Like Eyal Golan, some French kings preferred their (illegitimate) wives to be young, and sometimes very young. The best example of this is Louis XV (15-1710), who built a small palace near Versailles, called the Parc aux Cerfs, where young girls would be brought every evening to share the royal bed.
However, the main reason why the king sought out young girls was his fear of venereal disease, and in any case, that one or two evenings with a 14-year-old girl did not make her a royal mistress. The role of mistress, which required much more than just sex, was preferred by kings France Women are more mature. Of all the kings France Henry II (2-1519) went to great lengths to choose a mistress who was 1559 years older than him.
Diane de Poitiers meets Henry II
The mistress's name was Diane de Potiers, and she was born in 1499. As a child, she received an excellent education, which included studies in Latin, Greek, and music, but also the arts of conversation, dancing, and hunting, in which she excelled. Like many women of her time, Diana was forced to marry at the age of 14 to a man 39 years her senior, the Lord de Breze – himself a descendant of one of the most famous mistresses of the kings of France – Agnes Sorel. In 1531, her husband died, and Diana became one of the attendants of the Queen of France.
Their first kiss was in 1526, and it was actually a farewell kiss. Henry and his elder brother François were forced to go to Spain to serve as hostages for their father to pay his ransom, after he himself was captured at the Battle of Pavia. Since Queen Claude was no longer alive, it was Diana who parted ways with Henry as he set off for Spain.
Because the ransom was not paid on time, Henry was forced to stay in Spain for 3 years. When he returned, his father, Francis I, decided to make Diane de Poitiers his governess. It was during this time that their affair began, and they apparently became lovers in 1535, when Henry was 16 and Diane was 36.
In 1547, Francis I died and his son Henry ascended to power. From that time on, Diane de Poitiers became the most powerful woman in the kingdom. Diane's almost absolute control over the king stemmed not only from her stunning beauty, which did not fade with age (her secret was apparently daily swimming in frozen lake water, a lot of physical activity, and eating gold threads), but also from her intelligence and extensive experience, which made her a first-rate political advisor.
Diana helped the king not only in the political sphere but also in his relationship with his wife. Catherine de Medici (Catherine de Medici), who despite several years of marriage did not bear him any children. Despite the competition between the two women for the king's heart, Diana insisted that the king visit his wife's bedroom regularly and even gave Catherine sex education lessons and a number of potions, which ultimately led to the birth of no fewer than ten children for the royal couple.
Life after Henry II
The royal love story ended tragically in 1559. As part of the celebrations in honor of the peace treaty between Spain to France, the king decided to hold a joust. Despite the pleas of the queen, who had heard of Nostradamus' prophecy that the King of France would die in the joust, Henry II decided to participate in the joust himself.
During one of the knightly battles in which the king participated, his opponent's spear broke and the jagged part that formed penetrated the king's eye, and he died after much agony. During the last days of his life, the king called for Diana many times, but the queen did not allow her to come to his bedside. After his death, Diana lost much of the jewels the king had given her and the castle of Chenonceau, and was forced to exile herself to the Chateau d'Anet, where she lived peacefully until 1565, when she died at the age of 66.
There are two castles in France that tell the story of her amazing life. The first is the castle of What was tried?, one of the most beautiful castles in France, and the other is the Château de Anet, where she lived for a significant part of her life. Château de Anet is located about an hour's drive west of Paris. Both castles are highly recommended on your next visit to France.