7 children by age 24. The good princess cried at the wedding, but honestly fulfilled her duty (10 photos)

Claude of France was born in mid-autumn 1499 into the family of King Louis XII of France. Her unusual masculine name was given to her by her mother, Queen Anne of Brittany.





Help from Saint Claude

Anna, apparently due to close family ties of her ancestors, had some health problems. The queen constantly had miscarriages, and the children who were born left this world in infancy. Thirsting to have heirs, Anna finally decided to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Claude.

After this journey, the queen gave birth to a girl, who they decided to name in honor of the saint who answered the prayers. Princess Claude was born with health problems, but her body turned out to be strong and she, unlike Anne’s previous children, survived infancy.



Claude French

Favorite daughter

Of course, Anna and Louis doted on their only daughter at that time. Claude was pampered and surrounded by luxury. The princess had many girlfriends - her peers, daughters of noble families of France. The girl received an excellent education and was subsequently famous for her intelligence and elegance of manners and speech. Anna remained the only child in the family for 11 years, until her sister, Princess Renee, was born.

Claude was considered a more than enviable bride. But the parents could not reach an agreement on who would marry their beloved daughter when she grew up.





Claude French as a child with his father, mother and younger sister Rene

Groom Karl

Her father, when Claude was only 2 years old, promised her hand to Prince Charles, who in the future was to become the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Charles himself was only about 1 year old at that time. Louis married his daughter to Charles, most likely at the request of Queen Anne. This marriage did not promise any special benefits for France.

The fact is that Anna wanted to make Claude the sole heir to her Duchy of Brittany. The Queen did not give birth to any sons to Louis. According to the laws of that time, princesses could not inherit the throne of France.

The king who ascended the throne after Louis would have taken Brittany along with France for himself. Therefore, Anne sought to separate Brittany from France and make it an independent duchy. By marrying Charles, Claude would have received Brittany and would have been able to rule it on her own.



Charles V

Scary Juana Mad

In 1501, Charles's parents, Juan the Mad and Philip the Handsome, personally came to meet the family of their son's bride at Louis's palace. According to legend, during this visit an event occurred that the French subsequently recognized as significant.

Queen Anne ordered two-year-old Claude to be brought from the nursery to show her to Juana and Philip. When Claude, sitting in the governess’s arms, saw Juana, she was very frightened of something and began to scream and cry a lot. Anna had to order the governess to take her daughter back to the nursery.

Juana the Mad, as you know, received this nickname for a reason. After Philip's death, she began to behave very strangely and her relatives even had to imprison her in a castle for more than 40 years. Anna's young groom Karl was subsequently raised by his aunt, Philip's sister, Margarita of Savoy.



Juana the Mad

Louis' decision

Be that as it may, Queen Anne was very pleased with her daughter’s marriage contract. According to this agreement, in the event of the death of Louis without male heirs, Claude inherited not only Brittany, but also the Duchy of Milan, Naples, Burgundy, the Duchy of Blois and Asti.

For several years everything was calm. But in 1505, the king suddenly changed his mind and changed the fate of his daughter forever. Louis became very ill and decided that he was dying. The suffering king ordered 6-year-old Claude to be brought to him to say goodbye to her and give her a symbolic sword and spear.

After this, Louis declared that Claude should marry the son of his cousin Charles of Angoulême, Francis Valois, as quickly as possible. At the same time, Louis forbade Claude to leave France until marriage.



Louis XII

Francis of Valois was Louis's only male heir. It was he who was supposed to take the throne of France after the death of Claude's father. And it is believed that Louis made the decision to marry Francis with his daughter, wanting to secure France and the French throne as much as possible after his departure.

The king decided to marry Claude to Francis secretly from Anna. When the Queen learned of her daughter's new marriage contract, she was furious. But Anna couldn’t do anything. Because of Claude's ban on leaving France, the queen did not even have the opportunity to take her daughter away and hide her for a while in Brittany.

The French nobility, having learned about Claude's new fiancé, recalled the incident with Juana the Mad at the matchmaking ceremony and rejoiced that the princess's husband would not be Charles V, but their French compatriot.



Anne of Brittany, mother Claude

Princess tears at a wedding

In 1514, Queen Anne died due to a bone disease. There is evidence that Claude was very sad for her mother and was simply inconsolable. Four months after Anne's funeral, the princess married Francis of Valois. According to legend, at her wedding Claude looked sad and cried constantly.

The husband spent the night with the princess and after that left her to continue to indulge in entertainment. Francis was a terrible womanizer and left his wife after the wedding for another woman.

Ugly wife

There is evidence that Francis did not love his wife. Claude had graceful manners and was a very kind girl. However, she could not be called a beauty.

Like her mother, the princess had problems with her bones. Claude walked with a limp, was short and thin. In addition, she had a slight squint and was very slouched due to a bad back. Next to her huge husband, Claude looked very tiny. Apparently, this appearance repulsed her husband and forced him to seek consolation on the side.



Francis of Valois, husband Claude

After the death of her mother, Claude became the Duchess of Brittany. Brittany remained united with France. A year after Anna left, Louis, having finally married again, also left this world, leaving no male heirs.

Her husband, Claude Francis I of Valois, ascended the throne of France. After some time, Farnzisk asked Claude to transfer control of Brittany to him forever. The Queen agreed to this. The only thing is that Claude still refused to make Brittany completely part of French territory. The queen decided, just in case, to leave the dukedom as an inheritance not to her husband, but to her children.

Subsequently, Francis, without hesitation, constantly acquired favorites and promoted them at the French court. Claude lived in the shadow of her husband and his mother, Louise Svojska. Claude, unlike her younger sister Renee, never showed any interest in politics and was not even particularly interested in her mother's inheritance.

Anne Boleyn at the French court

Interestingly, one of Claude's ladies-in-waiting was the young Anne Boleyn. Anne subsequently became perhaps the most famous English queen and went down in history as the wife of Henry VIII, who was executed by him for treason. Boleyn most likely served as Claude's translator when receiving English ambassadors.



Ann Bolein

Seven children in 9 years

Francis did not love his wife, but nevertheless the queen honestly fulfilled her duty and bore him seven children. Constant pregnancies, however, further spoiled Claude's figure. She gained weight and began to get sick. The courtiers, despite her kindness and good attitude towards everyone, laughed at her and her strange figure.

Francis's mother, Louise of Savoy, did not protect her daughter-in-law. On the contrary, at every opportunity the Queen Mother tried to prick Claude. Francis himself devoted all his time to his mistress Françoise de Foix.



Francoise de Foix Chateaubriand

Exhausted body

In July 1524, at the age of only 24, Claude of France left this world. The cause of the queen's death remains unknown.

Some historians believe that the Queen of France died in yet another birth. Others believe that Claude's body was exhausted by constant pregnancy.

After the death of Francis I, the throne of France was taken by Claude's second son, Henry II. The Duke of Brittany first became the eldest child Claude Dauphin Francis, and after his departure - Henry II.