Diane de Poitiers - Diane de Poitiers (September 3, 1499 (according to other sources, January 9, 1500) - April 26, 1566) - beloved and official mistress of King Henry II of France.

At the dawn of love I dreamed of God,
Placing a flower in trembling hands.
A flower, as you yourself understand,
There was a young man, as beautiful as a god.
Fluttering and lowering eyelashes,
I said through force: “Oh no!”
“Don’t be a hypocrite with yourself,” was the answer.
Diana de Poitiers /1537/

At the French royal court, since the 15th century, there has been an unprecedented “position” - maîtresse en titre (literally, the official favorite). It was not even a position, but a certain status that the King of France could bestow on one of his beloved ones. Unlike all the other beauties who were in the royal embrace, the official favorite had the opportunity to influence the course of political events, actively interfere in the life of the royal court and even in the intra-family relations of the ruling family.

Henry II ( French: Henri II) (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was a Valois monarch who ruled as King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. Second son of Francis I, he became Dauphin of France after the death of his elder brother Francis III, Duke Brittany, in 1536. Henry was born at the Royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, son of Francis I

And Claude, Duchess of Brittany (daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany).

Thus, the king of France in his private life was similar to an eastern ruler - in addition to his wife-queen, he had a maîtresse en titre, who had a wide variety of privileges, and if the king was distinguished by his love of love, then this peculiar “family” included numerous, often changing concubines What is characteristic is that the royal maîtresse en titre (with a few exceptions) were extraordinary, bright and worthy, if not admiration, then at least interest.

Diane de Poitiers is one of them. A brilliant beauty, she had a sublime mind and, at the same time, was calculating, and, as her ill-wishers used to say, extremely stingy. Her breadth of views coexisted with religious obscurantism, and her love of fine arts and beauty with hard-heartedness and hypocrisy.

Diana became not only a muse and lover, but also a mentor to King Henry II. Remembering the life of Diane de Poitiers, it is always worth remembering one important fact - her worthy rival was Catherine de Medici, a woman who for a long time became an example of a great mind and equally great cunning...

(Catherine de Medici)

This story began in 1499, when a daughter, Diana, was born into the noble family of Jean de Poitiers de Saint-Vallier. (Some historians, however, name a different date - 1500, but for our story this is not so important). When the girl was only 15 years old, she was married to the Seneschal of Normandy, Louis de Breze.

Louis de Brezé

As expected, the husband was much older than the lovely Diana - by 40 years! From this quite harmonious marriage, despite the huge difference in age, two daughters were born - Louise and Françoise and, it seemed, this family idyll can only be broken by death.

François Clouet.Françoise de Brezet

Diana's husband was an experienced lover and taught her many secrets of seduction, so his age no longer mattered to the young woman. From this marriage two girls were born, Françoise and Louise. Throughout her life together, Diana remained faithful to her husband.

True, there was a case when in 1523, Diana’s husband was sentenced to death, and she was forced to turn to King Francis I of France for help in order to get the sentence overturned. But it was rumored that she succeeded only due to adultery. But why, then, did Francis I write under the portrait of Diana: “A beauty inaccessible to seducers”?

Workshop. Equestrian portrait of Francis I Paris, Louvre

Louis de Brezé died in 1531, and in his memory Diana wore mourning for the rest of her life. Black became the main color for her dresses, much later she added white and gray colors, these colors soon became fashionable at court.

Diane de Poitiers knelt before the ashes of her husband Louis de Brezé, in front of the mausoleum in the Chapel of the Virgin

Tomb of Louis de Brézé

Diana had no intention of burying herself alive! In addition, the thirty-year-old widow was fabulously beautiful and, moreover, incredibly young. Scientists are still arguing about what was the reason for Diana’s female longevity - a healthy lifestyle or the absence of a certain “aging gene”. But, one way or another, a few years later, Fate brought the beautiful widow together with the young Dauphin Henry - he was 20 years younger than Diana.

The Dauphin was gloomy, unsociable and felt deeply unhappy - as a child, Henry was at the court of Charles V of Spain as a hostage, and the stress suffered in connection with this had a detrimental effect on the character of the future monarch.

Wedding of Catherine de Medici and Henry II, King of France.

Catherine de' Medici

In addition, at the age of 14, Henry married the equally young Catherine de Medici, who, alas, did not meet his ideas about the Beautiful Lady.

(Henry II)

While still in Spanish captivity, Henry voraciously read chivalric novels and dreamed, like book characters, of bending the knee before the one and only. So, the heroine of his novel was the widow de Breze - smart, beautiful and understanding. In addition, she gave Henry and his young wife wise worldly advice.

A Lady's Toilet (Portrait of Diane de Poitiers) Washington, National Gallery

A beautiful, skillful mistress of the young king... it would seem, what’s surprising here? The uniqueness of the moment lay in three things. Firstly, Diane de Poitiers was at least good enough for her lover to be a mother, being twenty years older than him! Secondly, her beauty not only did not fade over the years, but blossomed in magnificent colors. For years they simply didn’t take the beauty; she remained young both in appearance and in bed at sixty.

It was rumored that Diana drank drugs containing gold; many centuries later, doctors came to the same conclusion. But de Poitiers did not give away her secrets. And thirdly, it was the mistress who, having aroused, sent the king to the queen’s bed to conceive heirs, because, no matter how hard she tried, her children could not lay claim to the throne, and the crown needs princes, preferably several. So King Henry lived in two beds - with his mistress and with his wife. I visited the first one more often.

Surprisingly, Catherine de Medici was smart enough to endure everything! Realizing that she simply did not have the physical capabilities to compete with the beautiful Diana, Catherine behaved very peacefully with her and learned a lot. This was one of the most amazing queens, to whom people's rumor attributed a great many crimes. The Black Queen, the poisoner, the queen of poisons... Catherine de Medici was called as they once were. She didn't deny or make excuses.

Thus, there is a completely authoritative opinion among historians that Henry II began to visit the bed of Catherine de Medici precisely at the insistence of his wise Diana. Of course, when directing the Dauphin to the bedroom of his lawful wife, the favorite was not thinking about piety at all - the smart and cunning Diana wanted to strengthen the position of her lover. In what way? France needed an heir - Henry's legitimate son from Catherine, and rumors had already spread at court that the Dauphin could not have children at all. And in 1544, Catherine de Medici gave birth to her first child, Francis (the future King Francis II).

Now the beautiful Diana could calmly wait for her finest hour. ..In the spring of 1547, the Dauphin’s father, King Francis I, died.

Portrait of Francis I by Titian - Louvre.

From now on, everything belongs to Henry and her, Diana, who not only subjugated the will of the French monarch, but even did the impossible - she turned a gloomy misanthrope into a witty interlocutor and connoisseur of fine arts.

Another, much more famous abode of the favorite was the castle of Chenonceau.

Wax figures of Henry and Diana at Chenonceau Castle

Chenonceau Castle

Diane Poitiers' bedroom at Chenonceau Castle

By the way, the question arises - why did the widow de Breze, who also became the Duchess of Valentinois, go down in history under her maiden name “de Poitiers”? The fact is that she herself preferred this big name, which put her in line with the kings of Europe - the Poitiers family was older than even the Valois family ruling in France. Not to mention “some” Medici!

Diane de Poitiers in the studio of Jean Goujon

By the way, the beautiful Diana did not at all want to be content with honors and awards alone. She had always been too ambitious to simply accept gifts, even from the hands of the most significant ruler in Europe. De Poitiers was present at the birth of the royal offspring and personally chose nurses and educators for them. Moreover, she gave Catherine delicate advice of a sexual nature - it was from Diana that the queen learned the best way to entertain her husband in bed! This “threesome love” became a real test for Catherine de Medici, but she was unable to openly fight with her influential favorite.

This may seem strange, but Diana de Poitiers was an incredibly pious person - she passionately hated the Reformation and, according to many researchers, it was de Poitiers who instilled in Henry II hatred of the Huguenots. The Pope himself, Paul III, treated Diana quite kindly... It got to the point that church ministers sincerely praised her piety. Well, hypocrisy is a frequent companion of vices!

Diane Poitier

Beginning in 1550, Madame de Poitiers directed the work of all royal services and was in charge of the removal and appointment of officials. Only the Marquise de Pompadour under Louis XV was subsequently able to achieve such power. Poitiers gave her daughters to Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, and to Robert de la Marche, Marshal of France. It would seem that life is good...

Historians and novelists often wonder: “How did Diana de Poitiers manage to be the first lady of the kingdom for so long? Were there really no other smart and beautiful women at court who could win the royal heart?” Or maybe Henry was a monogamous man? Alas, no.

His affair with Mary Fleming, a girl from Mary of Scotland's retinue, is all too well known. However, Henry always returned to Diana...

It seems that the main reason for such a long-term attachment was that Poitier, like no one else, knew how to be needed. She knew perfectly well all the habits, fears and doubts of the King of France. She could cheer him up, captivate him and instill confidence in him. Moreover, Diana controlled the king without any pressure on him - it seemed to him that it was he, smart and brave, who made fateful decisions.

