France's Marguerite de Valois
Queen Margot was Wife of Henry IV, sister to Henry II & Charles IX
Jul 30, 2007
The youngest daughter of King Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici, Marguerite, or Margot as she was called by her family, led a life filled with intrigue and illicit affairs. From a young age, she butted heads with her family, beginning in her teens. Before the age of 19, she had an affair and tried to marry Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise but her family forbade the alliance. Instead, in 1572, she was married to Henry de Bourbon, King of Navarre, in an attempt to bring a peace between Catholics (Marguerite and her family) and Protestants (Henry of Navarre was a Huguenot).
The young couple were very passionate people, but not for each other. The young King reportedly spent most of the wedding ceremony outside of the cathedral and when it was time to answer in the affirmative to her vows, Margot’s brother King Charles IX of France nodded her head for her.
Massacre in Paris
Just days after the ceremony, the St. Bartholomew’s Massacre took place in Paris. It was reportedly orchestrated by Catherine de Medici to cover up an attempted assassination, but the record is not entirely clear on who was behind the killings. What was clear was that several thousand Huguenots throughout France were murdered. Henry of Navarre barely escaped with his life, thanks to the support of his wife and his convenient conversion to Catholicism.
Margot Begins Her Intrigues
After three years imprisoned in King Charles’s court, Henry of Navarre lreturned to Navarre in 1576, but left Margot behind. By this time, she had taken her first post-wedding lover, Joseph de Boniface de la Molle, who was subsequently accused of conspiracy against King Charles and was killed. His was the fate of many of Margot’s lovers. Due to her open affairs and her role in political intrigues (usually designed to bring together Catholics and her Protestant husband), Margot was banished from her brother's Court (which was now ruled by Henry III).
In a coup against her brother and husband, Margot overtook Agen. When the town was retaken by royal forces, Margot’s newest lover was hung. She was then imprisoned in the castle of Usson, where she spent the next 18 years (by some reports, she lived the life of the "Queen of the Castle").
Henry IV
In 1589, Henry of Navarre succeeded to the throne of France as Henry IV, the first Bourbon king. Henry wanted to divorce Margot and marry his mistress. Margot refused until 1599 when, it was reported, the king paid her handsomely for the divorce. King Henry then married Marie de Medici. By 1600, Margot was living in near poverty. However, she managed to retain friendly relations with her ex-husband and was invited to live at the Court where she became a patron of the arts and literature. She died in Paris in 1615. Her memoirs, which give insight into the lives of her brothers and Henry IV, were published after her death.
In Popular Culture
Alexander Dumas fictionalized the events surrounding Queen Margot's marriage in Queen Margot (La Reine Margot). Love's Labour Lost by William Shakespeare is a ficionalized account of a reconciliation between Margot and Henry in 1578. She also appears as a character in Meyerbeer's opera Les Huguenots.
For Further Reading:
Farquhar, Michael, "A Treasure of Royal Scandals", Penguin Books, London, 2001. pps. 11-14.
