Photograph of Claude of France.
Claude of France

Overview

Claude of France (14 October 149920 July 1524), Queen consort of France and duchess of Brittany in her own right, was the eldest daughter of Louis XII, King of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany. As the first wife of Francis I, King of France, she was the mother of King Henry II, King of France, and thus grandmother of the last three kings of the Valois line and also of Elisabeth, Queen of Spain, Claude, Duchess of Lorraine, and Marguerite, the queen of Henry IV, King of France.

Since her mother had no surviving sons, Claude was the heiress of Brittany, while the crown of France could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. In 1504 Claude's mother Anne, eager to keep an independent Brittany out of French hands, effected the Treaty of Blois, which promised Claude's hand in marriage to the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the promise of Brittany and Burgundy. The prospect of a reduced France surrounded on several sides was unacceptable to the Valois, and so the betrothal was soon cancelled. The French nobles argued against a betrothal to a foreigner, urging Louis XII to marry her to her cousin Francois, Duke of Angouleme, "who is at least all French," and in any case was the heir-presumptive. In 1506, the child was therefore betrothed to François. In 1514, when her mother died, Claude became duchesse de Bretagne (Brittany); and on 18 May 1514, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye she married François.

When Claude died, she was succeeded as ruler of Brittany by her eldest son, the minor François the Dauphin, who became Duke François IV, with Claude's widower King François I as guardian.

After Claude's death, in 1532 the personal union of France with Brittany was made definitive. The Dauphin, son of François I and Claude de France was duke of Brittany until his untimely death (1532-1536). His brother Henry succeeded him, and the last of the dukes of Brittany was Henry's eldest son Duke François V, crowned in 1544, and later also Dauphin and then briefly king.

Claude, the pawn of so much dynastic maneuvering, was short in stature and afflicted with scoliosis that gave her a small hunched back. She was eclipsed at court by her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, and her sister-in-law, the literary Marguerite, queen of Navarre.

When François became king in 1515, two of Claude's ladies-in-waiting were the English sisters, Mary and Anne Boleyn. Mary became the king's mistress before returning home in about 1519. Anne served as Claude's official translator whenever there were English visitors such as in 1520. Anne was also a temporary companion to Claude's younger sister, Renée de Valois. Anne Boleyn returned to England in 1521, where she eventually rose to become queen.

Claude's life was spent in an endless round of annual pregnancies. Her husband had many mistresses but was usually relatively discreet. Claude imposed a strict moral code on her household, which only a few like Mary Boleyn chose to flout.

Claude died in 1524, when she was only twenty-four. Her second son later became King Henri II. Her husband later remarried, to Eleanor of Habsburg, the sister of Emperor Charles V. The atmosphere at Court became considerably more debauched, and there were rumours that King François died of syphilis in 1547.

Claude is remembered in a classic small plum, the size of a walnut, pale green with a glaucous bloom, still called "Reine Claude" in France and known in England as a "greengage."

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Francis, Dauphin of France (French: François, Dauphin de France), also Francis IV, Duke of Brittany (French: François IV, Duc de Bretagne) (28 February,1518 – 10 August, 1536), was the first son and heir of King Francis I of France and Claude of France, daughter of Louis XII of France.

That biography says:

The only marriage of Louis's which produced any children was his second, with Anne of Brittany. By her he had two surviving daughters: * Claude of France (1499–1524), later married her relative Francis, the count of Angoulême and future King of France...

This biography says:

...When François became king in 1515, two of Claude's ladies-in-waiting were the English sisters, Mary and Anne Boleyn. Mary became the king's mistress before returning home in about 1519. Anne served as Claude's official translator whenever there were English visitors such as in 1520...

That biography says:

...In France, she was a favoured lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France and also acted as an interpreter whenever any high-ranking English visitors came to the French court...
How is Claude of France connected to Renée of France? Tell the world.
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This biography says:

...Her husband had many mistresses but was usually relatively discreet. Claude imposed a strict moral code on her household, which only a few like Mary Boleyn chose to flout....

That biography says:

...Even when Mary Tudor left France after her husband’s death on January 1, 1515, Mary Boleyn stayed in the court of the new king and queen, Francis I of France and Claude of France.

This biography says:

...Claude died in 1524, when she was only twenty-four. Her second son later became King Henri II. Her husband later remarried, to Eleanor of Habsburg, the sister of Emperor Charles V. The atmosphere at Court became considerably more debauched, and there were rumours that King François died of syphilis in 1547...
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...Young Francis was, by instigation of King Louis, in 1506 betrothed and on 18 May 1514 married, to Claude of France (1499-1524), the daughter of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany and heiress of Brittany. Because of the Salic Law that stated that women could not inherit the throne of France, the throne passed to Francis I at the death of Louis XII, as he was the descendant of the eldest surviving male line of the Capetian Dynasty...

That biography says:

...Young Francis was, by instigation of King Louis, in 1506 betrothed and on 18 May 1514 married, to Claude of France (1499-1524), the daughter of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany and heiress of Brittany. Because of the Salic Law that stated that women could not inherit the throne of France, the throne passed to Francis I at the death of Louis XII, as he was the descendant of the eldest surviving male line of the Capetian Dynasty...
How is Claude of France connected to Mary Tudor, Queen of France? Tell the world.
How is Claude of France connected to Marguerite de Valois? Tell the world.

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Francis II of France (French: François II de France) (January 19, 1544 – December 5, 1560, King-consort of Scotland (1558–1560), and King of France (1559 – 1560), was born at the Royal Chateau at Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, the son of Henry II, King of France (March 31 1519 – July 10 1559) and Catherine de' Medici (April 13 1519 – January 5 1589). He was the grandson of Francis I, King of France, and of Claude of France, and the brother of Charles IX, King of France, and of Henry III, King of France.

That biography says:

...Her third husband was Louis XII of France. They had two surviving daughters: *Claude of France (1499 -1524) became her heir and also Queen Consort of Francis I. *Renée of France (1510 - 1575) married Ercole II d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, and became the Duchess of Chartres...
How is Claude of France connected to Catherine de' Medici? Tell the world.
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How is Claude of France connected to Henry II of France? Tell the world.
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