Diana awaited the onset of 1559 with fear - astrologers predicted her lover would “strike at the age of 40.” She, like Catherine de Medici, was superstitious. Shortly before the terrible tragedy that Nostradamus himself predicted, Henry told Diana: “I beg you to always remember that I have never loved and do not love anyone but you!”

At the end of June 1559, celebrations began on the occasion of the betrothal of the royal sister. An ardent fan of knightly tournaments, Henry II announced that he wanted to fight with anyone. The young Earl of Montgomery decided to compete in strength and agility with the forty-year-old king. The knight's fun ended in tragedy - the tip of Montgomery's spear pierced the king's head...

Henry II was mortally wounded, and then Catherine de' Medici ordered Diana de Poitiers to immediately leave the court, leaving behind all the jewelry that the king had given her.

But Diana, having learned that the king was still alive, disobeyed and did not leave royal palace, believing that while the king is alive, no one has the right to order anything to her. Henry II soon died and Francis II reigned on the throne, who immediately repeated the demand of Catherine de Medici.

Catherine de' Medici

Diana de Poitiers was forced to retire to her castle.

Diane's estate of Poitiers - the castle of Ane, where she spent recent years life. Inheritance of her husband Louis de Brezé

The bas-relief above the entrance to the castle of Ane is the work of Benvenuto Cellini.

With the death of the king, the star of the favorite also set. Catherine could celebrate her victory! The queen, having become regent, hastened to return the castle of Chenonceau. However, Diana transferred it to herself in a cunning way, and the queen had to offer her Chaumont Castle for Chenonceau, which was twice as expensive in value.

Chaumont Castle, which Catherine de Medici replaced Diana with Chenonceau Castle

Abandoned by everyone, Diane de Poitiers still managed to found several hospitals. She died at the age of 57. A white marble statue of Diana was installed in the castle church, which was later transported to the Louvre, where it can still be seen. Diana de Poitiers died in 1566, of course, not from illness or old age. The cause of her death is believed to be a fall from a horse.

Tombstone of Diane Poitiers in the Church of Ane

Well, a fitting death for a huntress goddess.

Jean Goujon. Diana. Statue for the fountain of the castle in Ane. Marble. 1558-1559 Paris, Louvre

We only deceive our friends when we ask them for advice; after all, we never tell them the whole truth, and what we hide is usually the most important. (Diane de Poitiers)

Courage often springs from despair and hope; in the first case there is nothing to lose, in the second you can win everything. (Diane de Poitiers)

The years that a woman subtracts from her age are not lost: she adds them to the age of other women. (Diane de Poitiers)

Ideals of Diane de Poitiers:

Three things must be white: skin, teeth, hands.
Three - black: eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes.
Three - red: lips, cheeks, nails.
Three - long: body, hair, fingers.
Three - short: teeth, ears, feet.
Three - narrow: mouth, waist, ankles.
Three - full: arms, thighs, calves.
Three - small: nose, chest, head.

There were many beautiful women in the world, all of them, however, like any woman in general, dreamed of having poems and songs written about them. But whole legends were made up about the beauty of Diana de Poitiers, which have survived to this day. The memory of this woman has been preserved for five hundred years, everything passes in this life, and the mystery of her charm still attracts us.

The Hour of Truth: The King's Favorite Diane de Poitiers

CONTENTS: France, 16th century. King Francis I of France, for the sake of peace with Italy, marries his youngest son Henry on Catherine de Medici. Before the wedding, Henry is taught good manners by the charming Countess de Braze. The groom, instead of Catherine, falls madly in love with his mentor! The extraordinary life story of Countess de Braze, one of the most famous and romantic women of 16th century France.
Starring: Lana Turner, Roger Moore, Pedro Armendariz, Marisa Pavan, Cedric Hardwicke, Torin Thatcher and others.

For five centuries, the mystery of the love of Henry II and his favorite Diana de Poitiers has haunted the minds of researchers and lovers. Henry declared Diana a Belle Lady when he was already married to Catherine de Medici. This one is almost fantastic story about deep feelings has amazed people for several centuries...

Prior to this, Diana was for sixteen years the wife of the great Seneschal of Normandy, Louis de Brezé, grandson of Charles VII. This marriage was arranged by her father, Count Valentinois, when Diana was 15 years old and Louis de Breze was 56. Beauty and the Beast - Diana was beautiful and majestic, and Louis de Breze was old and ugly, but reliable, like a rock against which all blows break fate.

Born on September 3, 1499. Belonged to the ancient Dauphine family. In 1515 she married Louis de Vrese. Widowed in 1531. Since 1539 - beloved and official favorite of King Henry II of France. Actively involved in politics. Died on April 26, 1566.

Its evidence is still alive throughout France: on the walls of Versailles, the castles of the Loire and the town of Anet you can see frescoes, sculptures and portraits of Diana de Poitiers and King Henry II of France. On the pediments of Parisian and Lyon buildings there are their crowns: double latin letters"DH", Diana and Henry (Henri). It's like it happened just yesterday. Meanwhile, it all began back in the distant 16th century.

In the spring of 1525, general despondency reigned at the French court. How could it be otherwise if the country was left without a monarch. The extravagant King Francis I, who got involved in a war with the Spaniards, was not only defeated in the Battle of Pavia, but also found himself captured. They demanded a colossal ransom for him. However, to collect money they were even ready to release the king if he sent hostages to Spain - his sons, the 8-year-old heir-Dauphin Francis and his younger brother Heinrich, who was not even 7 years old.

THE LITTLE PRINCE
At the beginning of March 1526, the Parisian court went to the Spanish border: to pick up the king and give the small captives to the Spaniards. The road was terrible, the weather was chilly. The princes coughed. The court ladies did not leave their carriages. And, to brighten up the way, the gentlemen tried to flirt with the only beauty who was not afraid of catching a cold - the main lady-in-waiting of the royal court, Diana de Poitiers. By the way, Francis himself once tried to court her, but to no avail.

He just drew a portrait of the beauty - graceful posture, expressive face, winged eyebrows and brown eyes in which intelligence and mystery shone - and signed: “ Her face is beautiful. Her company is pleasant". But even the loving monarch did not dare to do more: Diana kept herself aloof from the first days at court, she was even nicknamed the Ice Maiden.

Diane de Poitiers

On March 29, 1515, she married her father’s friend, 56-year-old Louis de Breze, Grand Seneschal of Normandy. And everyone expected the 15-year-old beauty to take a lover. But she gave birth to her husband two daughters and flatly refused any outside courtship. And now, having transferred from the carriage to a hardy horse, 26-year-old Diana indifferently listened to the compliments of her beauty exuded by the court helipads galloping on both sides of her.

She only wondered to herself: does no one really care that they will have to give up tiny children as hostages, whose only offense is that their reckless father, the king, wanted to fight.

By the morning of March 15, we finally got to border river Bidassoa. Here the exchange of the king for the hostage princes was to take place. Squinting, Diana saw a barge sail away from the Spanish coast. Everyone rejoiced: the king was on board. They immediately began to hastily put the children into the barge on the French side. Everyone fussed around the Dauphin - final instructions and hugs. Of course - the future king.

Henry II in his youth

No one approached tiny Heinrich. He stood alone, courageously holding back tears. Diana's heart sank. She rushed to the boy, pressed him to her chest and kissed him. " You must hold on! - she whispered. - We will be waiting for you!».

Then she learned that the Spaniards had thrown the children into prison. They were beaten and starved. At night, Diana dreamed of Henry with huge, haunted eyes. And she began to pray for him as for her own child.

Only four years later Francis I was able to ransom the princes. A tournament was held in honor of their return and the king’s marriage. Francis and the Dauphin bowed before the new queen. But Henry bowed his banner to... Diane of Poitiers. The court gasped: after all, she was already 31 years old, and the prince was not yet twelve! But, apparently, they grow up quickly in captivity: the young knight won his duel.

And 3 months later, the Grand Seneschal of Normandy, Louis de Breze, died. And Diana put on widow's clothes - black and white. Now this is her outfit for life...

FIRST WEDDING NIGHT
In the summer of 1531, the court traveled around the Loire. In the famous rose garden of the Chenonceau castle, the king beckoned Diana to him. She approached easily and gracefully. The king marveled - at the 32nd year of her life, Diana was blooming like young girl. After the death of her husband, she returned her maiden name, although she did not stop mourning. But, damn it, how attractive this woman is in her black and white attire!

Diana's bathing. OK. 1550—1560

« The damned captivity had too dark an effect on Henry! - said the king. “He’s only 13 years old, but he looks twice his age.” But most importantly, in captivity the boy forgot how to smile. But I saw the way he looks at you... A little lively flirtation is all I ask!»

Diana inhaled the scent of roses. A little flirtation - is it reprehensible? It's just a game of knight and fair lady. Young Henry will present a rose to Diana. And she will dry it in her favorite volume of poetry...

And now Henry is scribbling enthusiastic sonnets and raising the standards of the black and white flowers of his lady love. And at night Diana dreams of Henry. And in her sleep she forgets that she is already a widow and that her daughter Françoise is older than this strange young man.

