Claude Princess Of FRANCE

Claude married Francis I Of FRANCE on 18 May 1514. Francis (son of Count of Angouleme Charles Of VALOIS-ORLEANS and Louise Of SAVOY) was born on 12 Sep 1494; died on 31 Mar 1547. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Margaret married Emmanuel Philibert Duke Of SAVOY in 1559. Emmanuel (son of Charles III Duke Of SAVOY and Beatrice Of PORTUGAL) was born on 08 Jul 1528 in Chambery; died on 30 Aug 1580. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Madeleine married James V King Of SCOTLAND in 1537. James (son of James IV and Margaret TUDOR) was born on 10 Apr 1512 in Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian; died on 14 Dec 1542. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Wikipedia: Henry was born in the Royal Ch‚teau at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, the son of Francis I and Claude de France and the grandson of Louis XII of France and Anne de Bretagne. With his brother, he spent three years in Spain as a hostage to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, as surety for his father, who had been captured at the Battle of Pavia. Henry married Catherine de Medici (13 April 1519?January 5, 1589) on 28 October 1533, when both were fourteen years old.

The following year he became involved with the thirty-five-year-old, recently widowed, Diane de Poitiers, who became his most trusted confidante and for the next twenty-five years wielded considerable influence behind the scenes, even signing royal documents. Extremely confident, mature and intelligent, she left Catherine powerless to intervene.

When his older brother Francis died in 1536 after a game of tennis, Henry became heir to the throne; he succeeded his father on March 31, 1547 and was crowned King of France on July 25, 1547 at Reims.

Henry's reign was marked by wars with Austria, and the persecution of the Protestant Huguenots. Henry II severely punished them, burning them alive or cutting out their tongues for speaking their Protestant beliefs. Even those suspected of being Huguenots could be imprisoned for life.

The Italian War of 1551?1559, sometimes known as the Habsburg-Valois War, began when Henry declared war against Charles V with the intent of recapturing Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs. An early offensive into Lorraine was successful, with Henry capturing the three episcopal cities of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, but the attempted French invasion of Tuscany in 1553 was defeated at the Battle of Marciano.

After Charles's abdication in 1556 split the Habsburg empire between Phillip II of Spain and Ferdinand I, the focus of the war shifted to Flanders, where Phillip, in conjunction with Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, defeated the French at St. Quentin. England's entry into the war later that year led to the French capture of Calais, and French armies plundered Spanish possessions in the Low Countries; but Henry was nonetheless forced to accept the Peace of Cateau-CambrÈsis, in which he renounced any further claims to Italy.

The Peace of Cateau-CambrÈsis was signed between Elizabeth I of England and Henry on April 2 and between Henry and Philip II of Spain on April 3, 1559, at Le Cateau-CambrÈsis, around twenty kilometers south-east of Cambrai. Under its terms, France restored Piedmont and Savoy to the Duke of Savoy, but retained Saluzzo, Calais and the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. Spain retained Franche-ComtÈ. Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, married Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry, the sister of Henry II, and Philip II of Spain married Henry's daughter Elisabeth.

Henry raised the young Queen Mary I of Scotland at his court, hoping to use her as a tool of Valois imperialism. On April 24, 1558, Henry's fourteen-year-old son Francis was married to Mary in a union intended to give the future king of France not only the throne of Scotland but a claim to the throne of England. Henry had Mary sign secret documents, illegal in Scottish law, that would ensure Valois rule in Scotland even if she died without heir (Guy 2004:91). Mary's claim to the English throne quickly became current when Mary I of England died later in 1558, Henry and his Catholic advisors regarding Elizabeth Tudor as illegitimate.
Henry II was an avid hunter and participant in jousts and tournaments. On June 30, 1559, at the Place des Vosges in Paris, during a match to celebrate the Peace Treaty of Cateau-CambrÈsis with his longtime enemies, the Habsburgs of Austria and to celebrate the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth of Valois to King Philip II of Spain, King Henry was mortally wounded by a sliver from the shattered lance of Gabriel Montgomery, captain of the King's Scottish Guard. It penetrated the closed visor, pierced his left eye, penetrated the brain and came out via his ear. He suffered terribly, and, despite the efforts of royal surgeon Ambroise ParÈ, died on July 10, 1559 and was buried in a cadaver tomb in Saint Denis Basilica. Prior to his death, Queen Catherine limited access to his bedside and denied his mistress (Diane de Poitiers) access to him, even though he repeatedly asked for her. Following his death, Catherine sent de Poitiers into exile, where she was to live in comfort on her own properties until her death.

Nostradamus supposedly predicted Henry's death.

Henry was succeeded by his son, Francis II, who died the following year and was succeeded by his two brothers. Their mother acted as Regent. For the forty years following Henry II's death, France was filled with turbulence as Protestants and Catholics fought the bitter Wars of Religion

Henry married Caterina DE'MEDICI on 28 Oct 1533. Caterina (daughter of Duke of Urbino Lorenzo DE'MEDICI, II and Madeleine De La Tour D'AUVERGNE) was born on 13 Apr 1519 in Florence, Italy; died on 05 Jan 1589 in Royal Chateau de Bloia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]