Henry II, King of France from 1547 to 1559, is best known for his tragic death following an eye injury sustained during a tournament. The son of King Francis I and Claude of France, he married Catherine de’ Medici, a wealthy Florentine aristocrat. Shortly after their marriage, he took Diane de Poitiers as his mistress, a woman who would significantly influence the king’s policies after his accession to the throne in 1547. Henry II continued the war waged by his father against Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, but with no greater success. He also attempted to eradicate the Protestants.
Born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1519, Henry II was the second son of Francis I and Claude of France. Francis I hardly prepared his son to rule, preferring his younger brother, Charles of Orléans, who died of the plague in 1545. However, from a young age, Henry faced the harsh reality of being a prince. The Treaty of Madrid (1526) included the taking of Francis I’s two eldest sons as hostages.
Thus, Henry, at the age of seven, was forced to live for four years in detention in Villalba and then in Villalpando, Spain. This experience, endured in dreadful conditions, permanently shaped his austere and reserved character.
Upon his return to France, Henry’s education was entrusted to Diane de Poitiers by Francis I. The young woman won the affection of the prince, and even after his marriage to Catherine de’ Medici in 1533, Diane’s influence over Henry continued, eventually becoming his mistress. In 1536, the death of his elder brother Francis made Henry the dauphin of France. He ascended the throne after his father’s death on March 31, 1547.
A Young King Under Influence
Henry as a child
Before his coronation at Reims on July 26, 1547, Henry II had already taken control of the government. He began by reforming courtly behavior, and in 1548 organized an expedition to Scotland to rescue the young Mary, Queen of Scots, from Protestant clutches. Henry II arranged for the young queen to be betrothed to his eldest son.
He also sent his favorite, Charles de Brissac, to gauge the intentions of Charles V. As strong in appearance as he was weak in character, the young king was influenced by several conflicting forces: Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de’ Medici, the Guise family, and the constable of Montmorency.
Henry II enlisted the service of Anne de Montmorency, who had fallen out of favor during the previous reign but was now rehabilitated as the king’s chief advisor. This arrogant, jealous, and staunch advocate of peace frequently clashed with the war-ready Guise family, the Cardinal of Lorraine, and the Calvinists. Throughout his reign, Henry II was caught between the intrigues of the Guise and Montmorency, and the counsel of his beloved mistress, Diane de Poitiers, satisfying his taste for controversies.
Domestic Reforms
Internally, Henry II established four State Secretariats to manage the geographical division of France. These officials handled military, financial, and judicial matters within their districts. In 1551, under the guise of relieving the parliaments, but with the true aim of fiscal management, Henry II created the présidiaux, courts that held judicial authority over bailiffs and seneschals.
This increase in judicial institutions encouraged litigation, already widespread, but did nothing to address the sluggishness of the justice system. Fiscal revolts, which were frequent, were harshly suppressed. By the end of Henry II’s reign, public debt had already reached 43 million livres tournois.
Henry II Against the Empire
Henry II of France, 1559
In foreign policy, Henry II naturally focused more on France’s northern and eastern borders than on Italy. Humiliated during his childhood imprisonment by Charles V during the Italian Wars, he sought revenge upon becoming king.
He fought against the German princes of the Schmalkaldic League and, by allying with the Protestant German princes rebelling against Charles V through the Treaty of Chambord (January-February 1552), managed to capture the Three Bishoprics: Metz, Toul, and Verdun (1552), French-speaking territories. François de Guise, besieged at Metz (October 1552), brilliantly organized the defense and emerged victorious. However, though triumphant at Renty on August 13, 1554, the imperial forces were victorious in Italy the following year.
Exhausted by the war, the aging Charles V granted Henry II a five-year truce, the Truce of Vaucelles (February 1556), and soon after abdicated (September 1556). Besides retaining the Three Bishoprics, France was allowed to keep Piedmont. The truce, however, was short-lived, and war resumed in 1556, first at sea and then in Italy, where the French suffered a series of defeats.
Boulogne was nevertheless retaken by the French in 1556. The Duke of Savoy, Emmanuel-Philibert, a general in the service of the Empire, marched on Saint-Quentin. Montmorency was captured (August 1557), but Coligny cleverly took control of the city, holding the siege and stopping the Duke’s advance on Paris.
Henry II was defeated at Saint-Quentin (1557) by King Philip II of Spain. However, with the determination of François de Guise, who had just returned from Italy, Henry managed to recapture Calais (1558), which had been under English control for two centuries. Faced with financial difficulties and the Protestant issue, Henry II decided to end the Italian wars by signing the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559).
Through this treaty, France ceded Savoy, Bugey, Bresse, and Milan, but retained Pinerolo, the Marquisate of Saluzzo, Metz, Toul, Verdun, and Calais. Additionally, the treaty arranged the marriage of Henry II’s sister to the Duke of Savoy, and that of his daughter, Elizabeth, to Philip II, recently widowed of Mary Tudor.
