Claude of France

Claude
Queen consort of France
Duchess of Brittany
Reign	9 January 1514 – 20 July 1524
Predecessor	Anne
Successor	Francis III
Queen consort of France
Tenure	1 January 1515 – 20 July 1524
Spouse	Francis I of France
Issue	Charlotte of Valois Francis III, Duke of Brittany Henry II of France Madeleine, Queen of Scots Charles, Duke of Orléans Margaret, Duchess of Savoy
House	Valois-Orléans
Father	Louis XII of France
Mother	Anne, Duchess of Brittany

Claude of France (14 October 1499 – 20 July 1524), Queen Consort of France and Duchess of Brittany in her own right, was the eldest daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany.

As the first wife of Francis I of France, she was the mother of Henry II, and thus grandmother of the last three kings of the Valois line and also of Elisabeth, Queen consort of Spain; Claude, Duchess consort of Lorraine; and Marguerite, the Queen consort of Henry IV of France. She is also the maternal grandmother of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy.

Betrothals and marriage

Because her mother, Anne, Duchess of Brittany, had no surviving sons, Claude became heiress to the Duchy of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. In 1504, Anne, eager to keep Brittany separate from the French crown, effected the Treaty of Blois, which promised Claude's hand in marriage to the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the promise of Brittany and the Duchy of Burgundy. The prospect of a reduced France surrounded on several sides was unacceptable to the Valois, and so the betrothal was soon canceled.

The French nobles argued against a betrothal to a foreigner, urging Louis XII to marry Claude to her cousin François, Duke of Angoulême, "who is at least all French," and was also the heir-presumptive to the French crown. In 1506, the child was betrothed to François. In 1514, when her mother died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany; and on 18 May 1514, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, she married François.

Court life

Claude, the pawn of so much dynastic maneuvering, was short in stature and afflicted with scoliosis, which gave her a hunched back. She was eclipsed at court by her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, and her sister-in-law, the literary Marguerite, Queen Consort of Navarre.

When François became King in 1515, two of Claude's ladies-in-waiting were the English sisters Mary and Anne Boleyn, and another was Diane de Poitiers. Mary became the king's mistress before returning home in about 1519. Anne served as Claude's official translator whenever there were English visitors, such as in 1520. Anne was also a temporary companion to Claude's younger sister, Renée. Anne Boleyn returned to England in 1521, where she eventually became the Queen Consort of Henry VIII. Diane de Poitiers was a principal inspiration of the School of Fontainebleau of the French Renaissance, and became the lifelong mistress of François' son and successor, Henri II.

Claude's life was spent in an endless round of annual pregnancies. Her husband had many mistresses, but was usually relatively discreet. Claude imposed a strict moral code on her own household, which only a few chose to flout.

Children

Claude of France with her daughters: at the front, Charlotte (left) and Louise (right), both of whom died young; right and behind, Madeleine, Queen consort of Scotland; left and behind, Marguerite, Duchess consort of Savoy

Claude and Francis I had seven children:

• Louise, Princess of France (19 August 1515 – 21 September 1517) - died young.
• Charlotte, Princess of France (23 October 1516 – 8 September 1524) - died young.
• Francis, Dauphin of France (28 February 1518 – 10 August 1536) - died young.
• Henry II, King of France (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) - married Catherine de' Medici. Had issue.
• Madeleine, Princess of France (10 August 1520 – 2 July 1537) - married James V of Scotland. No issue
• Charles of Valois, Duke of Orleans (22 January 1522 – 9 September 1545) - Died young. Had no issue.
• Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry (5 June 1523 – 14 September 1574) - married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy in 1559. Had issue.

Death and later events

Claude died in 1524, when she was only twenty-four. She was initially succeeded as ruler of Brittany by her eldest son, the Dauphin François, who became Duke François III, with Claude's widower King François I as guardian. After the Dauphin's untimely death in 1536, Claude's second son, Henry, Duke of Orleans, became Dauphin and Duke of Brittany. He later became King of France as Henry II.

Claude's widowed husband himself remarried several years after Claude's death, to Eleanor of Habsburg, the sister of Emperor Charles V. The atmosphere at court became considerably more debauched, and there were rumours that King François's death in 1547 was due to syphilis.

"Reine Claude" plum

Claude is remembered in a classic small plum, the size of a walnut, pale green with a glaucous bloom. It is still called "Reine Claude" (literally, "Queen Claude,") in France and is known in England as a "greengage."

Ancestors

Family of Claude of France
Louis I de Valois, Duke of Orléans Charles I de Valois, Duke of Orléans Valentina Visconti Louis XII of France Adolph I, Duke of Cleves Marie of Cleves Mary of Burgundy Claude, Duchess of Brittany Richard of Brittany, Count of Étampes Francis II, Duke of Brittany Margaret d'Orléans, Countess of Vertus Anne, Duchess of Brittany Gaston IV of Foix Margaret of Foix Eleanor of Navarre