Elisabeth of France (1602-1644)
| Elisabeth of France | |
|---|---|
Queen Isabel by Rodrigo de Villandrando
|
|
| Queen consort of Spain | |
| Tenure | 31 March 1621 – 6 October 1644 |
| Queen consort of Portugal | |
| Tenure | 31 March 1621 – 1 December 1640 |
| Born |
22 November 1602 Palace of Fontainebleau, France |
| Died | 6 October 1644 (aged 41) Royal alcázar, Madrid, Spain |
| Burial | El Escorial |
| Spouse | Philip IV of Spain |
| Issue | Infanta Maria Margaret Infanta Margaret Maria Infanta Maria Eugenia Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias Infanta Isabel Maria Infante Francis Ferdinand Infanta Maria Anna Maria Theresa, Queen of France |
| House | Bourbon |
| Father | Henry IV of France |
| Mother | Marie de' Medici |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Elisabeth of France (22 November 1602 – 6 October 1644) was Queen consort of Spain (1621 to 1644) and Portugal (1621 to 1640) as the first spouse of King Philip IV of Spain. She also served as regent of Spain during the Catalan Revolt. She was the eldest daughter of King Henry IV of France and his second spouse Marie de' Medici.
Élisabeth, Madame Royale, was born at the Château de Fontainebleau on 22 November 1602; reportedly her mother showed a cruel indifference to her, because she blindly believed the prophecy of a nun who assured her that she would give birth three consecutive males.
Shortly after her birth, she was betrothed with Philip Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont, eldest son and heir of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy by Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain, a daughter of King Philip II of Spain, who died young in 1605.
As a daughter of the King of France, she was born a Fille de France. As the eldest daughter of the king, she was known at court by the traditional honorific of Madame Royale. The early years of Madame Royale were spent under the supervision of the royal governess Françoise de Montglat at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a quiet place away from the Parisian court in which she shared education and games with her legitimate siblings (besides Dauphin, the other Fils de France were Christine Marie, later Duchess of Savoy; Nicholas Henri, Duke of Orléans, who died in infancy; Gaston, Duke of Orléans; and Henrietta Maria, later Queen of England) and the bastard children that her father had from his constant love affairs. When King Henry IV was assassinated outside the Palais du Louvre in Paris on 14 May 1610, her brother the Dauphin (with whom Élisabeth had a very close relationship) succeeded him to the throne as King Louis XIII of France under the Regency of their mother Marie de' Medici.
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