Meanwhile, the king carried out his plans for his son. In 1533, a bride arrived from Italy - Duchess Catherine de Medici, heiress to a wealthy banking house. The 14-year-old girl looked adoringly at the handsome young groom. But how could she, ugly and short, kindle his marital passion?

The king understood this. And so he himself led the newlyweds into the bedroom and ordered: “Come on, children!” And he stood by the bed until the “children” became husband and wife.

Catherine de Medici

But the next morning Diana found “Knight Henry” in his usual place at the door of her chambers. His young wife did not cure him of romantic sighs. On the contrary, heated up on their wedding night, he looked at Diana with true passion.

What should she do? How to behave? Every evening Diana prayed: let Henry’s heavy passion subside! May both he and she find peace. And let him manage to improve relations with Catherine, because this poor girl is Diana’s distant relative. But, apparently, God did not hear her prayers. Or did God have other plans?

In August 1536, the king's eldest son suddenly died, and 17-year-old Henry became the heir-dauphin. Now he, to whom no one had paid any attention before, found himself at the center of palace life. A month later, the court went to the castle of Ecoin to look at the famous stained glass windows about the love of Psyche and Cupid.

Henry II

It just so happened that Henry and Diana admired the stained glass windows together. And, emboldened, the young man hugged Diana. She was embarrassed, but Heinrich whispered, as if in a fever: “ I survived captivity, only to return to you!»

They stood at the door that opened into the garden. The moon was shining overhead. And Diana thought: tomorrow the sun will rise, mercilessly illuminating their age difference. But as long as the moon is in the sky, can't they be happy?

That night Diana realized for the first time that she had not yet truly loved. She respected the good old Seneschal, but there was no love. And then she came...

ROYAL PASSIONS
Catherine despaired of waiting for Henry in the bedchamber. How many years has she been married, the king-father-in-law demands an heir, but from where?! Henry hangs around with damned Diana day and night!

Catherine de' Medici

Suddenly the floorboard creaked. It can’t be—Henry has come! " Oh darling, I hope I've pleased you? - he only exhaled, having fulfilled his marital duty. — Diana scolds me. He says I must come to you every night until you give us an heir." Heinrich kissed his wife indifferently and left.

Catherine sobbed into her pillow. What a shame! Her husband comes to her at the insistence of his mistress!.. How did this witch bewitch him? But it won’t always be on top - time flies! Soon Diana will grow old and shrivel, and Catherine will blossom. It’s not for nothing that the best healers, whom she gathered in the palace, prepare love potions and rejuvenation rubs for her. She will become a beauty! We just have to wait...

Francis I

On January 19, 1544, in the 11th year of marriage, the first-born of Catherine and Henry was born. Of course, he was named after his grandfather - Francis. But the birth of a son did not change the habits of the “knight of Diana.” And it couldn’t change: Catherine was just an imposed dynastic wife. Diana - with her whole life. Leaving her even for a day, Heinrich sent countless letters. And in these chaotic letters, the gloomy and uncommunicative Henry became a verbose and ardent romantic:

« I beg you to remember that I have known only one God and only one Friend...», « Most of all in life I want to try to become useful to you, because I cannot live for a long time without seeing you...“The answer to these letters was the motto that Diana took for herself: “ Sola vivit in illo» — « I live only in it».

Chenonceau Castle

It is not surprising that when Francis G died in 1547, the newly-minted King Henry II presented his favorite with lands, jewelry and even the most luxurious castle on the banks of the Loire - the legendary Chenonceau. As if Diana, and not Catherine, is the Queen of France. But it was so: Diana did not own the country, but the heart of the king.

ANCIENT PROPHECY
Diana woke up before Henry. He was breathing peacefully next to me - young, beautiful. He gets so excited when he sees Diana naked. But soon she will turn 50. What then? No magic can stop time. It’s just the eccentric Catherine who relies on all sorts of healers, magicians, and astrologers. But by the way,” Diana sat up on the bed, “there are true wizards!”

Alexandre-Evariste Fragonard "Portrait of Henry II and Diane de Poitiers in Jean Goujon"

Artists, sculptors, poets - that’s who can stop time and forever capture its beauty in poetry, canvases, and sculptures! She will become the nymph of the royal palace of Fontainebleau and the patroness of art. Once upon a time, at birth, an old sorceress predicted that a girl born in the fall of 1499 to Jean de Poitiers and who would be called Diana would rule over everyone.

Great prophecy. But Diana did not strive for power. But if her descendants call her a patroness and inspirer of the arts and say that it was during the time of the beautiful Diana that the golden age of the French Renaissance began, this will be the pinnacle of her life.

Since then it has been like this. Diana invited the best architects to build new palaces and restore old ones; the best painters to paint the vaults of these palaces, placing portraits of her, Diana, on the walls; the best poets and musicians, so that they too glorify her love with Henry.

Bedroom of King Henry II's favorite, Diane de Poitiers

Well royal life was still going for three. Catherine gave birth regularly. Diana raised the royal offspring. Both women always behaved within the bounds of decency. Until, at the end of 1558, Catherine intervened in a political situation that Henry and Diana started. Ah, this damned politics!..

Diane de Poitiers dressed as the patroness of hunting

The king shouted at his wife. She, swallowing tears, pretended to take up the book. “What are you reading, madam?” - Wanting to make peace, asked Diana. And then the former quiet woman exploded: “I read the history of France and see that here the kings have always been ruled by whores! Diana couldn’t help herself: “ Don't shout about sluts, madam! And so everyone sees that your children bear little resemblance to Henry!»

The fireplace in Diane de Poitiers' bedroom, ironically, above the fireplace is a portrait of his legal wife, Catherine de' Medici.

It was an unfair accusation. And Diana knew this very well, but she really wanted to hit this ungrateful woman at least once. After all, how many times did Henry want to get a divorce, but it was Diana who did not allow it! And now the rivals stood opposite each other, with their hands on their hips, like market women. They forgot that they had 25 years of good manners for the sake of their the only man. And now the stock of manners is over...

Diana decided to leave the courtyard. Henry was horrified: “I can’t live without you!“Indeed, as long as he could remember, he could not live without her. What he told his wife is a mystery, but Catherine again began to smile at her rival. Delighted by the reconciliation, Henry decided to organize a knightly tournament.

On the third day of the holiday, June 30, 1559, he rode out on a prancing stallion with the strange name Bede. The squire placed a huge golden helmet on the monarch's head. Diana gasped. She suddenly remembered an old prophecy made by an old fortune teller. How did it start there?

“The one who will be born in the fall of 1499 and who will be called Diana ... - and further, - will save the snowy head, and then lose the golden one. Both losing and gaining, she will shed many tears. But rejoice—she will rule over everyone!”

And life showed that the fortune teller was not mistaken...

Diana’s fate indeed contained many joys and losses. And the “snow head” was found. When Diana was 25 years old, her father, Jean de Poitiers, became embroiled in a conspiracy against King Francis. And only the intercession of the Breze couple saved the father’s gray head from the chopping block. Diana saved the snowy head. But Diana never met the “golden head”. But it’s destined to lose her. And here is Henry in a gilded helmet!..

Diana screamed at the top of her lungs: “ Stop, sir!“But the king was already rushing towards his rival - the young captain Montgomery. A few moments later they collided. The captain's spear broke, but its fragment, lifting the visor of the royal helmet, pierced straight into Henry's eye.

The bleeding king was carried to the palace. Diana, in despair, clutched the handrails of the platform and repeated: “The one who will be called Diana will lose her golden head!..” Catherine fainted. And when she came to her senses, she remembered the prediction of her astrologer Luka Goriko: “ A king must avoid fighting in his 41st year" She also remembered the quatrain of the famous doctor and predictor Nostradamus:

A young lion will defeat an old one
On the battlefield, one on one.
In a golden cage he will gouge out his eye,
And he will die a cruel death.

How could such an avalanche of prophecies fail to come true?!

The Diana of Anet 1550-54

ROSES OF ETERNITY
« Due to the harmful influence, you are moving away from the yard!“- the new king of France, Francis II, muttered, looking contemptuously at his father’s favorite. And Diana suddenly remembered how this eternally sick young man suffered from a terrible rash. Everyone was afraid to approach him, and only she had the courage to change his bandages. But she didn't even think about gratitude. Moreover, Catherine de Medici now stood behind the throne, having received the title of Queen Mother.

She finally managed to get rid of her rival. But it seems it's too late...
The next day after her son’s coronation, she, washing the blush off her face, was horrified: she was only 40, and the mirror showed a wrinkled old woman. And no magical rubbing helps.

And Diana, who left for her castle Ane, attracted the eyes of men even in her seventies. One day, the court writer Pierre Brantôme asked her to reveal the secret of eternal youth.

« There's nothing surprising about this- Diana answered. — I get up at 6 am and take a cold bath. Then I get on the horse and gallop at full speed. At 8 I return and go to bed to rest a little. I have a light breakfast and lunch and drink goat milk for dinner. But the main thing is this: every day you need to do something pleasant and fall asleep joyfully, without holding heavy thoughts in your head».
.


