france Archives - Page 28 of 32 - History of Royal Women

Queens Regent – Blanche of Castile

Monday, 7 November 2016, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

A regent is “a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated.” Blanche of Castile was born on 4 March 1188 as the daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England. Not much is known of her youth. At the age of 12, Blanche was [read more]

Louise de La Vallière – The pious mistress

Tuesday, 11 October 2016, 7:00 Amy Eloise Kelly 0

Louise was born in Tours, France in 1644 as the daughter of a royal officer. She was raised in station when her mother later married the Marquis de Saint-Rémy which took the family to the court of Gaston, Duke d’Orléans. Louise was raised alongside the three Orléans princesses and so received a fine education and [read more]

Madeleine of Valois – The delicate Queen of Scots

Thursday, 15 September 2016, 7:00 Amy Eloise Kelly 3

Madeleine was born in August 1520; she was the fifth child of Francis I of France and his wife, Queen Claude. After the death of her mother, Madeleine and her sister were raised by their aunt Marguerite of Navarre. At the time of Madeleine’s birth, the French and the Scottish were allies. The Auld Alliance [read more]

Marguerite of Angoulême – The mother of the French Renaissance

Thursday, 8 September 2016, 7:00 Amy Eloise Kelly 0

Marguerite was born to Charles, Count of Angoulême and Louise of Savoy in 1492. Her brother Francis succeeded their cousin Louis XII to the throne of France in 1515. When Louise of Savoy was widowed at the age of nineteen; she sought to provide both of her children with the best education available. Guided by [read more]

The Daughters of Marie Leszczyńska and Louis XV of France

Friday, 26 August 2016, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Louis XV of France and his wife Marie Leszczyńska had a successful marriage and Marie gave birth to ten children, of which eight were daughters. For the French, the boys were more important, as women could not succeed to the throne. Her eldest son, Louis Ferdinand, died before he could become King, but he had three [read more]

Marie of Montpellier – Heiress of Montpellier

Wednesday, 27 July 2016, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Marie of Montpellier was born around 1182 as the daughter of William VIII, Lord of Montpellier and Eudokia Komnene, a niece of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. A condition of the marriage was that the firstborn child of the marriage, boy or girl, would succeed to the Lordship upon William’s death. Thus, Marie was the heiress [read more]