The king then had a free hand to combat the Protestants. A devout and uncompromising Catholic, Henry II had pursued them from the beginning of his reign. In December, the king decided that all books printed in France or abroad had to be submitted for approval by the faculty of theology. Protestants caught in the clandestine practice of their worship faced the death penalty. Despite this strictness, Calvinism spread across France, and many nobles converted. In June 1559, the Edict of Ecouen urged the courts to punish Protestants who appeared before them with death. The Wars of Religion would begin a year later.
Henry II was the last French monarch to participate in jousting tournaments. During the celebrations held for the marriage of his daughter, Elisabeth, the king was mortally wounded in a tournament organized near the Tournelles on June 30, 1559, after being struck in the eye by a lance blow delivered by Montgomery, captain of his Scottish guard.
After a long and painful agony, he died on July 10, 1559. Having had ten children with Catherine de’ Medici, he left the throne to his fifteen-year-old son, François II.
Two of his other sons would reign under the names of Charles IX and Henry III.
Like his father, Henry II was a fervent patron of the arts, and his court was one of the most splendid in Europe. Ronsard and the Pléiade celebrated his triumphs. His tomb, along with that of his wife, can be found today in Saint-Denis.
Diane de Poitiers (1499–1566), favorite of King Henry II of France, imposed herself at the royal court at the expense of Queen Catherine de’ Medici and surrounded herself with a brilliant court. As an independent woman, she managed to preserve the youthfulness of her body and mind. She never forgot her principles: “Always maintain an honorable bearing, a cool and assured manner, a humble gaze, low speech, constant and firm, always with one purpose, without wavering, moderation in all things.” She also succeeded in transforming Henri, turning this awkward and clumsy young man into a troubadour, a poet, a horseman, and a monarch. After the dramatic death of the king, she retired to Anet, where she died on April 22, 1566.
Diane de Poitiers: A Lady of the Renaissance
Painting of Diane de Poitiers.
The daughter of Jean de Poitiers, Diane, named in homage to the goddess of the hunt, was born on December 31, 1499, in the family castle in Dauphiné. She would later inherit from her grandfather the castle of Saint-Vallier, the title of Countess of Valentinois, and the emblem of the Poitiers. On the day of her birth, an old woman came to predict that the child’s star would raise her higher than a queen.
At the age of six, she went hunting with her father, had her own falcon, and became an accomplished rider. Upon her mother’s death, she joined the court of Anne de Beaujeu and Louis XII, where she learned Latin, Greek, theater, dance, philosophy, Platonic logic, and above all, disdain for intrigues, the dignity of her rank to uphold, the nobility of taste, and the art of conversation—in short, everything that made a true lady. Maid of honor to Queen Anne, then to the future Queen Claude (Claude of France), wife of Francis I, she attended the king’s coronation in 1515.
On March 29, 1515, she married Louis de Brézé, the grand seneschal of Normandy, an accomplished hunter, rich, powerful, and well-titled. Diane, with her slender figure, aristocratic bearing, high forehead, fair and pale skin, gray-blue eyes, straight nose, and small mouth with full lips, thus achieved a royal rank just below that of a princess—the third rank in the kingdom.
Their residence is Anet, a sinister and ruined dwelling. During the king’s passage through Rouen, Louis de Brézé handed him the keys to the city and welcomed him into his home. The Court quickly realized that the Grand Seneschal of Normandy took her marriage very seriously and did not succumb to courtiers, so much so that Francis I annotated a portrait of Diane as “beautiful to behold, honest to haunt” in 1520.
After giving birth to a little Françoise in 1518, her father Jehan, unwittingly involved in the plot hatched by Charles V and Charles de Bourbon, was arrested in September 1523, taken to Loches, stripped of all his possessions, sentenced to death, then narrowly pardoned in February 1524 for life imprisonment. Rumors circulated: Diane was the King’s mistress! Not only did the king deny it, but upon his wife’s death, he entrusted the care of his children to Diane in July 1524, a great honor.
During the exchange of Francis I, captive of Emperor Charles V, for his children, Diane supported the dauphins Francis, eight years old, and Henri, six years old, with her comforting words. The king, upon returning to Rouen, enjoyed the hospitality of the Brézé at Anet and, won over by Diane’s integrity, intelligence, and culture, offered her a new position at court: lady-in-waiting to his mother, Louise de Savoie.
