Death of Diane de Poitiers ~ mistress of King Henry II of France
Diane de Poitiers earned herself the reputation of being one of the most infamous women in 16th-century France ~ and for good reason.
Diane was devastatingly beautiful, and incredibly cunning
King Henry II was completely in love with her.
His Queen Catherine de Medici despised her, and Diane herself courted scandal like she courted men.
Diane de Poitiers was brought back into the spotlight in ‘Reign’ in 2013, but this sixteenth-century noblewoman was not only a loyal companion to the king, but an established influential woman, in her own right.
Diane was born on 9th January 1500 to a French nobleman and his wife.
In 1515, when just fifteen years old, she married Louis de Brézé, the grandson of King Charles VII.
They had two daughters, one in 1518 and another in 1521.
Shortly after her marriage, Diane started her court career by serving as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France.
After Claude’s death, Diane then served Louise of Savoy, mother of the King.
From childhood, Diane had developed the habit of horseback riding every morning.
Soon she was joining the king’s hunting parties at Fontainebleau.
Diane was witty and attractive, her best features being her luxurious golden hair, a fine figure, and a fresh porcelain complexion.
When her husband died in 1531, Diane adopted the habit of wearing black and white for the rest of her life.
She also wasted no time reinventing herself as a single woman.
In 1533, Diane attended the wedding of Henry and Catherine De Medici.
Based on their correspondence, it is generally believed that Diane became Henry’s mistress in 1534, when she was 35 years old and Henry was just 15.
In 1536, Henry’s older brother Francis, caught a chill after a game of tennis.
Francis contracted a fever and died shortly after.
Henry was now heir to the French throne.
Feeling unprepared for the role, he constantly turned to Diane de Poitiers, for help and guidance.
Diane was accused of seducing the young prince, and using sorcery and satanism to keep him.
The secret of her success, she said, was not witchcraft – but healthy living.
She attributed her slim figure to her devotion to exercise, and her clear complexion to the daily habit of bathing in cold water.
Henry and Diane rode together, hunted, conversed, and read.
After ten years of marriage, Catherine and Henry remained childless.
Knowing that children were imperative, Diane regularly sent Henry to Catherine’s bedchamber, to do his duty.
Diane started recommending all sorts of fertility treatments for the increasingly despondent Catherine.
With the birth of the royal children, Diane found a way of becoming indispensable to the royal couple.
Not only did she ably assist the queen during her confinements, but she also took charge of the growing nursery.
Diane acted as an unofficial advisor to Henry for his entire reign.
He did have shorter affairs with other women, but Diane remained his constant companion.
Diane was openly acknowledged, to the point that visiting dignitaries and royals greeted her with nearly the same respect as the Queen herself.
Mary, Queen of Scots, enjoyed Diane’s company, the two lively women got along well.
King Henry II died shortly after celebrating his 40th birthday.
In a horrific jousting accident, Henry received a blow in his right eye and the wooden lance remained embedded in his eye socket.
The king took ten days to die.
Unfortunately, like all mistresses, Diane’s position was dependent on Henry.
Diane now had no place at court after Henry’s death, and Catherine was quick to remove her.
Diane returned the crown jewels that Henry had given her, and retired to her Chateau.
She spent the rest of her days doing charitable works, founding a hospital, a nursery for abandoned infants, a home for young women in trouble, and another for homeless women.
Diane also arranged to train midwives to serve in the countryside, and provided dowry money for needy girls.
At the age of 64, Diane suffered a fall during a ride from which she never fully recovered.
Diane died at her chateau in the country in 1566, she was 66 years old.
In accordance with Diane’s wishes, her daughter completed the funeral chapel and tomb, built near Diane’s chateau.
During the French Revolution, her tomb was opened, her corpse was desecrated and thrown into a mass grave.
When French experts dug up and tested Diane’s remains in 2009, they found high levels of gold in her hair.
It was suggested that the “drinkable gold” that she regularly took to preserve youth, may have ultimately attributed to her death.
Diane was reburied in her original tomb in the Château d’Anet in 2010.
