Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry
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Margaret of France (French: Marguerite de France; 5 June 1523 - 15 September 1574) was the daughter of King Francis I of France and Claude, Duchess of Brittany.
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[edit] Biography
Margaret was born at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. She became Duchess of Berry in 1550. In 1559, she married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (1528-1580), Prince of Piedmont and had a son, Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy (1562-1630)
Margaret was very close to her aunt, Marguerite de Navarre, and her sister-in-law Catherine de' Medici.
Near the end of 1538, her father Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, agreed that Margaret should marry Charles'son, the future Philip II of Spain. However, the agreement between Francis and Charles was short-lived.
Francis I and Henry II of France (Margaret's brother) had to look for a suitor of her rank. Margaret was married to the Duke of Savoy at the age of thirty-six years on 10 July 1559. The wedding was very sad. Her brother, King Henry II, had been injured during a tournament celebrating the wedding of his daughter Elisabeth. On the threshold of death, but still conscious, the king had dictated the marriage take place immediately for fear that the Duke of Savoy might profit from his death and deny the alliance. Henry II died on the day of the wedding. [1]
[edit] Children
Margaret and her husband had only one surviving child: Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy.
[edit] References
- ^ Margaret of France appears in the novel of Madame de La Fayette (1634-1693): The Princess of Cleves: "The princess was in great consideration by the credit she had on the king, her brother, and this credit was so great that the king making peace, agreed to make the Piedmont for her to marry the Duke of Savoy. Although she had desired all her life to marry, she had never wanted to marry a sovereign, and had refused for this reason the King of Navarre, when he was Duke of Vendôme, and had always liked Mr. Savoy, it had retained the inclination for him since she saw him in Nice in the interview of King Francis I of the Pope Paul the third."
[edit] See also
| French nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Beatrice of Portugal |
Duchess consort of Savoy 1559 - 1574 |
Succeeded by Catherine Michelle of Spain |