The Meeting with the Dauphin Henry
At the beginning of the summer of 1530, the royal children return. Young Prince Henri, disappointed by his father, turns to the only two people who have shown him affection: Diane and Anne de Montmorency. The children spend the autumn at Anet with Diane and Louis de Brézé, then return to Saint Germain. During the tournaments in honor of the new queen, Eleanor of Habsburg, sister of Charles V, young Henri chooses his lady: Diane. For the election of “the fairest of them all,” Queen Eleanor, the king’s mistress Anne de Pisseleu and Diane de Poitiers compete. As the king’s mistress and Diane are tied, Anne de Pisseleu, offended, will have only one objective in her life: to annihilate Diane.
In July 1531, Louis de Brézé passed away. From that date, after seventeen years of happy married life, Diane only wears black with some touches of white.
To her coat of arms, she adds the symbol of a widow: a torch turned downward, and her motto is “He who inflames me has the power to extinguish me.”
Retreating to Anet following the disappearance of the regent Louise de Savoie, Diane takes care of herself. She maintains a strict lifestyle, washes with clear water, takes a cold bath in all weather, has a broth in the morning, 3 hours of fast horse riding, and a small snack at 11 a.m. No cosmetics, no sun, always white skin, dressed in silk—she attaches rows of pearls to her shoulders, crossing over a black velvet bodice with a deep neckline, the ends of the sleeves in fine muslin, and precious stones at her waist. Diane handles the affairs of her estates, grants audiences, dines at 6 p.m., and goes to bed.
Diane de Poitiers: Favorite of Henry II of France
Henry II of France.
Diane, a close aunt of Catherine de’ Medici, Henry’s future bride, was brought back to the court that fall of 1533 to serve as her guide and to teach her about French traditions and rites. Diane donned a black and white dress with white feathers for this royal wedding, which included a masked ball and countless dinners. Henry also sports a hat with white and black feathers. As a good husband should, he rushes back to his wife. Henry was dedicated to Diane de Poitiers from the time he was six years old until his death at the age of 42.
In spite of being loved by the king and invited on several hunts, Diane was the target of vicious attacks and accusations of witchcraft from the royal mistress. It’s clear that the mistress of the king and Diane have formed opposing factions. At this point, Henry takes the stand in open court to defend himself and reaffirm his love for Diane. During the “Affaire des Placards (English: Affair of the Placards),” an uprising led by the Reformed against the Catholics, Diane stands behind the king and Henry.
Henry, now the dauphin after Francis’s death, made his sentiments known to his close companions and spoke out for himself. Diane was smart and charming, and she wasn’t naive about using those qualities to get what she wanted. They almost certainly began a passionate affair near the end of 1536 or the beginning of 1537 at Anne de Montmorency’s favorite retreat, the castle of Ecouen. Diane wrote a short poem (of which the following is an excerpt) and sent it to Henry the morning after their first night together.
Here is really that Love, a beautiful morning,
Came to offer me very nice flowers…
Because, you see, such nice flowers
Were boy, fresh, ready and young.
…
Henry’s regular companionship with Diane had left him glowing with joy. Diane shares with him the joy of first love at a young age, and she teaches him all she had learned at Louis de Brézé’s side. Even if she didn’t actively pursue Henry’s affection, once she had it, she did all in her power to keep it, and she did so with the strength of her character and her wits until 1538, when she became the godmother of the little Diane de France (the daughter of Henry and Filippa Duci).
The future queen and the mistress “stick together”: one implores the king, the other takes care of the dauphin. Diane ushered Catherine into a private area, whispered softly, and instructed her on how to make love. On a few occasions, she had Henry spend the night at his wife’s. In January 1544, the long-awaited miracle occurred: Catherine gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Henry, overjoyed, presents Diane a quantity of money as a gesture of gratitude for her assistance with the dauphine.
The mistress had shown her worth once again. However, conspiracies were brewing at the court; the royal mistresses were at odds with one another, and Francis I of France (French: François I) had Diane exiled from the court while Henry was away at war. Upon returning from the war, he wasted little time in getting to Anet.
In February 1545, the king summoned Diana back to court, where she resumed her role with Henry and took responsibility for the upbringing of his two young children. After the death of Francis I of France in March 1547, she became closer to the Guises out of a sense that things were about to shift rapidly. For this position, Anne de Montmorency was chosen.
In addition to being given the key to the vault and the authority to withdraw funds at whim, Henry also gave Diane the crown jewels from the royal treasury. In this scene, Henry offers Diane Anne de Pisseleu’s house. The second enjoys the recognition, but she doesn’t let it affect her composure.
Queen or Royal Mistress?
Diana was very invested in the workings of the government and the kingdom’s finances. She urged Henry to curb the lavishness of the court’s entertainment and pageantry by passing sumptuary laws, and she advocated for the elimination of certain positions within the court and the implementation of progressive social reforms (each district of Paris should constitute a social fund for the poor, and the hospitals should welcome the sick and the infirm). To show his gratitude and devotion, Henry presented her with Chenonceau, the crown jewel of the Loire Valley, which would be even more exquisite when the renovations were completed.
