Gabrielle d'Estrées
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gabrielle d'Estrées, duchesse de Beaufort et Verneuil, marquise de Monceaux (1571–1599) was a French mistress of King Henry IV of France, born at Château de la Bourdaisière in Montlouis-sur-Loire, in the Indre-et-Loire département of France.
Contents |
[edit] Becoming mistress to a king
She became Henri's companion and lover at the age of 20 in 1591, and in 1595 her marriage to M. de Liancourt was annulled through an arrangement by Henri, and Henri gave her the title of Marquise de Monceaux. Although he was legally married to Marguerite de Valois, Henri and Gabrielle were openly affectionate when in public together. When the two were apart, he wrote her frequent letters. She had common sense and Henri could safely confide his secrets and listen to her advice.
Avid horseback riders, she and Henri enjoyed hunting and riding in the countryside around Paris. For seven years she had the role of a wife and gave the King three children he willingly acknowledged. Seeking power, she used her position to help persuade him to convert from Protestantism to Catholicism in order to obtain the throne of France.
Henri purchased the Duchy of Beaufort for her in 1597. After applying to Pope Clement VIII for a divorce and authority to remarry, in March of 1599 Henri gave her his coronation ring. Gabrielle, so sure that the wedding would take place, stated, "Only God or the king's death could put an end to my good luck".
Perhaps she tempted fate too much. A few days later (in early April), she suffered an attack of eclampsia and gave birth to a stillborn son. King Henri was at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau when news arrived of her illness. The next day, April 10, 1599, while Henri was on his way to her, she died, in terrible pain.
The king was grief-stricken, especially given the widely-held rumor that Gabrielle had been poisoned. He gave her the funeral of a Queen; her coffin was transported amidst a procession of princes, princesses, and nobles to the Saint Denis Basilica for a requiem Mass. Known in French history and song as La Belle Gabrielle, she was interred at Abbaye Notre-Dame-la-Royale de Maubuisson, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, Val-d'Oise, Île-de-France.
A publication after her death called the "Mémoires secrets de Gabrielle d'Estrée" (The Secret Memoirs of Gabrielle d’Estrée) is believed to have been written by one of her friends.
[edit] Children
Her four children by Henry were:
- César de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme (1594–1665), married Françoise of Mercoeur and had issue. In 1626, he participated in a plot against Cardinal Richelieu. César was captured and held in prison for three years. In 1641 he was accused of conspiracy again and this time fled to England.
- Catherine-Henriette de Bourbon (1596–1663), married Charles II, Duke of Elboeuf.
- Alexandre, Chevalier de Vendôme (1598–1629).
- stillborn son (1599).
[edit] Immortalized in controversial art piece
She is the presumed subject of the painting Gabrielle d'Estrees et une de ses soeurs [1] by an unknown artist (c.1595), in which she and her sister are depicted in an incestuous setting. Gabrielle sits up nude in a bath, holding (assumedly) Henry's coronation ring, whilst her sister sits nude beside her and pinches her right nipple. Henry gave Gabrielle the ring as a token of his love shortly before she died.
The painting now hangs at the Louvre Museum in Paris.[2]
