Charlotte de Brézé was the illegitimate daughter of Charles VII of France and his mistress Agnes Sorel.
Despite the circumstances of her birth, Charlotte was said to be a great asset at court, and very much loved by her father, the king.
A beautiful, charming and witty young woman, she became a particular favourite of her father’s wife, Queen Marie of Anjou.
? On 1st March 1462, Charlotte married Jacques de Brézé.
This was an arranged, and politically expedient match.
The king decided his illegitimate daughter Charlotte, and the favored noble Jacques, would be a fortitious match for all concerned.
Jacques was the seneschal of Normandy, and Comte de Maulévrier.
? The couple moved to Jacques family seat, Château de Brissac, in the Loire Valley.
From the start, this arranged marriage was not successful.
Charlotte had sophisticated tastes, and was used to life at court.
A drafty castle in the countryside didn’t suit her, and she immediately took a dislike to the boorish character of her husband.
? Jacques spent long days in the countryside, hunting and tending to his estates.
He had little time for the refined, courtly pleasures that Charlotte was accustomed to.
Despite her unhappiness, Charlotte did her duty, and bore Jacques five children.
One of these children, would go on to marry Diane de Poitiers, the future mistress of Henri II, of France.
? Eventually, Jacques began to ignore his wife even more than he did before, enjoying the company of other women, or riding around his estate.
Charlotte found herself lonely, desperately unhappy and unwanted.
Before long, she had embarked upon an affair with the handsome Pierre de Lavergne.
? Pierre was a huntsman in the retinue of her husband.
He was reported to have been extremely good looking, masculine and cultivated.
He lavished attention and affection on the unhappy Charlotte, and they soon became entangled in a passionate love affair.
? On the night of 31st May/1st June 1477, after a long day of hunting, womanising and feasting, Jacques returned to his castle.
He couldn’t find his wife Charlotte, anywhere.
Searching the castle, he came to the Tower Room, above the Chapel.
What he saw, would have tragic consequences for Charlotte and her lover.
? Jacques had caught the couple red-handed while they were in the act of making passionate love.
In an explosive rage of anger, he killed both his wife and her lover, Pierre.
The precise circumstances of their deaths are the subject of some speculation.
Some sources report that he dealt 100 blows to each of them with his hunting axe, while others suggest that he slashed them both repeatedly with his sword.
Another account says he killed Pierre immediately, and then strangled Charlotte, and threw her body out the window.
Either way, he brutally murdered them both.
? Jacques left the castle, and what happened to him after is not known.
Charlotte was buried at the Benedictine abbey of Coulombs, Eure-et-Loir.
She was just 30 years old.
? Charlotte de Brézé
Jean Clouet.
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