The needlework on Henry II’s robes during his coronation in July 1547 evoked Diana’s qualities (a quiver, bows, arrows, crescent moons, and a double D hanging on the H), yet the letter C of the queen was conspicuously absent. Diana took charge of the children’s upbringing when Catherine gave birth to her third child. Diane’s opinion is final. Everything from soldiers’ attire to the harnessing of horses during the September 1548 festivities in Lyon was black and white.
During these rites, Diane was elevated to the rank of duchess of Valentinois, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a person who was not born a princess. The Parisian display in May 1549 is considerably worse than the one before it. All the letters were “knotted H and D,” and the color palette is limited to black and white. Only Diane was trusted by Henry; she signed official correspondence as “HenriDiane” and sat on the Privy Council. Despite this, she was still the target of animosity and had to dispel rumors that she was responsible for the persecution of heretics. Henry II expressed his support for her.
Anet: A Castle for the King and His Favorite
Castle of Anet.
They stayed at Anet for weeks, during which time they went on long horseback rides and hunts in the mornings and had lavish feasts in the evenings. Henry had portraits made of his favorites; the tradition of portraits in the bath dates from this period. Henry’s recovery from his captivity in Spain, the joyous visits of the royal children, and the king’s fondness for quiet library sessions all attest to the fact that Anet was a veritable paradise (all the books were bound in red morocco decorated with the figure of the king and his lady, one of the most prestigious collections of the Renaissance).
Henry made Anet his capital, where he issued orders, wrote letters, and had audience sessions.
The people in Diane’s group thought highly of her. Upon their arrival in France, she was entrusted with the care of the little Mary Stuart. Lady Fleming, her governess and Henry II’s mistress, traveled with the princess in her suitcase. No matter how hard he tries to cover up his affair, the royal mistress had her loyal companions to rely on. A return to Scotland was ordered for Lady Fleming.
When Diane found out that Anne de Montmorency was complicit in the scandal, he became enraged. Now, he plans to have Diane deposed. Their offspring would bring peace between the Constable and the King’s mistress.
Despite their numerous disagreements, the queen and the royal mistress were forced to coexist throughout the war years of 1552–1557. One day, Diane dropped by Catherine’s place, where the latter was sitting and reading. After her curiosity was piqued, Diane inquired as to what she was reading. “I study the chronicles of this country, and I learn that, from time to time, at any period, the prostitutes have handled the affairs of kings.”
An slur that went viral all throughout the kingdom. Diane retaliated by having Montmorency say that, of all the king’s offspring, only Diane of France resembled the monarch, a remark that became widely circulated throughout the country’s courts.
The Last Years of Diane
Rejoicing, including tournaments and jousting, resumed in 1558 and July 1559, in conjunction with marriages, after the ceasefire with Spain. It was a well-known tragedy when the king was fatally injured in a joust. Diane ran to be by his side, but the queen stopped her. Diane de Poitiers had never before felt so helpless; she was terrified of witnessing the death of France’s monarch and even more so of bearing the brunt of the Queen’s vengeance. They had no power without Henry.
After getting some news, Diane de Poitiers goes home.
Even though she had not been invited, she was glad to see the burial from a window. There was no white and black clothing on the effigy of the monarch, no crescent moon, and no HD on the harness of the king’s horse. In April 1560, a document of transfer was completed between her and Queen Catherine de’ Medici, who had promised her the fortress of Chaumont sur Loire in exchange for Chenonceau.
When Diane visited Catherine’s former estate in Chaumont sur Loire, she was shocked to find numerous artifacts associated with necromancy and alchemy left behind by the queen, including an altar adorned with Greek, Egyptian, and Hebrew characters, powder flasks and jars of brine containing animal limbs, as well as strange works, parchments, and animal remains. She left Chaumont to her daughter Françoise after burning everything in the house.
She moved on to Anet, where she could continue to dwell in Henry’s shadow. Despite a horse accident that shattered her leg, she remained in great shape and looked stunning as she entered her 60s. She had just turned 64.
The death of Diane de Poitiers
Diane de Poitiers, who lived to be 66 years old, passed away at her castle of Anet on April 26, 1566, following a terrible but short illness (perhaps food poisoning). Françoise de Brezé and Louise de Brezé inherited a large portion of their mother’s wealth, and she also left money to many religious institutions. Several hundred impoverished peasants in white followed the casket as they sang, “Pray to God for Diane de Poitiers,” during her burial.
She was laid to rest in the mausoleum she had constructed on the grounds of the castle. In 1795, French rebels uncovered her grave and snipped her hair for souvenir locks. Years later, the castle was auctioned brick by brick.
