The story of Diane de Poitiers has never failed to fascinate. When life and circumstances placed this French noble lady in a favourable position at the court of François I, she realised better than anyone else that she could use it to her own advantage in order to achieve power and prosperity. Diane de Poitiers was born in September 1499 to Jeanne de Batarnay and her husband, Jean de Poitiers. Her father, Lord of Saint-Vallier, owned a château in the small town of Saint-Vallier in Drôme, south east of France, where Diane spent her early years. As a child, she enjoyed
spending time with her father, accompanying him on hunting
trips and horse riding. As time went on, Diane developed
a passion for such like activities so much so that her daily routine would involve getting up at dawn to go horse riding and hunting. Nothing would be more refreshing for Diane than coming back home and bathe in cold water. Then, she would dedicate her time to reading books about history, astrology and medieval romances, dreaming at times of her ideal knight. She was then ready for a rest and some food. When Diane was 15, her father arranged for his daughter to be married to Louis de Brézé, Grand-Sénéchal of Normandy. It did not matter that he was 53, the most unattractive man in France, and had a hunch on his back. What mattered was that he was a wealthy man of high rank. The couple’s life was mostly tolerable for the first nine years of their marriage, during which time two daughters were born, Françoise and Louise. Her marriage to Louis de Brézé offered Diane the opportunity to go to the royal court of François I as lady-in-waiting for the king’s mother, Louise of Savoy. At that time, Madame de Brézé was a 25-year-old lady whose life would take a different
course with transformative results. Wearing a green and white dress, Diane made an unforgettable impression at court. One day, in July 1530, during the wedding festivities of the king’s marriage to his second wife, a young knight was preparing to take part in the jousting tournament organised to celebrate the event. His name was Henry, Duke of Orléans, the king’s second son, who had just returned from Spain, where he had been held captive together with his elder brother, Francis, for 4 years, following their father’s lost battle of Pavia. As a guarantee that the king would comply with the terms of the treaty signed in the aftermath, his sons were held captives in Spain. As it was usual for a knight to mark the occasion of taking part in the joust, Henry decided to break his first
lance in honour of Diane de Brézé, who was one of the ladies present at the royal wedding celebrations. The following year, Louis de Brézé died, and at the age of 31 Diane became a widow. As she had always been devoted to her husband, she decided to wear only black and white dresses as a sign of respect for her late husband and protector. Madame de Brézé dedicated her time to bringing up her two daughters and managing the financial
affairs of her estates. She had excellent administrative abilities and in a short time she developed a reputation as an astute businesswoman. Meanwhile, tragedy struck the royal family when the king’s eldest son, Francis, died suddenly at the age of 18. As a result, his brother, Henry, became Dauphin of France and heir to the throne at the age of 17. By that time, Henry had already been married for three years to Catherine de Medici. As a knight, Henry loved showing his bravery during battles and jousting tournaments, but as a personality, he was a rather melancholic figure who seemed sad, lost in his thoughts, and prone to mood swings. Never attracted to Catherine, Henry was ignoring her completely. The 19-year-old prince was actually captivated by
Madame de Brézé. He was charmed by her beauty and her goddess like appearance. Yes, she was 38! But no one could say that by looking at her. On the contrary, she was a graceful, slender, tall
lady with the most beautiful white complexion. Diane maintained her figure and looks by following a healthy and active lifestyle throughout her life. Personal hygiene was a rather novel concept during those times, but Diane loved soap and water more than any other lady at court. Preserving her youthful and beautiful appearance became her main priority, and she went to great lengths to achieve it. She would bathe in water in which she would put crushed gold. Anyone would have been dazzled by the delicate golden glow of her face. A combination of beauty, intelligence and charm made Diane stand apart from many of the other ladies at court. At first, she did not think much of the young Prince who was clearly captivated by her. But then Henry started writing letters to Diane, declaring he could not live without her and that no one would be able to bring a smile on his face. With the help of the Duke of Montmorency, Diane and Henry would meet at his chateau, where they would spend time together. Sharing the same passion for physical activities, they went hunting and horse riding together, and so they bonded over such hobbies. Well-read and cultivated, Diane taught the shy, ill-tempered and not very communicative young Prince essential social skills, forming his character and preparing him to become king. In a short time, Henry’s devotion and love for Diane started to grow and he became her chivalrous knight, who never tired of wearing her colours, adopting black and white attire for the rest of his life. When the courtiers started talking, Madame de Brézé, who was a confident, proud and slightly arrogant lady, didn’t seem to care. She was gradually forming a close and intimate relationship with the Dauphin, establishing her influential position at court. About Diane’s conduct, the French historian, Jules Michelet, said: “She skilfully speculated on her widowhood, carried it high, made herself inaccessible, put on the poster of eternal mourning. She tempted the Dauphin with the impossible. And she kept him, how? By not aging.” The king’s official mistress, the Duchess of Étampes felt envious of Diane’s presence at court and started making comments about her age, triggering considerable animosity between them. As a result, even the relationship between Henry and his father became rather frosty as the rivalry between their respective
mistresses was intensifying. The two ladies also clashed on religious matters, as Madame de Brézé was a devout Catholic and the Duchess of Étampes was favouring the Protestants. Henry’s relationship with his wife
was almost non-existent. Without being disrespectful to Catherine, he was simply not attracted to her and, as a result, after 10 years of marriage, they did not have any children. Although Catherine was on very