Benvenuto Cellini. Tomb of Diana de Poitiers

On the night of April 25, 1566, Diana de Poitiers fell asleep, remembering her Henry with a smile. And she didn’t wake up anymore. In the Ane Church they erected a monument made of white marble to her, like a true ancient goddess.

And for the fifth century now, on the day of her repose, mysterious admirers have brought two white roses to this monument - one from themselves, the other from Henry. No wonder he once wrote to his beloved: “ My love will protect you from time and from death itself».

Elena Korovina

On January 9, 1500, Jean Saint-Vallier, the favorite of King Francis I of France, gave birth to his daughter Diana. Her mother came from the Poitiers family, which was rightfully proud of its family tree. The girl, born at the dawn of a new century, never forgot about it. When she turned fifteen, she was married to the Grand Seneschal of Normandy, Louis de Brezé, who was forty-one years older. From the marriage of Diana and Louis de Breze, two daughters were born, and, despite the incredible age difference even at that time, the couple lived in perfect harmony. Thus, already in her blooming youth, Diana learned some secret, thanks to which age ceased to matter to her.

Meanwhile, in the spring of 1519, King Francis I's second son, Henry, was born. At the very beginning of his life, fate prepared an incredible test for the child. In the spring of 1524, his father lost the Battle of Pavia and was captured. The condition for release was Francis's agreement to hand over his two sons as hostages. One of them was the young Prince Henry.
The brothers remained in captivity for four whole years. Of course, the memory of this time was forever preserved by Henry of Orleans, and, probably, it was captivity that made him an unusually courageous man, a fearless warrior who despised danger. It can be assumed that already in early childhood he realized that there are things worse than death.
In 1533, Prince Henry of Orleans married a distant relative of Diana de Poitiers, Catherine de' Medici. Like all marriages of European monarchs, it was a dynastic union. There was no question of love, at least at the time when the fourteen-year-old boy became a husband.

Three years later, Henry's elder brother suddenly dies, and the king declares him Dauphin, that is, heir to the throne. Intrigues begin at court, caused by the fact that the Dauphin's wife, Catherine, has not yet given birth to a child. The infertility of the heir's wife led Francis' mistress, the Duchess d'Etampes (in whose arms the king found solace while his sons were in captivity), to talk about an unsuccessful marriage. The word of the Duchess d'Etampes had the force of law. But then the wife of the great seneschal of Normandy, Diana de Poitiers, emerged from the shadows. She was a lady close to the court, and from time to time she gave the Dauphin Henry wise worldly advice. The Dauphin endlessly trusted her, fascinated not only by her intelligence and devotion, which he never had a chance to doubt: Diana was dazzlingly beautiful.
Diana managed to convince Henry that Catherine was a loving wife and that talk about her infertility was just false slander. Thus, she not only prevented discord in the royal family, but also made Catherine de Medici her ally in order to resist numerous palace intrigues with her. Could Catherine have known that this was just the beginning...

The Dauphin, losing his head from a sudden surge of passion, finally confessed his love to Diana. Diana did not hesitate to make it clear that she was ready to accept this priceless gift. And so the heir to the throne, who knew nothing but the inept caresses of his wife and the fleeting embraces of sutlers during frequent military expeditions, tastes the honey of true passion. The poems that Henry dedicates to Diana say that it was she who turned him into a man and from now on she is a goddess, and he is her faithful knight.
Alas, my God, how I regret
About time lost
in his youth:
How many times have I dreamed
To make Diana mine
only lover
But I was afraid that she
being a goddess
Won't stoop so low
To notice me
who without it
I knew no pleasures
no joy...
Diana was thirty-nine years old. She was almost twenty years older than Henry. Her main rival, the Duchess d'Etampes, believed that such a difference would be deadly and would soon lead to the fall of the beauty who had been elevated to the foot of the throne. Who would have believed then that Diana would not hesitate to accept the challenge and the sweetest of victories would be the reward for this courage.
By this time, Diana had long been a widow, and all her heraldic emblems were decorated with an inverted torch, a sign of inconsolable widowhood.
The question of the birth of an heir worried all members of the royal family. At first, suspicions fell on Heinrich, because, as doctors found out, he suffered from hypospadias, that is, an incorrect location of the seminal opening. However, a short affair with the sister of one of the friends ended with the birth of a daughter, who was given to Diane de Poitiers to raise. From then on, all eyes turned to Catherine. The sorcerers suggested trying the ashes of a burnt frog and mule urine, hare blood mixed with an extract from the left hind leg of a weasel soaked in vinegar. However, the most effective remedy was proposed by Diana, who took an active part in the Dauphin’s marriage affairs. Every night she sent her beloved Heinrich to the marital bedroom, providing him with a lot of useful advice. The help of the widow of the great seneschal of Normandy turned out to be so fruitful that over time King Henry II awarded her a huge reward “for the kind and useful services previously rendered to the queen.”
Bedroom key
In the spring of 1547, Francis I died and Henry became king. His coronation turned into a triumph for Diana, who was elevated to stratospheric heights at the new court. Henry showered her with priceless gifts: to the most enviable crown jewels, he added a huge diamond, with difficulty snatched from the defeated favorite of the deceased king, the Duchess d'Etampes. Diana also inherited all her castles, as well as the Parisian mansion of her once obstinate rival. Soon Diana was granted another, hitherto unheard of, benefit. In accordance with tradition, when changing reigns, officials were required to pay a huge tax “for confirmation of authority.” This time, golden rain fell not on the royal treasury, but on Diane de Poitiers. Moreover, from now on she was supposed to receive part of the tax on bell towers, about which there is a very clear hint in the famous book of Rabelais, namely in the story of Gargantua, who hung the Parisian bells around the neck of his mare. Three months after the death of his father, Henry II gave his beloved the castle of Chenonceau. The magical beauty of this castle cannot be described; only poets could do it.
Catherine, outwardly always restrained and imperturbable, was insanely jealous of the king for the unfading Diana. In the famous “Collection for Ladies” by Brantôme there is an episode, the heroine of which is Queen Catherine and... yes, exactly Diana de Poitiers, Duchess of Valentinois.
“One of the rulers of this world deeply loved a very beautiful, honest and noble widow, so they even said that he was bewitched by her... This made the queen pretty angry. Having complained about this treatment to her beloved court lady, the queen conspired with her to find out why that widow so seduces the king, and even to spy on the games that the king and his beloved were amusing themselves with. For this reason, several holes were made above the said lady’s bedroom in order to spy on how they lived together and to laugh at such a spectacle, but they saw nothing but beauty and grace. They noticed a very beautiful lady, fair-skinned, delicate and very fresh, dressed only in a short shirt. She caressed her beloved, they laughed and joked, and her lover answered her just as passionately, so in the end they rolled out of bed and, as they were, in their shirts, lay down on the shaggy carpet next to the bed... So, the queen, having seen everything , out of frustration, began to cry, moan, sigh and be sad, saying that her husband never treats her like that and does not allow himself to be as crazy as he does with this woman. For, according to her, nothing like this had ever happened between them. The queen just kept saying: “Alas, I wanted to see something that I shouldn’t have, because the sight caused me pain.” Years later, Brantome never ceased to admire the devotion of “the greatest sovereign, who so ardently loved a noble widow of mature years that he left both his wife and others, no matter how young and beautiful they were, for the sake of her bed. But he had every reason to do so, for she was one of the most beautiful and amiable ladies that had ever been born. And her winter undoubtedly cost more than the springs, summers and autumns of others.”
The third one is not superfluous
Catherine de' Medici, wife of King Henry II of France, lived in a world in which all objects bore the visible or secret imprint of his love for Diana. Tapestries, draperies, upholstery, hunting flags, dishes - everything was decorated with the monograms of the Duchess of Valentinois or allegorical paintings from the life of the ancient goddess Diana. The queen saw everything, knew everything, but it was not in her power to change the order of things. Moreover, Diana’s advice was not in vain - numerous heirs began to appear. Ten times Diana was present at the birth of royal children, she always personally chose nurses for them, decided when it was time to wean the child, and kept order in the castles that she looked for for the summer or winter stay of the royal chicks. Diana ordered portraits of the children to be made so that their parents would always have them when they were away.
The royal children were often sick.
But Diana's health worried King Henry no less. This is what he wrote to his precious beloved, having learned that she was unwell: “Lady of my soul, I most humbly thank you for the effort that you took upon yourself to send me news of your news, for it became the most pleasant event for me. ...I can't live without you. …I remain forever your insignificant servant.”
Adultery under escort
What was he like in life, this servant king? It inevitably comes to mind that this was an extraordinary man in the most authentic sense of the word. The Venetian ambassador Lorenzo Contarini, describing Henry, who was thirty-three years old at that time, says that he was tall and moderately thick, with black hair, that he had a beautiful forehead, lively dark eyes and a wedge-shaped beard. “He is powerfully built, and therefore a great lover of bodily exercises... The king is distinguished by such obvious natural kindness that in this respect it is impossible to compare any prince with him, even if you look for one in extremely distant times... No one sees him in anger, except sometimes during a hunt, when something unfortunate happens, and even then the king does not use rude words. Therefore, we can say that thanks to his character, he is indeed very loved ... "
Did he cheat on the mistress of his heart, Diane de Poitiers, smart as hell and even more seductive?
Changed. I will even say that otherwise the story of this great passion would be implausible. Henry's betrayals were so fleeting and he hid them so carefully from Diana that they seem like the whim of a child fed up with gifts. The most famous story is that of the governess of the little Queen of Scots, who went down in history under the name of Mary Stuart. She, along with her mentor Jane Fleming, lived in the castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where Henry II stayed for a month and a half during his many travels.
Jane Fleming was special with blonde hair and translucent pink skin. Diana was treating her leg, bruised in a fall from a horse, and did not think about the fact that she had a rival. However, well-wishers informed her what was happening at the Castle of Saint-Germain. Diana secretly arrived there and hid at the treasured door. As soon as Henry and his friend Montmorency crossed the threshold of Jane's room, the duchess, almost losing her composure, appeared before them. “Ah, sire,” she exclaimed, “where are you coming from? What kind of betrayal is this and what an insult are you inflicting on the queen and your son, who is to marry a girl who is under the tutelage of this lady!..” Henry said that he came only for a pleasant conversation, but Catherine must have felt funny, if she knew how her rival defended her honor on the threshold of blonde Jane.
The king valued Diana’s company too much, so he endured a sea of ​​her tears and an avalanche of reproaches, asked for forgiveness and tried in every possible way to make amends. However, a pleasant conversation with Jane Fleming ended with the birth of a son, who, of course, was named Henry. The king still continued to visit Diana every day, consulted with her about everything that bothered him, the queen was still on the most pleasant terms with her, and, as one keen observer wrote, this was fair, since “at the insistence of the duchess the king sleeps.” in the marital bed much more often than I would have done it of my own free will.”
After the scandal with Jane Fleming, the king became more circumspect and more skillfully concealed his fleeting hobbies. If he was going to spend the night in someone else's bed, he made his way through secret galleries, and was always accompanied by his trusted footman Pierre de Griffon. Pierre walked ahead with a spear and a lit torch, and the king followed, covering his face and hiding his nightgown and sword under his arm. Having reached the desired bed, the king placed the devoted Griffon at the door. The Duchess of Valentinois never again had cause for jealousy. By that time she was already about sixty.
Last fight
In 1552, predictions were published in Venice famous astrologer, Bishop of Cittadukale Gorik. While still the Dauphine, Catherine asked her husband, Prince Henry, to cast a horoscope. The astrologer recommended that Henry take special care when he turned forty, because it was at this time that he would be in danger of being seriously wounded in the head.
Catherine was very superstitious, as was Diana. They made amulets and amulets, Catherine constantly prayed for the king’s health, but the king himself blithely brushed aside her warnings.
On June 28, 1559, celebrations began on the occasion of the betrothal of the king's sister Margaret of France, so they decided to organize a five-day tournament. The king declared that he was ready to fight any opponent, be it a prince of blue blood, a knight errant or his squire.
For the first two days, the king fought tirelessly with all comers, he was greeted with cries of delight, and Queen Catherine and the Duchess of Valentinois, sitting nearby, looked at him from the royal rostrum.
On the morning of June 30, Henry decided to fight the young Count Gabriel Montgomery. At night Catherine saw terrible dream: the king with a bloody head lies lifeless... She tried to hold her husband, but he did not want to give up his favorite pastime. Everyone knew that he fought fearlessly... At noon he went out to fight. The monarch's clothes were, as usual, two-tone, black and white, these were Diana's colors. The horse that the Duke of Savoy gave him was called Unfortunate. The horsemen crossed their spears, but even after three fights the outcome remained unclear. According to the rules, the tournament had to be completed, but the king demanded another duel. This was a violation of tradition, but Henry shouted that he intended to win back at all costs.
He spurred his horse and rushed at the enemy. The spears crossed and flew apart. The king fell. The tip of Montgomery's spear pierced his head. A few days later, Henry II died. He was forty years old. His reign lasted twelve years. All this time, Diana de Poitiers reigned.

