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Marguerite of Valois

Margaret of Valois
Margot.JPG
Queen of France
Tenure 2 August 1589 – 17 December 1599
Queen of Navarre
Tenure 18 August 1572 – 17 December 1599
Born (1553-05-14)14 May 1553
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Died 27 March 1615(1615-03-27) (aged 61)
Hostel de la Reyne Margueritte, Paris
Burial Basilica of St Denis
Spouse Henry IV of France
House Valois-Angoulême
Father Henry II of France
Mother Catherine de' Medici
Religion Roman Catholicism

Margaret of Valois (French: Marguerite, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615) was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became queen consort of Navarre and later also of France.

A daughter of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, Margaret was the sister of kings Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III, and of Elisabeth of Valois Queen of Spainas well as Claude of France. Charles IX arranged for her to marry a distant cousin, King Henry III of Navarre, and she thus became Queen of Navarre in 1572. In 1589, after all her brothers had died leaving no sons, Margaret's husband, the senior-most agnatic heir to France (the "Prince du sang"), succeeded to the French throne as Henry IV, the first Bourbon King of France.

A queen of two kingdoms, Margaret was subjected to many political manipulations, including being held prisoner (albeit at a comfortable castle) by her own brother, Henry III of France, for many years. However, her life was anything but passive. She was famous for her beauty and sense of style, notorious for a licentious lifestyle, and also proved a competent memoirist. She was indeed one of the most fashionable women of her time, and influenced many of Europe's royal courts with her clothing. Margaret took many lovers both during her marriage and after its annulment, of whom the best-known are Joseph Boniface de La Môle, Jacques de Harlay, Seigneur de Champvallon and Louis de Bussy d'Amboise. While imprisoned, she took advantage of the time to write her memoirs, which included a succession of stories relating to the disputes of her brothers Charles IX and Henry III with her husband. The memoirs were published posthumously in 1628.


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