good terms with her father-in-law, the King was rather disappointed with the absence of children for his son and started thinking about
divorcing Catherine from the Dauphin. Worried about the king’s intention, Catherine implored him to change his decision. Luckily for Catherine, she was eventually able to have
her first child with Henry at the age of 25. Madame de Brézé tried to promote harmony between Henry and Catherine and advised the Prince not to ignore his wife. As a result, the royal couple had many other children during their marriage; but despite that, Catherine realised that she would never win her husband’s heart and her role would only be that of a wife, remaining somewhere in the background. There was not much Catherine could do about it but wait, observe and learn. When François I died, in 1547, Henry became King Henry II of France at the age of 28, and the following year, Diane received the title of Duchess of Valentinois. She realised that at 48, she was racing against time to achieve her objectives. To show her authority, the Duchess of Valentinois
dismissed her rival, the Duchess of Étampes, and ordered her to give up her duchy and return the jewels which François I had given to her. Obviously, Diane became the new proud owner. With Henry completely dependent upon her advice, Diane sensed that her influence over him would play to her advantage. Being more mature than the king, she offered him sound and practical advice on private and political matters. She became his chief adviser and Henry’s reliance on Diane to guide him would be life-long. To show how much Henry loved her and to make her feel that she was in fact treated like
the uncrowned Queen of France, he offered her gifts, jewels and the impressive Château de Chenonceau with its associated estates. Upon Henry’s accession to the throne, all the funds, collected from the officers of the crown, intended for the king, were transferred to Diane, and later it was even claimed that she had spent more money than the mistresses of Louis XV. Being the owner of vast estates, the Duchess of Valentinois imposed taxes for the usage of her lands in order to pay for her extravagant tastes. Having recently gained access to the royal treasury, Diane, the refined art lover, wanted to have a castle for herself and her king. Henry obeyed her wishes and employed renowned French architects and artists and a chateau was built on the grounds of her late husband’s estate at Anet. Diane’s artistic tastes were reflected in every room of the chateau, where paintings and rich tapestries adorned the walls. Venetian mirrors and exquisite art objects would be displayed in abundance. Italian artists of the Renaissance
period were lining up to paint her portrait, representing Diane as a goddess of the hunt. The crescent moon, symbolising feminine power, creativity and intuition, became her emblem along with the monogram of the interlaced initials D and H. It did not take long for those symbols to find their way in other places. They could be seen at the Louvre, at Fontainebleau, and at the Hôtel de Ville. Diane de Poitiers became a patroness of the arts and the Château d’Anet was paradise on earth, where sumptuous dinners and social gatherings were arranged. The king could not be more delighted. It was all that mattered. Diane was an expert in offering Henry luxury, comfort and amusements. Her aim was to keep the king interested. Jules Michelet commented on Diane’s plan of action, saying: “Henry II appeared somewhat tamed, docile, born for obedience. A woman of forty-nine, who ruled a man of thirty, could not be reassured. She badly needed to occupy him
with dreams, projects, thoughts.” Well, whatever her strategy was, it worked. Henry’s love and devotion to
Diane lasted as long as he lived. Diane got involved even in the
upbringing of the king’s children, choosing their teachers and deciding
how they should be educated. They would often play at the Château
d’Anet to the displeasure of their mother. Always dedicated to her family and thinking about the future, Diane arranged excellent marriages for her daughters. Louise, her younger daughter, became the wife of Claude, Duke of Aumale, who was the son of Claude,
Duke of Guise - an influential nobleman. Protected by wealth and power, the Duchess of Valentinois was in a position of absolute supremacy. And so it continued for years until one day, in June 1559, when everything changed suddenly. The king’s daughter, Elizabeth, was getting married to Philip II of Spain and, at the same time, the king’s sister, Margaret, was marrying the Duke of Savoy. When a jousting tournament was organised to mark the royal weddings, Catherine tried to convince the king not to take part in the joust. According to her astrologer, bad things would happen. The king laughed at such warnings and was ready to show his bravery in his favourite tournament, which would last for three days. The first two days were a triumph for the confident king, but the last day proved to be fatal to him when the wooden lance of Captain Montgomery, his adversary, broke against the king’s armour. After the impact, Montgomery was supposed to throw his lance aside according to the rules of the joust, but he forgot and as they dashed past one another, accidentally, a splinter of wood got into one of the king’s eyes. During Henry’s eleven days of intense suffering, the doctors were unable to treat the king. Although Henry asked to see Diane, she was not allowed to see him again. Catherine’s moment of revenge had come at last. The 40-year-old King died on 10 July 1559 and shortly after that Catherine de Medici and the Duke of Guise became Regents. The Queen ordered Diane to return the crown jewels, renounce the Château de Chenonceau and leave Paris. She was never to return to court. She was alone and powerless. The man of her life was no more. Devastated by his death, Diane de Poitiers retired to the Château d’Anet, where she spent her days praying for Henry’s soul. Diane died seven years later at the age of 66. When she died, it was said that she looked as beautiful as she was at the age of 30. According to her wishes, a part of wealth was divided between her daughters and the rest went to charity. It is difficult to say who Diane de Poitiers really was … a cold and shrewd woman who was only motivated by greed? Her critics would probably say so. Her admirers might see her as a woman well versed in the art of life who was able to use her charm and intelligence to maximum effect.