After the death of her husband, Catherine was silent for a long time, but it was only the calm before the storm. Catherine was impatient to take possession of her rival’s main jewel, the Chenonceau castle, where Henry II loved to visit. However, Diana had no intention of giving up. Henry once gave her this castle, but knowing that at any moment the new ruler could demand the return of the crown’s property, she sold Chenonceau, after which she bought it herself. And for ten years she sought in court to exclude Chenonceau from the royal estates. Thus, she became the rightful owner of the castle.
Catherine realized that she could lose. And she invited her rival to exchange Chenonceau for Chaumont Castle. And Diana, without hesitation, agreed. This was Diana's last victory, since the value of Chaumont's possessions was twice the value of Chenonceau Castle.
Diana de Poitiers died in April 1566, briefly outliving her lover. She was sixty-six years old. Has she managed to grow old? I think that King Henry II would answer this question in the negative.

Material: Olga Boguslavskaya
Atmosphere
from 07/01/2005

Diane de Poitiers:

Primaticcio (1504-1570). Diane de Poitiers dressed as a huntress

Catherine de Medici:

As a child.

Death of Henry II

Diana's family tree.

After Francis the First, the castle of Fontainebleau passed into the hands of his son Henry the Second. Henry continued the construction and decoration begun by his father and Fontainebleau acquired a ballroom designed by Philibert Delorme and painted by Primaticcio and then, after his death, by Niccolo del Abbate. The hall was used for celebrations until King Louis 13th, and then again in the 19th century. It is also very good and resembles the Francis Gallery with its combination of wood and frescoes, harmonious and pleasing to the eye.
This hall has seen so many colorful historical characters over almost 600 years that few can compete with it.

On the side trim you can see the monogram of Diane de Poitiers - three crescents.

The hall in the painting depicts how Empress Eugene receives ambassadors.

The monumental fireplace at the end of the hall (there was a time when the fireplace, as a source of heat, had a place of honor!) is decorated with bronze satyrs on the sides, and in the middle - the letter H, braided with branches, whose shape resembles Henry’s monogram. You can clearly see it at the Louvre.

Henry assured his wife, Catherine de Medici, that her capital letter C was forever intertwined with his capital letter, but everyone knew that in fact the monogram was woven together by H and D, Henry and Diana. Since the king’s life until his death was connected with Diane de Poitiers, so much so that they even often signed documents together.
This intelligent woman (who said that all blondes are devoid of intelligence!) managed to create a myth around herself. She was considered pious and kind, although she was good at housekeeping and counting money and shared a bed with the king.
Diane de Poitiers was born on January 9, 1500, according to Wikipedia on September 3, 1499 to Jean Saint-Valier. Her mother came from the Poitiers family, which was rightfully proud of its family tree. At fifteen, Diana became the wife of the Seneschal of Normandy, Louis de Breze, who was forty-one years older. Diana was drawn by the famous Clouet in her youth, apparently similar. In this portrait she is not yet fully formed.

From the marriage of Diana and Louis de Breze, two daughters were born; history says that they lived in harmony, although the difference in years was 41 years; it is possible that the experienced husband taught his young wife a lot, which was useful to her later in life.
She received a good upbringing in her family, read Greek and Latin, wrote poetry, and the secrets of her eternal youth interested many; legend said that Diana drank liquid gold.
Diana came to the court of Francis the First and then history remained silent about whether she was the mistress of the king-father or not. The fact that Francis pardoned Diana’s father, who was sentenced to execution, could be evidence of the price at which his life was purchased, but Francis ordered a portrait of her from the court artist with the inscription “Inaccessible to seduction.”
Diana adorned the royal court, Francis was quickly consoled by the Duchess D. Etamp, the years passed, it seemed she was getting old and the time to be a favorite was lost, but the king’s son was growing up.
In 1525, two royal sons were escorted into Spanish captivity by the entire court near the border river Bidassoa. Francis had previously lost the battle of Pavia and was forced to give his children hostages for his release. Six-year-old Henry and eight-year-old Dauphin Francois, still small children, were separated from their native places and people. When parting, Diane de Poitiers planted an innocent kiss on little Henry’s forehead, taking pity on the crying boy; at that moment she was in her prime female beauty. Henry remembered the image of Diana in a foreign land; when he returned to France in 1530, Diana did not seem to have aged, she was the lady of his heart, and he was her faithful knight. The history of the relationship between Henry and Diana is reminiscent of a knightly romance. The years spent in Spain, on Don Quixote's homeland influenced Henry! In addition, their teacher was nearby, replacing their early deceased mother, Madame de Chevigny, who loved chivalric novels. Henry became interested in the novel "Amadis of Gaul" by Gary Ordonez de Montalvo. In the novel, the hero Amadis, who was 12 years old, met an eternally young maiden who replaced both his mother and his mistress. Diana merged with the heroine of the novel; she was perfectly suited to the role of an experienced mentor and skillful lover.

