Claude of France
| Claude | |
|---|---|
Queen Claude (École française, 16th century)
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| Duchess of Brittany | |
| Reign | 9 January 1514 – 20 July 1524 |
| Predecessor | Anne |
| Successor | Francis III |
| Queen of France | |
| Tenure | 1 January 1515 – 20 July 1524 |
| Coronation | 10 May 1517 |
| Born |
13 October 1499 Romorantin-Lanthenay |
| Died | 20 July 1524 (aged 24) Château de Blois |
| Burial | Saint Denis Basilica |
| Spouse | Francis I of France |
| Issue among others... |
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 |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Claude of France (French: Claude de France) (13 October 1499 – 20 July 1524), was Sovereign Duchess of the Duchy of Brittany after her mother, Anne, and Queen of France by marriage to Francis I.
Claude was born on 13 October 1499 in Romorantin-Lanthenay 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.
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.
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 and the territory of the Republic of Genoa, then occupied by France. Thus, all the causes of the future rivalry between Charles V and Francis I were decided even before the succession of the two princes.
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