 1514 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Île-de-France, France. She died on 20 July 1524 at age 24. Children of Claude de Valois, Duchesse de Bretagne and François I, Roi de France 1.Louise de Valois b. 1515 2.Charlotte de Valois b. 1516 3.François de Valois, Dauphin de France b. 1518, d. 1536 4.Henri II, Roi de France+ b. 31 Mar 1519, d. 10 Jul 1559 5.Madeleine de Valois b. 10 Aug 1520, d. 7 Jul 1537 6.Charles de Valois, Duc d'Angoulême b. 1522, d. 1545 7.Marguerite de Valois, Duchesse de Berri+ b. 5 Jun 1523, d. 14 Sep 1574 Citations 1.[S16] Jirí Louda and Michael MacLagan, Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe, 2nd edition (London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), table 67. Hereinafter cited as Lines of Succession. 2.[S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family."

Youth[edit] Claude was born on 13 October 1499 in Romorantin-Lanthenay[1] as the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany. She was named after Claudius of Besançon, a saint her mother had invoked during a pilgrimage so she could give birth to a living child: during her two marriages, Queen Anne had at least fourteen pregnancies, of whom, only two children survived to adulthood: Claude and her youngest sister Renée, born in 1510.

Betrothals and marriage[edit] Because her mother had no surviving sons, Claude became heiress to the Duchy of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. Eager to keep Brittany separated from the French crown, Queen Anne, with help of Cardinal Georges d'Amboise, promoted a solution for this problem. The Cardinal essentially began a dispute with the Pierre de Rohan-Gié, the Marshal of Gié, who fervently supported the idea of a marriage between the princess and the Duke of Valois, the heir of the French throne after Louis XII, and thus kept Brittany united to France.[2]

On 10 August 1501 at Lyon was signed the marriage contract between Claude and the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V by François de Busleyden, Archbishop of Besançon, William de Croÿ, Nicolas de Rutter and Pierre Lesseman, all ambassadors of Duke Philip of Burgundy, Charles' father. A part of the contract promised the inheritance of Brittany to the young prince, already the next in line to thrones of Castile and Aragon, Austria and the Burgundian Estates. In addition, the first Treaty of Blois, signed in 1504, gave Claude a considerable dowry in the -likely- case of Louis XII's death without male heirs: besides Brittany, Claude also received the Duchies of Milan and Burgundy, the Counties of Blois and Asti[3] and the territory of the Republic of Genoa, then occupied by France.[4] Thus, all the causes of the future rivalry between Charles V and Francis I have been decided even before the succession of the two princes.

In 1505, Louis XII, very sick, fearing for his life and not wishing to threaten the reign of his only heir, cancelled the engagement in the Estates Generals of Tours, in favor of the young Duke of Valois, the future Francis I. Indeed, previously Louise of Savoy obtained from the king a secret promise that Claude could be married to her son.[5] Anne of Brittany, furious to see the triumph of Marshal of Gié, exerted all her influence to obtain his conviction for treason before the Parliament of Paris.[6]

Coat of arms of Queen Claude. On 9 January 1514, when her mother died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany; and four months later, on 18 May, she married her cousin Francis at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. With this union, it was secured that Brittany would remain united to the French crown, if the third marriage of Louis XII with Mary of England (celebrated on 9 October 1514) would not produce the long-waited heir. However, the union was short-lived and childless: Louis XII died less than three months later, on 1 January 1515, reputedly worn out by his exertions in the bedchamber.[7] Francis and Claude became king and queen, the third time in history that the Duchess of Brittany became Queen of France.

Queen of France[edit]

Claude surrounded by her daughters (Charlotte, Madeleine and Marguerite), her sister Renée (or her deceased older daughter Louise) and her husband's second wife Eleanor of Austria, in the Livre d'heures de Catherine de Medicis, 1550. Currently in the Bibliothèque nationale de France. As Queen, Claude was eclipsed at court by her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, and her sister-in-law, the literary Navarrese queen Margaret of Angoulême. She never ruled over Brittany; in 1515 she gave the government of her domains to her husband in perpetuity. Unlike her younger sister Renée, she seems to have never showed any interest in her maternal inheritance nor had any disposition to politics, as she preferred to devote herself to religion under the influence, according to some sources, of Christopher Numar of Forli, who was the confessor of her mother-in-law. Gabriel Miron repeated his functions under Anne of Brittany and remained as Chancellor of Queen Claude and first doctor; he wrote a book entitled de Regimine infantium tractatus tres.[8]

After Francis became king in 1515, Anne Boleyn stayed as a member of Claude's household. It's assumed that Anne served as Claude's translator whenever there were English visitors, such as in 1520, at the Field of Cloth of Gold. Anne Boleyn returned to England in late 1521, where she eventually became Queen of England as the second wife of Henry VIII. Diane de Poitiers, another of Claude's ladies, was a principal inspiration of the School of Fontainebleau of the French Renaissance, and became the lifelong mistress of Claude's son, Henry II.