On March 15, 1531, at a knightly tournament organized by Francis in honor of his second wife Eleanor of Austria, Henry bowed his spear before Diana, this was his first tournament, and called Diana his fair lady. In the same year, the seneschal died, Diana sincerely mourned him, personally posed for the sculptor for the figure of a kneeling widow on the tombstone, and dressed in black and white as a sign of mourning. Young Henry began to wear black and white feathers on his hat. white as a sign of commitment to his lady. And I wore black and white all my life.

On October 28, 1533, fourteen-year-old Henry was married to Catherine de Medici. No one asked Henry’s opinion; marriages were made for other reasons. Henry had no time for his wife, although she was much younger than Diana, the same age as her husband. Catherine was not ugly, she was smart and educated, but Henry was already in love with someone else.
Three years later, Henry's elder brother died of a fever and Henry became heir to the French throne. Historians believe that it was then that Diana became the mistress of the future king, in November 1536.
The king dedicated poems to her, in which he unequivocally admitted that it was she who made up his happiness:
"Alas, my God, how I regret
About time lost in youth:
How many times have I dreamed
To make Diana mine
only lover
But he was afraid that she, being a goddess,
Won't stoop so low
To notice me
who without it
I knew neither pleasures nor joys...

At this time, Diana was already about forty, but she still looked beautiful and there were rumors at court that it was not without reason. Behind her back they called her a sorceress and thought that she knew the secret of some ointments and remedies; Francis’s favorite, Duchess D, Etampes, who considered herself the first beauty, was especially furious. It was she who distributed a pamphlet among the courtiers, in which it was written: “Let the lady from Poitiers know: women are not allowed to be reborn, because those whom time has chosen to use fall out of use with time. Painted bait does not attract game, and even “If you bought everything a woman needs, you wouldn’t get what you want from your lover, because to love you have to be alive, but you’re dead.” This slightly tongue-tied text did not harm Diana’s reputation at all because she looked no older than the duchess, and not at all like a painted doll. Diana led a healthy lifestyle, galloped through the fields and did not grow old.
Needless to say, how the future queen hated her. She later wrote to her daughter: “I warmly received Madame de Valentinois, for the king forced me to do so, and at the same time I always made her feel that I was doing this to my greatest regret, for never has a wife who loves her husband loved his whore , otherwise you can’t call her anything else, no matter how painful it may be for people of our position to utter such words.”
By that time, Diana de Poitiers had received estates from the king, the ability to collect taxes, and became Madame Valentinois.
The queen was even going to splash it in her rival's face nitric acid to disfigure.
And Diana, with her advice, managed to improve the royal intimate life. Catherine was unable to give birth to an heir; healers offered miraculous remedies in the form of the ashes of a burnt frog, mule urine, hare blood mixed with an extract from the left hind leg of a weasel soaked in vinegar. Nothing helped. The instructions of the experienced favorite helped, for which Henry presented her with a large reward “for the kind and useful services previously rendered to the queen.”
Catherine successfully gave birth to heirs, but did not forgive the humiliation; for 13 years she was the second woman in the state after Diana. Diana was present at the birth of her children and chose the nurses herself. The king consulted her on all matters.
Fortunately for curious descendants, the king’s legendary favorite loved to pose and even loved to pose in the nude, as for intimate portraits that were common at that time; if now a man carries his love topless in a purse to lift his spirits, then why are kings worse! And Diana was also the muse of these places. Named after Diana, the goddess of the hunt and the moon, she was perfectly suited to be the “nymph of Fontainebleau.” In addition, from her youth she loved to swim in icy springs, ride a horse, and in general she was completely consistent.

The artists Primaticcio and Rosso, and then Abbato, who joined them and was discharged from Bologna, created the School of Fontainebleau. By the way, there were two of them, the second existed a hundred years later with Flemish artists.
The works of the first School were characterized by mannerism, grace, appeal to ancient subjects, allegories, as well as the presence of nature in many paintings; after all, the castle was a country residence.
Diana was present in many paintings, both in allegorical form, as Diana the Huntress, the goddess with a bow. Like the nymph on Goujon's sculpture, which is in the Louvre. And there were just portraits of her.

In the portrait you can see allegorical figures in a loving embrace, symbolizing the king and Diana.

This one captured her in the bath next to her daughters. One is in the nurse's arms, the other is reaching for fruit.

Jean Goujon. Diana is a hunter.

Diana loved to pose in the garden among the flowers. In Chenonceau, by her decree, a marvelous “Garden of Delights” was laid out, where rare varieties of apples, peaches, and plums grew. In the center of the garden was Diana's Flower Garden, where the king's white lilies and scarlet roses grew, which the hostess considered her talisman, the flower of love.

Unfortunately, the portraits are silent and we cannot see how she moved or hear how she spoke. Most likely, in addition to beauty, intelligence and charm adorned her. At the Chateau de Chenonceau I saw her painting, the firm hand of a confident woman, otherwise she could not have held on to the role of first lady for so many years.
Henry sometimes cheated on her, but no one stayed close to him for long.
Diana's love and reign ended on June 30, 1559 with the death of the king. It must be said that Catherine had a horoscope drawn up for her future husband and was predicted to be wounded in the head at the age of forty. The predictions of the famous astrologer Cittaducale Gorik, bishop, were published in 1552 in Venice.
On June 28, 1559, celebrations began on the occasion of the betrothal of the king's sister Margaret of France, so they decided to organize a five-day tournament. The king declared that he was ready to fight any opponent, be it a prince of blue blood, a knight errant or his squire.
For the first two days, the king fought tirelessly with all comers, he was greeted with cries of delight, and Queen Catherine and the Duchess of Valentinois, sitting nearby, looked at him from the royal rostrum.
On the morning of June 30, Henry decided to fight the young Count Gabriel Montgomery. Catherine had a dream the night before the fight: she saw the king dead with a bloody head. She tried in vain to restrain her husband; at noon he went out to fight. The monarch's clothes were, as usual, two-tone, black and white, these were Diana's colors. The horse that the Duke of Savoy gave him was called Unfortunate. The horsemen crossed their spears, but even after three fights the outcome remained unclear. According to the rules, the tournament had to be completed, but the king demanded another duel. This was a violation of tradition, but Henry shouted that he intended to win back at all costs.
He spurred his horse and rushed at the enemy. The spears crossed and flew apart. The king fell. The tip of Montgomery's spear pierced his head, hitting the eye slit of the king's helmet.
Montgomery fled in terror, but was later lured to Paris and killed.

Diana immediately lost her castles and jewelry and went to live in the castle of Ane, where she died at the age of sixty-five.
Before her death, Brantome visited her, expecting to see the old woman. However, when she turned to him, he saw the beautiful woman again. Brantôme wrote: “Her beauty is such that it would touch even a heart of stone... I think that if this lady had lived another hundred years, she would not have aged at all, either in her face, which is so beautiful, or in her body, which is undoubtedly no less beautiful, although hidden under clothes. It is a pity that such a body will still be buried."

September 21, 2016, 10:50 pm

There are few stories about how a knight falls in love with a lady at first sight and loves her until his last breath, even in medieval literature - let alone in life. However, one case of just such knightly love is known for sure. The knight was the king of France, and his lady was a truly beautiful woman, although she was 20 years older than the king himself...

In 1525, the French king Francis I lost the battle of Pavia, was captured by the Spaniards and signed the Treaty of Madrid. Under its terms, the king gained freedom only in exchange for the freedom of his two sons: the eight-year-old Dauphin Francis, heir to the throne, and the six-year-old Prince Henry. To the border river Bidassoa, the brothers were accompanied by a huge cortege of courtiers, including the wife of Count de Brezet, Diana de Poitiers. When the courtiers began to say goodbye to the brothers at the border, they mainly addressed the Dauphin Francis as their eldest. Henry stood alone and cried for a long time until Diana approached him. She hugged him, covered him with her shawl and said: “Everything will be fine, believe me, Your Highness!” When the Spaniards arrived for the princes, Diana, kissing Henry on the forehead, pushed him towards the boats and said: “Don’t be afraid, we will meet again.” By this time, Diana de Poitiers, born on September 3, 1499, was 27 years old, and for 12 years she had been the wife of Count de Brézé du Maulevrier, Grand Seneschal of Normandy. She was married off when she was not yet fifteen, and her husband was already fifty-six.

HENRY II.

DIANE DE POITIERS.

Their marriage was quite happy. The Count admired his wife's beauty, respected her intelligence and will, and always listened to her advice.

And Diana demonstrated loyalty to the marital bed, unusual for those times. She cheated on her husband only once, and even then not of her own free will... This happened in 1525, when Constable Charles de Bourbon fled from France and joined the troops of the German king Charles V. King Francis I responded to Charles de Bourbon's betrayal with reprisals over his supporters. Diana's father, Jean de Poitiers, was considered a friend of the fugitive - and now he was facing execution. Diana adored her father. She couldn't allow him to be executed. She hastily gathered for Paris - to fall at the feet of the king and beg for his mercy - and begged him at the cost of adultery, which all of Paris soon learned about.

