Diane De Poitiers - Mistress of Henri II, King Of France

Diane de Poitiers was probably born on January 9, 1500. She was the daughter of Jean de Poitiers, the Viscount of Estoile and Count of Saint-Vallier and of Jean de Batarnay. Her parents belonged to the circle of nobles who were in high favor at the court of Louis XII. Diane's grandfather, Aymar de Poitiers, had married Marie de Vallois, the illegitimate but legalized daughter of King Louis XI and Marguerite de Sassénage. Diane's grandfather, Humbert de Batarnay, had been a close friend of Louis XI. Contrary to what was previously assumed, the Poitiers family is of Provençal origin and is not related to the house of Poitou. Diane was born in the Dauphiné. Her exact place of birth remains uncertain. She is thought to have been born in Saint-Vallier-sur-Aune or Etoile. On April 16, 1515, at the age of 15 years old, Diane married a much older Louis de Brézé, who was a grandson of Charles VII and Agnès Sorel. De Brézé was almost 40 years older than Diane. From this marriage, two daughters were born, Françoise de Brézé and Louise de Brézé. In 1524, Diane's father, Jean de Poitiers, was accused of treason. Fortunately, upon entering the scaffold, Jean received a pardon by the king due to the interference of Louis de Brézé. Despite the pardon, Jean de Poitiers did end his days imprisoned in the château of Loche. Upon her arrival at court, Diane was appointed Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Claude. After Claude's death, she moved on to attend to the king's mother, Louise of Savoie, and finally Eleanor of Austria. Despite many rumors about her involvement with François I of France, no historical evidence has been found which would suggest that she was his mistress. Diane's husband, Louis de Brézé, died on July 23, 1531, in Annais. After the death of her husband, Diane's financial literacy quickly became apparent and she made herself a fortune which was to last her a lifetime. It is generally believed, based on their correspondence, that it was around 1538 that Diane became the mistress of Henry II of France. Diane was 20 years Henry's senior. When Henry II became king of France, Diane immediately took the position at court of Anne de Picelleux, who had been the mistress of François I. As Diane and Anne had never gotten along, Anne was ruthlessly expelled from court and the king handed over all possessions Anne de Picelleux had obtained from François I to Diane. These possessions included many jewels, a Parisian hotel, and various gifts of land and money. To consolidate her position at court, Diane was made Duchess of Valentinois in 1548. Her daughter Françoise, the Duchess of Bouillon, was appointed lady-in-waiting to the queen and, as such, took charge of Catherine de' Medici's household. During the coronation of the queen in 1549, Françoise presided over the ceremony. Diane herself took part in the procession of grandladies, princesses and duchesses who escorted and assisted the queen during the coronation. It has always been difficult for historians to define the exact nature of the king's relationship with Diane. Unlike his father, Henri was very secretive about his intimate relations. Officially, there is no evidence of the relationship between Diane and the king. Historians are divided on the matter. In the eyes of some, the relationship was simply platonic. Others insist Diane was indeed the king's mistress, but with time and age, the king grew tired of her, which would explain his affairs with other women such as Jane Stewart, Lady Fleming and Nicole de Savigny. Queen Catherine de' Medici was well aware of the close relationship between the king and Diane de Poitiers. Catherine accepted the presence of Diane as a lady-in-waiting, out of love for her husband, but also out of fear of displeasing him. Diane, from her side, tried to maintain a good relationship with the queen. As the queen's lady in waiting, Diane served as Catherine's nurse and assisted her during all her deliveries. It remains a question whether Diane de Poitiers played a big political role in the government of the kingdom due to her influence on the king. Some sources claim she influenced the king to suppress the Protestants, but there is no actual evidence to back up these claims. What is known for sure is that as a staunch Catholic, Diane was one of the individuals in the royal entourage who were hostile to Protestantism. But she might have been vilified by Protestant propaganda. Diane was accused of forcing Henry to live in sin due to the adulterous relationship she had with him. The king's violent death was said to be God's just punishment. Throughout her life at court, Diane was disliked by Anne de Montmorency, who was a constable of France. De Montmorency was the only courtier who had the power to act against de Poitiers. To counteract de Montmorency, Diane supported the rise of the Guise family. Her alliance with the House of Guise was cemented by the marriage of her daughter Louise to Claude II de Lorrain, Duc d'Aumale, who was the third son of the first Duc de Guise. The Duc d'Aumale was the uncle of the little Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, who was aged seven in 1550. For his part, Anne de Montmorency is said to have tried to get rid of Diane by encouraging the king's affair with Jane Stuart, Lady Fleming, who was Mary Stuart's governess. As Diane was temporarily absent from court to treat a fracture caused by a fall from a horse, she was informed by the Guise family that the king was spending much time with Lady Fleming and that Anne de Montmorency often arranged their meetings. Thus, Diane travelled to the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where she found the king and the constable leaving the apartment of Fleming. Diane was furious and accused the constable for contributing to the king's misbehaviour, which, according to Diane, damaged the reputation of the queen, that of the Queen of Scots, and, as a result, that of the House of Guise. Diane and Montmorency remained rivals for most of Henry's reign. A patron of arts, like all the great people of her time, Diane de Poitiers had several painters and sculptors work for her, such as Primaticio and Benvenuto Cellini. She was twice painted as a hunting goddess. Her contribution to architecture is well known, and she also supported literary talents, such as the poet Pierre de Ronsard. When the king was mortally wounded on June 30, 1559, Diane refrained from visiting the wounded man, aware that she had no place next to the bed of a dying king. After the death of Henry on July 10, 1559, the new king, François II, banned Diane and her daughter, the Duchess of Bouillon, from court. As she was not allowed to attend Henry's funeral, Diane watched the funeral procession from her hotel window. The dowager queen, Catherine de' Medici, allowed Diane to enjoy the countless gifts, goods and lands that Henry had given her, although at the end of 1559, the dowager queen recovered the Château de Chandonceau, which Diane had taken by embezzlement, and it was exchanged for the Château de Chaumont. Diane de Poitiers retired at the Château d'Annay, where she died at the age of 66. Louise de Brézé, the second daughter of Diane de Poitiers, had a monument erected with her statue in the village church at Annay, which was transferred to the chapel of the Château d'Annay in 1576. During the French Revolution, Diane's tomb was opened, her remains were thrown into a mass grave and the sarcophagus was converted into a trough. From 1959 to 1967, the chapel was completely restored to its original state and the tomb was put back in its original place. In 2010, Diane's remains were returned to the tomb. Thank you for watching.