france Archives - Page 30 of 32 - History of Royal Women

Queens Regnant – Joan III of Navarre

Monday, 11 January 2016, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 1

Joan was born on 16 November 1528 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye as the daughter of King Henry II of Navarre and Marguerite of Angoulême, who was the sister of Francis I of France. He took over her education as soon as she was two and she was raised in the Chateau de Plessis-Lez-Tour in the Loire Valley. [read more]

Henrietta Maria by Dominic Pearce Book Review

Wednesday, 25 November 2015, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

What better day to review a book on Henrietta Maria of France than on her 406th birthday? Henrietta Maria of France was the daughter of Marie de’Medici and Henry IV of France. She was the youngest of six children, and her eldest brother became Louis XIII in 1610. She married Charles I of England on 13 [read more]

Queens Regnant – Joan I of Navarre

Monday, 9 November 2015, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 3

Joan I of Navarre was born on 14 January 1273 as the daughter of Henry I of Navarre and Blanche of Artois. She was their second child, and she had an elder brother Theobald, who cannot have been more than a toddler when he died from a fall from a castle window. Her father Henry [read more]

Saint Isabella of France

Saturday, 24 October 2015, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 2

Saint Isabella of France was born around March 1224 as the daughter of Louis VIII of France, whose nickname was the Lion, and Blanche of Castile. She was one of thirteen children, though not all lived to adulthood. She was just two years when her father died, and her brother became King. Her mother continued [read more]

Marie of Cleves’ second secret marriage

Wednesday, 30 September 2015, 7:00 Moniek Bloks 0

Marie of Cleves was born on 19 September 1426 to Adolph I, Duke of Cleves and Marie of Burgundy. Not much is known of her early youth, but she married Charles of Valois, Duke of Orléans at the age of 14 while he was 49. Despite this massive and awkward age difference they had three [read more]

The Rival Queens by Nancy Goldstone Book Review

Wednesday, 12 August 2015, 20:10 Moniek Bloks 0

The Rivals Queens features two Queens, who coincidentally were also mother and daughter. The infamous Catherine de’ Medici and her perhaps equally infamous daughter Margaret of France have both led extraordinary lives. Catherine de’ Medici was born on 13 April 1519 as the daughter of Lorenzo II de’ Medici and Madeleine de la Tour D’Auvergne [read more]