by Scott Mehl

Princess Marguerite of France, also known as Marguerite of Valois, was the first wife of King Henri IV of France. She was born on May 14, 1553, at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the daughter of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici. In addition to becoming Queen of France, she was also Queen of Navarre from the time of her marriage. She was named after her paternal aunt, Marguerite of France (later Duchess of Savoy), who along with Alphonse II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, served as her godparents.

Marguerite had nine siblings, three of whom became Kings of France:

After several failed attempts to marry Marguerite off to the son of King Felipe II of Spain, and to King Sebastião I of Portugal in the late 1560s, she became involved with Henri I, Duke of Guise. However, the relationship ended in 1570 when it was discovered by her mother, who had Henri banished from court. Two years later, on August 18, 1572, Marguerite was married to King Henri III of Navarre (later King Henri IV of France) at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Her husband was the son of Queen Jeanne III of Navarre and Prince Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme. The marriage, arranged by Marguerite’s brother, King Charles IX, was hoped to help bring together the Bourbon and Valois dynasties, and ease the tensions between the Catholics and Huguenots. Ironically, as her husband was a Huguenot, he was not permitted in the Cathedral and had to stay outside for the ceremony. The couple had no children.

Just days after the wedding, the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre took place. Marguerite is alleged to have hidden several prominent Huguenots, as well as her new husband, to keep them safe from certain death. Eventually, Henri was able to return to Navarre, although it would be some time before Marguerite was given permission to join him. The two led relatively separate lives, both having a string of affairs and rarely getting along with each other.

In 1582, Marguerite returned to France to recuperate after an illness. Before long, her brother, King Henri III, forced her to leave, scandalized by her behavior. She returned to Navarre, organizing a coup d’état to take control of the city of Agen. However, that was short-lived and soon she was forced to flee. In 1586, she was imprisoned by her brother, King Henri III of France, and later by her own husband, in the castle of Usson. It would be 19 years before she returned to court.

Despite this, Marguerite became Queen Consort of France on August 2, 1589. When her brother, King Henri III, died without an heir, the throne passed to Marguerite’s husband, who was the senior agnatic heir of King Louis IX of France. While he took the throne as King Henri IV, there would be much dissent amongst the French people as he was not Catholic. After several years of various factions trying to keep him from the throne, Henri converted to Catholicism in 1593.

By then, Henri knew that he needed a male heir, and his marriage to Marguerite had produced no children. He began negotiations with Marguerite to have their marriage annulled. After several years, the marriage was formally dissolved at the end of 1599. Marguerite retained her title as Queen of France. Henri would later marry Marie de’ Medici and have several children. It wouldn’t be long before Marguerite was back in favor with her former husband, although she remained in Usson.

In 1605, largely due to the efforts of Henri’s second wife, Marie de’ Medici, Marguerite was welcomed back to Paris and the French court. She settled initially at the Hôtel de Sens while having a new home – the Hôtel Reine Marguerite – built along the Seine, directly opposite the Louvre Palace. She remained a favorite at court and maintained a remarkably close relationship with her former husband and his new wife. In 1608, they even asked her to serve as godmother to their youngest son Gaston.

Queen Marguerite of France died on March 27, 1615, and was buried in the Valois Chapel at the Basilica of St. Denis near Paris. Today, the location of her remains is unknown. They were likely destroyed during the French Revolution or could have been moved elsewhere when work was being done on the chapel.

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