Anne of France | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Duchess of Bourbon | |||||
Portrait of Anne of France, from a triptych by Master of Moulins
|
|||||
Born |
Chateau of Genappe, Brabant |
3 April 1461||||
Died | 14 November 1522 Chateau of Chantelle, Bourbonnais, Allier, France |
(aged 61)||||
Burial | Priory of Souvigny | ||||
Spouse | Peter II, Duke of Bourbon | ||||
Issue | Charles, Count of Clermont Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon |
||||
|
|||||
House | House of Valois | ||||
Father | Louis XI of France | ||||
Mother | Charlotte of Savoy |
Full name | |
---|---|
Anne de Beaujeu |
Anne of France (or Anne de Beaujeu) (3 April 1461 – 14 November 1522) was the eldest daughter of Louis XI by his second wife, Charlotte of Savoy. Anne was the sister of Charles VIII, for whom she acted as regent during his minority. During the regency she was one of the most powerful women of late fifteenth-century Europe and was referred to as "Madame la Grande".
Anne was born at the Chateau of Genappe in Brabant on 3 April 1461, the eldest surviving daughter of King Louis XI of France and Charlotte of Savoy. Her brother, Charles would later succeed their father as Charles VIII of France. Her younger sister Joan became for a brief period, a queen consort of France as the first wife of Louis XII. Anne was originally betrothed to Nicholas, Duke of Lorraine and was created Viscountess of Thouars in 1468 in anticipation of the marriage. However, Nicholas broke the engagement to pursue Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, and then died unexpectedly in 1473, prompting Louis to take back the fief. That same year, on 3 November, Anne married Peter of Bourbon instead, and took up rule of the Beaujolais at the same time, when her husband was ceded the title of 'Lord of Beaujeu' by his brother the Duke of Bourbon. Anne was just twelve years old at the time.
During the minority of Anne's brother, Charles VIII of France, Peter and Anne held the regency of France. This regency lasted from 1483 until 1491, and together Peter and Anne maintained the royal authority and the unity of the kingdom against the Orléans party, which was in open revolt during the "Mad War" of the 1480s. As regent of France, Anne was one of the most powerful women in the late fifteenth century, and she was referred to as "Madame la Grande".