Christine Marie of France

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Christine Marie of France, Regent of Savoy.

Christine Marie of France, fr.: Christine de France, it.:Maria Cristina di Francia or Madama Reale, (February 10, 1606 - December 27, 1663) was Regent of Savoy between 1637 and 1663.

[edit] Life

Born in Paris, she was a daughter of King Henry IV of France and his second wife Marie de' Medici.

She was a younger sister of Louis XIII of France and Elisabeth of Bourbon. She was also an older sister of Nicholas Henry, Duke of Orleans, Gaston, Duke of Orléans and Henrietta Maria of France. Christine was a sister-in-law of Philip IV of Spain through Elisabeth and of Charles I of England through Henrietta Maria.

She married Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, on February 10, 1619 in Paris. He was a son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Caterina Micaela of Spain. Caterina Micaela was in turn a daughter of Philip II of Spain and Elisabeth of Valois. Elizabeth was a daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici.

Victor Amadeus became Duke after the death of his father in 1630, but died already in 1637. Christine Marie of France, a strong, confident woman assumed the Regency for her two sons, Francis Hyacinth and Carlo Emanuele.

Both Maurice of Savoy and his younger brother Tommaso disputed the power of their sister-in-law, and her French entourage. When the first heir Francis Hyacinth died in 1638, both brothers started the Piemontese Civil War, with Spanish support. The two parties were called "principisti" (supporters of the Princes) and "madamisti" (supporters of Madama Reale).

After four years of fighting, Christine Marie was victorious, thanks to French military support. Not only did she keep the Duchy for her son, she also prevented France getting too much power in the Duchy. When peace was concluded in 1642 , Maurice married his forteen-year old niece Louise Christine, abandonning the title of cardinal and asking dispensation from Pope Paul V. Maurice became governor of Nice. Christine Marie of France stayed in firm control of the Duchy of Savoy, until her son could follow in her footsteps.

She died in Turin in 1663.

[edit] Ancestors

**Christine Marie's ancestors in three generations**
Christine Marie of France	Father: Henry IV of France	Paternal Grandfather: Antoine of Navarre	Paternal Great-grandfather: Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Françoise d'Alençon
		Paternal Grandmother: Jeanne III of Navarre	Paternal Great-grandfather: Henry II of Navarre
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Marguerite de Navarre
	Mother: Marie de' Medici	Maternal Grandfather: Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany	Maternal Great-grandfather: Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Eleonora di Toledo
		Maternal Grandmother: Johanna of Austria	Maternal Great-grandfather: Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Anna of Bohemia and Hungary