Diana's husband forgave her, and her contemporaries admired her. The famous memoirist Pierre de Brantome. a friend and admirer of Diana, wrote without mentioning her name: “I heard stories about a noble nobleman, sentenced to beheading and already elevated to the scaffold, when suddenly a pardon came, obtained by his daughter, one of the first court beauties. And so, leaving the scaffold, he uttered nothing more than the following phrase: “May the Lord preserve the good bosom of my daughter.”

Jean de Poitiers, who had no sympathy for Francis I, feared that the king would make his daughter one of his many mistresses. Her father hid Diana in the castle of Saint-Valier, where she spent several months in the company of only her daughters, the youngest of whom was the same age as Henry.

Prince Henry was born on March 31, 1519. He was the fourth child of King Francis I and Princess Claude of France, who gave birth to one child a year and died in 1524, during her eighth pregnancy, before reaching the age of twenty-five. Henry barely remembered his mother, who was replaced by his teacher Madame de Chavigny. For the entire five years that Henry and his brother Francis spent in Spanish captivity, she was next to the youngest of the princes. It was thanks to her that Henry became addicted to reading, preferring poems and chivalric novels, his favorite of which was “Amadis of Gaul” by Gary Ordonez de Montalvo. In it, twelve-year-old Prince Amadis fell in love with a beautiful warrior maiden, who knew the secret of eternal youth: she instructed and protected him like a mother, and at the same time loved with all possible passion... Henry tried on the image of Amadis for himself and chose the lady of his heart : that stranger from the shore of Bidassoa. He swore to remain faithful to her until the grave.

Henry and Diana met for the second time on March 15, 1531. At a knightly tournament held in honor of the wedding of Francis I and his second wife, Eleanor of Austria. This was Henry's first tournament. His elder brother, the Dauphin Francis, had to fight in the name of his stepmother - politeness demanded it. But Henry had the opportunity to choose, and he rode up to the barrier behind which Diana was sitting next to her much aged husband, and, bowing his standard before her, announced that he would fight for the glory of Diane de Poitiers, the most beautiful of all women.

In the summer of the same year, Diane de Poitiers was widowed. She ordered an incredibly magnificent tombstone for her husband. For the figure of the kneeling widow, Diana posed for the sculptor personally. She really mourned the death of Comte de Breze and, having put on mourning, wore it all her life. Black and white suited her very well. From now on, young Prince Henry also dressed only in black and white - the colors of “his lady.”

On October 28, 1533, 14-year-old Henry was married to his peer Catherine de Medici, niece of Pope Clement VII. From a political point of view, this marriage was considered successful and profitable for France. Of course, no one asked the newlyweds’ opinions. Henry didn't like Catherine. The reason for the hostility was not any of her physical shortcomings: although she was not a beauty, she was elegant, moreover, educated and smart. She just wasn’t Diane de Poitiers, and Prince Henry didn’t want to see any other lady in his life. And although Francis I laughed at his son’s love for a woman who was old enough to be his mother, he preferred to ensure that the marriage “took place”: during the wedding night of the prince and Catherine de Medici, the king literally stood over their bed.

CATHERINE OF MEDICI.

It is not known exactly when Diana de Poitiers and Prince Henry became lovers. Some historians believe that this happened on the initiative of Diana in November 1536, when the king's eldest son Francis died of a fever and seventeen-year-old Henry became heir to the French throne. However, most contemporaries noticed that their relationship became especially tender when Henry turned nineteen, and Diana was already approaching forty.

At forty, Diane de Poitiers was still fresh, slender and vigorous, and this seemed suspicious to many of her contemporaries. Court gossips said that she dabbled in witchcraft and prepared some special ointments for herself. Among those who spread this gossip was the king's favorite. Anne de Pissle, Duchess d'Etampes, who claimed the title of the first beauty of France. The king, to his credit, calmly watched the vicissitudes of the “war of two beauties.” And on the part of the Duchess d'Etampes, it was a real war. In 1538, she even ordered a pamphlet on Diane de Poitiers from the poet Jean Vulte and distributed it among the courtiers. Here are just a few of the most decent lines of the libel written in Latin: “Let the lady from Poitiers know: women are not given the opportunity to be reborn, because those whom time has chosen to use, fall out of use with time. Painted bait does not attract game, and even if you bought everything a woman needs, you would not get what you want from your lover, because to love you need to be alive, but you are already dead.”

Despite all the efforts of the Duchess d'Etampes, the pamphlet was not successful, because it was absolutely not true. Diana de Poitiers never tried to hide her age. She just really looked much younger than her years. She seemed the same age as the Duchess d'Etampes, and even Catherine de Medici. And the recipe for her unfading beauty was very simple: Diana de Poitiers got up at six in the morning, took an ice bath, and then went on a horse ride and rode around the outskirts of the castle for three hours in any weather.

Brantôme wrote: “I saw Diana when she was sixty-five years old and could not marvel at her beauty; all the charms shone on the face of this rare woman. I think that if this lady had lived a hundred years, she would still not have aged either in her face, so perfect were its lines, or in her body, even if hidden in clothes, it was so well tempered and trained.”

Diana de Poitiers was without a doubt the first beauty of the kingdom, and it was not for nothing that the absolute canon of female beauty, which did not change in France for a century and a half, was “written off” from her. According to him, at beautiful woman should be:

three white things - skin, teeth, hands:

three black - eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes:

three pink ones - lips, cheeks, nails;

three long ones - body, hair, fingers:

three short ones - teeth, ears, feet;

three thin ones - lips, waist, feet:

three full - arms, thighs, calves:

three small ones - nipples, nose, head.

However, they claim that Diana de Poitiers received the prince’s devoted love thanks not only to her physical perfection, but also to her intelligence. Even the king liked the fact that his youngest son, whom Francis I always considered a weak-willed dreamer, had such a mature and wise mistress.

Brantome openly admired the devotion of “the greatest prince, who so ardently loved a noble widow of mature years that he left his wife and others, no matter how young and beautiful, for the sake of her bed. But he had every reason to do so, for she was one of the most beautiful and amiable ladies that had ever been born. And her winter undoubtedly cost more than the springs, summers and autumns of others.”

Their closeness was no secret to anyone at court. And ambassadors of foreign powers invariably mentioned the name of Madame de Breze in reports to their rulers. True, not all of them believed that Henry and Diana were really lovers. The Venetian ambassador Marino Cavalli wrote in 1546: “The Prince is 28 years old. Above all, he values ​​the company of the widow of the great seneschal of Normandy, 48-year-old Madame de Breze. He feels true affection for her, but they believe that there is nothing voluptuous in their relationship, as if they were mother and son. They say that Diana de Breze took upon herself the work of caring for, educating and guiding the Dauphin, encouraging him to perform deeds worthy of him. And she actually succeeded remarkably well. From an empty mocker, not too attached to his wife, the prince turned into a completely different person. He also got rid of several other minor defects of his youth.”

However, other ambassadors were not so naive or simply had the opportunity to observe the relationship between Henry and Diana longer. A year later, after King Francis I died on March 31, 1547, and Henry ascended the French throne, the Roman ambassador Alvoratto wrote: “Besides playing ball and hunting, he constantly courtes his mistress. The king visits her after every meal and thus spends on average at least eight hours in her company. If the lady is with the queen at this time, he orders her to be called..."

HENRY II.

Now Diana de Poitiers became the same as the queen of France... “More than a queen” - that’s what her contemporaries said about her, citing as an example the fact that Diana did not take revenge on the late king’s favorite. Everyone was sure that Diana must certainly take revenge for many years of humiliation. The Duchess d'Etampes even fled to Limur Castle and spent several months there constant fear for your life. Former supporters of the Duchess d'Etampes also dispersed to their family estates, waiting for the repressions against them to begin.

It took a long time before Diana's former enemies believed in her nobility and began to return to Paris. Now most of them did not have hostile feelings towards her, and not at all because they would be afraid to quarrel with the royal favorite: Diana’s unexpected nobility attracted many to her side. But Diana was not interested in petty revenge: she was interested in power. But not her own - she dreamed of making Henry II a great king.

Even those who did not have any special sympathy for Diana are forced to acknowledge her services to France. The French historian Ivan Clulas, a big admirer of Catherine de Medici, who constantly criticizes Diane de Poitiers in his books, wrote: “Diana, demonstrating the image of an impeccable widow, got the new king to instruct the state, and primarily the court, on the path of morality. A whole series of measures aimed at establishing economy and asceticism clearly shows that under the direction of the "lady of Ane" and the control of her friends who held the springs in their hands state power, France is waiting for an update. A special order established that balls and concerts would no longer be held daily; velvet, satin, gold and silver brocade, braiding and embroidery must disappear from clothing under threat of a fine of one thousand crowns. The court staff was significantly reduced. Queen Catherine was allowed to have only four ladies-in-waiting, “serious and decent” ladies. The first of them was Diana herself, the others were Ladies de Montpensier, de Nevers and de Saint-Paul.”

