HE DEATH OF HENRI


The marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and the Dauphin Francois was the first of several royal marriages. Princess Claude married the Duke of Lorraine, to be followed by the wedding of Henri II's sister to the Duke of Savoy. On the same day, Henri II's younger daughter, the fourteen-year-old Elisabeth, would by proxy marry King Philip II of Spain.

Part of these celebrations was a jousting tournament. On the first day Catherine de Medici approached her husband, begging him not to take part as her astrologer had warned that the king would be killed. In panic, Catherine had called for Nostradamus who had described the king's death in even greater detail. He described Henri's death as follows:
CI, Q 35 The young lion will overcome the older one, on the field of combat in single battle, He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage, Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death.

Every day Catherine would repeat her pleas, but Henri II would take no notice. On the third day disaster struck. Henri had successfully taken part in a joust against Gabriel Montgomery and had decided to go just one more time. Catherine grew frantic as she saw the tip of his opponent's lance enter his visor and lodge itself in his eye. It was just as Nostradamus predicted, the golden cage being the golden visor of Henri's helmet. Henri II was fatally wounded. Twelve agonizing days later, Henri II died, with Catherine ignoring his requests to see Diane de Poitiers.

At last Catherine de Medici was now in charge. She became Regent for the boy-king Francois II, and one of her first actions was to demand back the Crown Jewels from Diane de Poitiers. This Diane did complete with inventory.

With a new king on the throne, Diane suddenly found herself persona non grata at court. Since Catherine de Medici was now in a better position to exact her revenge, being the mother of the king instead of simply an out-of-favor wife, she began to pressure Diane to hand over one of the most important presents she had been given by Henri II—the chateau of Chenonceau. Diane loved the chateau of Chenonceau. In 1547 Henri II had made her a gift of the chateau and in 1551, she had become the Duchess of Valentinois there. If the accounts are correct, she ran the place with an iron but artistic hand, turning the already lovely area into a garden spot with plants and trees personally selected by her, including such exotic offerings as artichokes and melons. The balls and hunts given by her at Chenonceau became legendary. By 1552, Henri was spending most of his time, frequently without Catherine, at Chenonceau. Hence, the chateau had become something of a sore point between the two women.

It was probably to be expected that Catherine would want Chenonceau returned if anything untoward ever happened to the man in both women's lives. But when Henri died, Catherine discovered that Henri had not simply given Diane the use of the property—instead, the chateau had been given outright to Diane, in spite of legal restrictions which specified that such royal property could not be alienated. Since it was potentially no longer part of the royal domain, it would be difficult for Catherine to assert a claim to Chenonceau on purely legal grounds. On her side, Diane had not been naïve enough to trust that all would be well forever between her and Henri, and she had prudently set about to make her own chateau of Anet quite comfortable—just in case.

A period of sparring ensued, but since Catherine's power was clearly on the ascent, Diane did the prudent thing and decided to yield, however painful that may have been for her. In return she received Chaumont-sur-Loire, which had been Catherine's property.


NEXT: IANE'S LAST DAYS