Le Sacre de Claude de France (Description of the coronation of Claude of France at St. Denis in 1517), tapestry illuminated by Jean Coene IV, ca. 1517. Claude was crowned Queen of France at St. Denis Basilica on 10 May 1517 by Cardinal Philippe de Luxembourg (also known as Cardinal du Mans), who "anointed her in the breast and forehead".[9]

She spent almost all her marriage in an endless round of annual pregnancies. Her husband had many mistresses, but was usually relatively discreet. Claude imposed a strict moral code on her own household, which only a few chose to flout.

About Claude, the historian Brantôme wrote:

I must speak about madame Claude of France, who was very good and very charitable, and very sweet to everyone and never showed displeasure to anybody in her court or of her domains. She was deeply loved by the King Louis and the Queen Anne, her father and mother, and she was always a good daughter to them; after the King took the peaceful Duke of Milan, he made him declare and proclaim her in the Parliament of Paris the Duchess of the two most beautiful Duchies of Christendom, Milan and Brittany, one from the father and the other from the mother. What an heiress! if you please. Both Duchies joined in all good deed to our beautiful kingdom.[10]

The pawn of so much dynastic maneuvering, Claude was short in stature and afflicted with scoliosis, which gave her a hunched back, while her husband was bigger and athletic. The successive pregnancies made her appear continuously plump, which drew mockeries at Court. Foreign ambassadors noted her "corpulence", claudication, the strabismus affecting her left eye, her small size, and her ugliness, but they acknowledged her good qualities.[11] She was little loved at court after the death of her parents. Brantôme testified:

That the king, her husband gave her the pox, which shortened her days. And madame the Regent [Louise of Savoy] bullied her constantly (...).

The king's will imposed the omnipresence of his mistress, Françoise de Foix.

Issue[edit] Claude and Francis I had seven children, two of whom lived past the age of thirty:

Louise (19 August 1515 – 21 September 1517): died young, engaged to Charles I of Spain almost from birth until death. Charlotte (23 October 1516 – 8 September 1524): died young, engaged to Charles I of Spain from 1518 until death. Francis (28 February 1518 – 10 August 1536), who succeeded Claude as Duke of Brittany, but died unmarried and childless. Henry (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559), who succeeded Francis I as King of France and married Catherine de' Medici, by whom he had issue. Madeleine (10 August 1520 – 2 July 1537), who married James V of Scotland and had no issue. Charles (22 January 1522 – 9 September 1545), who died unmarried and childless. Margaret (5 June 1523 – 14 September 1574), who married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, in 1559 and had issue. Death[edit]

Tomb of Francis I and Claude of France at St. Denis Basilica. Claude died on 20 July 1524 at the Château de Blois, aged twenty-four. The exact cause of her death was disputed among sources and historians: while some alleged that she died in childbirth or after a miscarriage,[12] others believed that she died for exhaustion after her many pregnancies or after suffering from bone tuberculosis (like her mother) and finally some believed that she died from syphilis caught from her husband.[13][14] She was buried at St. Denis Basilica.

She was initially succeeded as ruler of Brittany by her eldest son, the Dauphin Francis, who became Duke Francis III, with Claude's widower King Francis I as guardian. After the Dauphin's death in 1536, Claude's second son, Henry, Duke of Orleans, became Dauphin and Duke of Brittany. He later became King of France as Henry II.

Claude's widowed husband himself remarried several years after Claude's death, to Eleanor of Austria, the sister of Emperor Charles V. The atmosphere at court became considerably more debauched, and there were rumours that King Francis's death in 1547 was due to syphilis.

The Prayer Book of Queen Claude[edit] External video Master of Claude de France - Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France - Google Art Project.jpg

The Prayer Book of Claude de France, Part 1, 4:07, Morgan Library and Museum. See also Parts 2-8 The prayer book of Claude of France is a tiny, jewel-like manuscript that was made for Claude around 1517, the year she was crowned queen of France. Her coat of arms appears on three different folios. The book is richly illustrated: the borders of each leaf are painted, front and back, with 132 scenes from the lives of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and numerous saints. The manuscript and a companion Book of Hours also made for the queen (in a Paris private collection) were illuminated by an artist who was given the nickname Master of Claude de France after these two volumes. It was donated to The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City in 2008 by the widow of Alexandre Paul Rosenberg in memory of her husband.[15]

"Reine Claude" plum[edit] Claude is remembered in a classic small plum, the size of a walnut, pale green with a glaucous bloom. It is still called "Reine Claude" (literally, "Queen Claude") in France and is known in England as a "greengage".

Depictions in popular culture[edit] Queen Claude of France is played by Gabriella Wright in season one of the Showtime series The Tudors.

"Kind Queen Claude" is a major character in Robin Maxwell's Mademoiselle Boleyn.

In the 2015-16 Spanish historical fiction television series Carlos, rey emperador (Charles, King Emperor), Queen Claude was played by Eva Rufo.