It was on Diana’s advice, as Klulas wrote, “Henry began to introduce mercy and charity into society, and ordered monasteries to distribute alms in the form of money or food on certain days. Residents of each quarter had to work together to provide food for poor families. Sick and crippled beggars were ordered to be kept in hospitals. A parliamentary reform was also proposed: from now on, only a person over thirty years of age could become a councilor, and only after a thorough check for a virtuous and moral lifestyle.”

Henry listened to Diana's advice in everything, even when it came to his relationship with his wife. This was known at court, but even the sharpest-tongued courtiers were not tempted to reproach the king for this, much less his favorite. And everyone laughed at Catherine. And they admired the “wisdom” and “nobility” of Diana, who thought not only about the joys of the flesh, but also about the urgent vital needs of her lover: that the future king needed heirs.

Having been married for several years, Catherine de Medici still could not get pregnant. She took all kinds of “healing elixirs,” put herbal poultices on her stomach and leeches on her thighs. She drank mule urine, took crushed frog ashes and boar tusks, mixed with earthworm powder, wore a belt made of goat hair, soaked in donkey milk. She used all the advances in medicine and tried everything folk remedies. But nothing helped, despite that. that Diane de Poitiers regularly, once a week, refused her young lover affection - and sent Henry to his wife, making it a condition that he must fulfill his marital duty.

According to contemporaries, Catherine de Medici was saved by the doctor recommended to her by Diana, Jean-François Fernel. He discovered some flaw in her internal structure, because of which the royal seed did not reach its goal and could not bear fruit. Fernel advised Henry to henceforth perform his marital duty in some other position than the one that the prince usually preferred. Subsequently, thanks to strict adherence to the advice of the court physician, Catherine gave birth to ten children. But Henry still did not love her more because of this - his heart belonged to Diana.

Henry paid much more attention to his children than his wife. Together with Diane de Poitiers, who took an active part in raising her lover’s children, he often played with them, walked in the park, and read books to them. His wife, when communicating with children, as with people in general, was colder and taciturn - she spoke French poorly and was embarrassed about it.

Catherine desperately searched for the reasons why her husband considered Diana so desirable all these years. She refused to understand that you can love a person without any reason, simply because the person seems close, sweet and dear. Catherine bribed Diana's maids to steal her incense from the mistress, with which she anointed herself before her husband's arrival, hoping that she could awaken more passion in him. One day she even started spying on the king and his favorite...

Henry soon became aware that Catherine was watching him and Diana. But he did nothing against this and did not even punish the “lady accompanying the queen,” although he knew that the Duchess de Montpensier acted as the queen’s confidant in this episode and she blabbed about what happened to other ladies-in-waiting. Such disdainful inaction was perceived at court as a very cruel revenge on the queen.

But even more cruel was Henry’s decision to oblige Diana to take part in the upbringing of the royal children, “for she had extensive experience in this matter.” Diana was allowed to be present at the birth, she chose nurses, studying their build and the quality of milk, and if the nurse could not cope with her duties, she found a replacement for her. It was Diana who decided when it was time to wean the child. To protect the royal offspring from the epidemics that were most rampant in the cities, she settled them in a castle on the Loire. All these details appear in Diana's letters to the court tutor Jean d'Humier.

Catherine was so jealous of Diana that her hostility even extended to her own children, to whom Diana seemed to pay more attention than her own mother, who was too preoccupied with her relationship with her husband.

And for Henry, nothing and no one - not even children, not even the Dauphin heir - mattered as much as Diana de Poitiers. Several of his letters to his mistress have survived, clearly demonstrating what tender and respectful feelings he had for her. despite. that their relationship lasted longer than any other marriage...

“My love, I beg you to write to me about your health, because, having heard that you are sick, I am in great sorrow and do not know what to do. If you are still feeling unwell, I would not like to skimp on my duty to visit you, in order to serve you as I promised, and also because it is impossible for me to live without seeing you for so long. And, since in the old days I was not afraid of losing the favor of the late king for the pleasure of being near you, now it’s not worth mentioning how painful it is for me not to be able to be useful to you. And believe me, I will not have peace until the bearer of this letter returns with an answer. And for this I beg you to tell me truthfully what your condition is and when you will be able to go. I think it will not be difficult for you to imagine how little pleasure I will get at Fontainebleau without seeing you, since, being removed from the one in whom all my good is, I will not be able to think about any entertainment. I am finishing this letter out of fear that it is already too long and you will get bored reading it.

I humbly commit myself to your goodwill with the only hope of preserving it forever.”

“Mistress of my soul,” wrote Heinrich in another letter, “I humbly thank you for the work that you took upon yourself to send me news of your news, for it became the most pleasant event for me. I just ask you to keep your promise, since I cannot live without you, and if you knew how little time I spend here in entertainment, you would undoubtedly be filled with pity. I won’t bother you any longer with my outpourings, let me just assure you that you won’t be able to come as soon as I would like. I remain forever your insignificant servant..."

The entertainment that Henry wrote about consisted mostly of knightly tournaments. For some time now, Catherine de Medici had been resolutely opposed to the king’s participation in them. The fact is that the queen consulted with soothsayers on any, even the most insignificant issue, and several soothsayers simultaneously predicted the death of the king during the duel. Michel Nostradamus described the details of the king's death in his poems:

A young lion rushing to battle.

He killed the old lion in a duel.

The golden helmet split, and the eyes turned dark.

The unfortunate unfortunate drank the cruel cup of death.

And astrologer Luke Gorik named the exact age when a king should fear death from a spear - forty years.

In July 1559, the queen did not stop persuading her husband to cancel the knightly tournament or at least not participate in it. The king did not want to believe either his wife or her predictors. Moreover, the tournament was dedicated to Diane de Poitiers. But in vain. In 1559 he just turned forty years old.

It was said that Gabriel Montgomery, a young knight whose shield was decorated with a lion, refused until the last to fight the king. But Henry II ordered, and the young man did not dare to resist.

The king appeared at the fatal duel wearing a gilded helmet. Montgomery's tournament spear, of course, had a blunt tip, but the blow broke the spear, a sharp sliver ten centimeters long fell into the gap of the visor and pierced the king in the eye - “the eyes turned dark.” It was an absurd accident that simply could not be predicted...

Henry was able to show nobility for the last time: before he lost consciousness from pain, he said that Montgomery was innocent.

When the king's helmet was removed, Catherine de' Medici fainted. Diana stood pale, trembling, but did not dare to approach Henry in front of everyone: even if everyone knew about their relationship, she considered herself obliged to observe external decency.

For several days it seemed that the king was about to recover, but then inflammation began. Henry lived for another ten days and all this time he experienced inhuman torment - “the unfortunate unfortunate drank the cruel cup of death.”

Diana was not allowed to see the dying king. Finally, Catherine could completely take possession of her loved one, and he was unable to resist it.

Henry II was still alive when a messenger from the queen came to Diana de Poitiers, demanding that she immediately leave Paris and not dare return without special permission, and also return the “crown jewels.” It was ancient tradition: With the death of the king, all his associates, including his wife, mother and children, returned the jewelry that belonged to the royal treasury. But Catherine showed pettiness by adding to the list the jewelry that Henry gave to Diana not at the expense of the treasury, but from his own funds.

And then an amazing scene occurred, described with admiration by Brantome. “Is the king already dead?” - asked Diane de Poitiers.

“No, madam, but he won’t last the night,” replied Catherine de’ Medici’s envoy.

"Well. while I still have a master, and I want my enemies to know: even when the king is gone, I will not be afraid of anyone. If I am destined to survive the misfortune, which I do not hope for, my heart will be too absorbed in suffering for me to still be able to pay attention to the sorrows and insults that they want to cause me.”

Only the next day after the death of the king, Diana sent Catherine de Medici a casket with jewelry - according to the list - and retired to her palace in Ane. She left him only to open another orphanage, which she created with her own money, insisting only that the poor and orphans she had benefited offered daily prayers for the soul of the deceased King Henry II.

Friends who stayed by her side until last minute, claimed that even death did not deprive her of her beauty. Moreover, before the awkward fall - she was riding on horseback to mass, and her horse slipped on the paving stones - she was in excellent health. Diana's hip turned out to be broken, and it was not healing in any way: after all, she was already sixty-seven years old... The countess lay in bed for several months, became weak, and began to fall ill. Realizing that the end was near, she called a sculptor and until the last day she posed for him for her tombstone.

On the night of April 25, 1566, Diana de Poitiers fell asleep, remembering her Henry with a smile. And she didn’t wake up anymore. In the Ane Church they erected a monument made of white marble to her, like a true ancient goddess.

MONUMENT TO DIANA.

After her death, Diana shared the fate of her beloved king. During the French Revolution, the ashes of all French rulers, their wives and children were removed from the royal tomb in Saint-Denis and thrown into a moat. The revolutionaries did the same with the remains of the royal favorite Diana de Poitiers. They say that Diana's body was perfectly preserved, and her hair, striking in its beauty, was cut into curls by the rebels to make amulets promising eternal love.