She was born in a family connected with the French royal family. This
connection was to continue as Diane, having lost her mother at the age
of six, was sent to the household of Anne, Duchesse de Bourbon, daughter
of King Louis XI and sister of King Charles VIII.
She could read Latin at seven, and Greek by the time she was nine.
Diane became a "demoiselle d'honneur", and, despite lessons and formal
meals together with endless receptions, was a most accomplished horsewoman.
At the wedding of Louis XII and Mary Tudor, Diane was befriended by
the young English princess; but, Mary soon widowed, returned to England.
However, Diane's own wedding had been arranged by Duchess Anne and she
married (29 March 1515) the much older Louis de Breze whose mother, Charlotte
de France, had been an illegitimate daughter
of King Charles VII and Agnes Sorel.
Diane and Louis de Breze had a happy marriage which provided two daughters.
She was appointed lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France, and at the
court she met another English girl, Anne Boleyn. In 1523 Louis de Breze
uncovered a plot against King Francois I, but too late found that his father-in-law
had unwittingly been involved with the conspirators. Diane's father was
imprisoned and condemned to death while Diane, caught between two loyalties,
could do nothing, knowing her husband would plead with the king and so
would the Queen. However, with his head already on the execution block,
reprieve was given by
the king.
After France was defeated by Emperor Charles V, King Francois I was
imprisoned in Madrid. The January of the following year 1526, and after
the Peace of Madrid, the king was released. However, his place was to be
taken by his eldest two sons. Diane was present when Francois I returned
and comforted the the seven-year-old Prince Henri before he and his nine-year-old
brother, Francois, were taken to Spain where they were incarcerated for
four lonely years. When at last they returned, Diane was again present.
Henri especially had suffered from their incarceration and remained silent
and sullen. At a tournament
the young prince chose Diane as his lady and asked permission to wear
her colours which Diane, almost twenty years older, allowed.
In July 1531 Louis de Breze died; but before his death he had advised
Francois I to make an alliance with the Pope which was to be sealed by
the marriage of Prince Henri with the Pope's great-niece, Catharine de'
Medici, who was also a second cousin of Diane's.
After a mourning period of two years, in 1535 she returned to the Court
where she was resented by the king's mistress, the future Duchesse d'Etampes.
It was during this period that the young Prince Henri came forward as her
protector in the court intrigues which
seriously threatened her.
Though a prince, Henri was only a second son; and although the crown
prince was so much more favoured by their father, he had little influence.
However, this was to change after the sudden death of Dauphin Francois.
It is not known when the relationship began, which would last all Henri's
life, but it was probably in the spring of 1538.
Decorum was always preserved. However, when a little baby girl, also
named Diane, appeared in Diane de Poitiers' household, it was rumoured
that Diane was the mother. Even though Henri acknowledged paternity, it
was a young Piedmontese girl who was the mother, she having been raped
by the prince.
Yet Henri's marriage, regarded a misalliance, did not interfere in
their relationship. And when, after 10 years of childless marriage, the
position of Henri as crown prince was threatened, it was Diane who encouraged
him to share his wife's bed. Ten children were the result, all to be taken
by Diane de Poitiers who would oversee the children's upbringing.
In 1538 Diane's eldest daughter, Francoise, married the Duc de Bouillon.
The younger daughter, Louise, married the Duc d'Aumale, a brother of Marie
de Guise who, in turn, was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots. When in
1547 Francois I died, Diane de Poitiers found
herself at the centre of power with her lover now become King Henri
II of France; and publicly Henri II would display his regard for her. The
ill-educated Henri II also became to rely on Diane de Poitiers in matters
of state. One of the first tokens of Henri's esteem for her was the lovely
Chƒteau of Chenonceau, and later the title of Duchesse de Valentinois.
It was Diane de Poitiers who arranged the recall of Anne, Duc de Montmorency,
who had been exiled by the machinations of the Duchesse d'Etampes, mistress
of the previous monarch. Apart from matters of state, she was also involved
with her own business affairs and considerably increased her fortune.
Emperor Charles V regarded the new French king as only a weakling dominated
by an older woman and heaped insults on Henri II. On Diane's advise, Henri
II signed a secret treaty with the independent cities of Metz, Toul and
Verdun, all three at that time under French protection. When Charles V
tried to annex these cities, he expected little
opposition but found them fortified and prepared. Autumn turned into
winter and, when illness struck his army, Charles V also became ill. By
December he gave up.
As Catherine de' Medici, whose resentment towards Diane was barely
contained, had made such a fuss over Chenonceau, which she coveted for
herself, Diane made Anet her real home and a magnificent one at that. Diane
was in charge of the royal nursery, and also of Mary, Queen of Scots, the
child-bride for Henri II's eldest son, the future Francois
II. Even though Henri II's feelings for Diane de Poitiers were constant,
he was no stranger to temptation. When Diane was fifty, illness forced
her to stay away from Court for a while. During that time Henri II noticed
the governess of Mary, Queen of Scots. This governess, widow of Lord Fleming,
was the illegitimate daughter of King James IV of Scotland and an aunt
of her royal charge. The red-haired beauty soon made it known that she
was with child, and moreover one with French royal blood. When the child
was born, Lady Fleming gave herself airs as a royal favourite. The danger
of seeing decorum destroyed brought Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de'
Medici together and they sent Lady Fleming packing, back to Scotland, but
without her royal child. As Diane suspected Anne de Montmorency to
have supported Lady Fleming, their friendship now turned into enmity.
The marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and the Dauphin Francois was the first
of several royal marriages. Princess Claude married the Duke of Lorraine,
to be followed by the wedding of Henri II's sister to the Duke of Savoy.
On the same day, Henri II's younger daughter, the fourteen-year-old Elisabeth,
would by proxy marry King Philip II of Spain.
Part of these celebrations was a jousting tournament. On the first
day Catherine de' Medici approached her husband, requesting him not to
take part as her astrologer had warned that the king would be killed. In
panic, Catherine had called for Nostradamus who had described the king's
death in even greater detail. Every day she would repeat her pleas, but
Henri II would take no notice. On the third day disaster struck and, exactly
as described, Henri II was fatally wounded. Twelve agonizing days later,
Henri II died, with Catherine ignoring his
requests to see Diane de Poitiers.
At last Catherine de' Medici was now in charge. She became Regent for
the boy-king Francois II, and one of her first actions was to demand back
the Crown Jewels from Diane de Poitiers. This she did complete with inventory.
After the king's funeral, it was Chenonceau, as a Crown property, that
was demanded of Diane de Poitiers. In return she received Chaumont-sur-Loire,
which had been Catherine's property.
After a brief illness, Diane de Poitiers, Duchesse de Valentinois,
died at Anet, 25 April 1566, aged 66.
Source: HRH Princess Michael of
Kent's 'Cupid and the King', Leo van de Pas |
