Claude of Valois
| Claude of Valois | |
|---|---|
| Duchess consort of Lorraine | |
 | |
| Spouse | Charles III, Duke of Lorraine |
| Issue | |
| Henry II, Duke of Lorraine Christina, Grand Duchess of Tuscany Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine Antoinette, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg Francis II, Duke of Lorraine Catherine, Abbess of Remiremont Elisabeth Renata, Electress of Bavaria | |
| House | House of Lorraine House of Valois |
| Father | Henry II of France |
| Mother | Catherine de' Medici |
| Born | 12 November 1547 Fontainebleau |
| Died | 21 February 1575 (aged 27) Nancy, France |
Claude of France (12 November 1547, Fontainebleau - 21 February 1575, Nancy) was the second daughter of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici.
Biography
Claude was raised alongside her sister Elisabeth, the future Queen of Spain, and sister-in-law, the future Mary, Queen of Scots. She was married on 19 January 1559, at the age of 11, to Charles III, Duke of Lorraine. Claude was victim of the unhealthy traits that Catherine appeared to pass on to her children (with the exception of Marguerite) and suffered from a hunchback and club foot.
This very discreet princess was the favourite daughter of her mother. She often left Nancy, the capital of Lorraine, in order to live near her mother in the heart of France. Catherine de' Medici also liked to visit her daughter in Lorraine. Against her mother's wishes, though, Claude did try to warn her younger sister Marguerite de Valois of the danger she would face as the new wife of the Huguenot King of Navarre on the night of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.
Claude died in childbirth in 1575.
Children
Claude and her husband had nine children:
- Henry II, Duke of Lorraine (1563–1624)
- Christine of Lorraine (16 August 1565 – 19 December 1637); married Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
- Charles of Lorraine (1567–1607), Cardinal of Lorraine and Bishop of Metz (1578–1607), Bishop of Strasbourg (1604–1607).
- Antoinette of Lorraine (1568–1610); married Jean-Guillaume, Duke of Julich-Cleves-Berg.
- Anne of Lorraine (1569–1676)
- Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (1572–1632)
- Catherine of Lorraine (1573–1648), Abesse de Remiremont.
- Elisabeth of Lorraine (1574–1635); married Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria.
- Claude of Lorraine (1575–1576)
Ancestors
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External links
| Preceded by Christina of Denmark |
Duchess of Lorraine 1559–1575 |
Succeeded by Margerita Gonzaga |
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