With Claude de Valois, we have a unique example of a happy aristocratic marriage. Having grown up together at the French court, the couple knew each other and were compatible. A favorite of her mother, Queen Catherine de’Medici, the many years of childbirth took a harsh toll on her body.

Claude was born at the palace of Fontainebleau on November 12, 1547, the third child and second daughter of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’Medici. She lived together in the company of her elder sister Elisabeth, the future Queen of Spain and her sister-in-law, Mary Queen of Scots, the fiancé of Claude’s elder brother Francois. She would endure constant childhood illnesses and suffered from a club foot. Described as gentle and kind, Claude greatly resembled her mother in looks.

Henri II had his eyes on annexing territory of the dukes of Lorraine in order to expand the borders of France closer to the natural boundary of the Rhine. Duke Francis I of Lorraine and his wife, Christina of Denmark, a niece of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, had a son named Charles, born in February 1543 in Nancy. Duke Francis died when Charles was only two years old. His mother and his uncle, Nicolas, Bishop of Metz and Verdun were named dual regents for his minority.

Uncle Nicolas left the church and married. His wife gave birth to the beautiful Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont, who one day would be Queen of France. The regency of the young Duke of Lorraine remained uneventful until King Henri II of France entered the duchy and occupied the three independent bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun in 1552. As a result, Henri sent word to Christina of Denmark that her time as regent had ended and Nicolas, Count of Vaudemont, would keep the administration of the duchy as sole regent.

The French took Duke Charles III of Lorraine (sometimes called Charles II) from his mother to be held as a guarantee for the duchy of Lorraine’s good behavior. Henri gave as an excuse for this aggressive move his promise of the hand of his daughter Claude as a wife for Charles. He joined the household of King Henri II’s sons in Paris and Charles and Claude were in each other’s company as children.

The young Duke of Lorraine grew up with the proverbial good looks of his house. Henri gave Charles the traditional education of a prince. He spoke many European languages, had an open mind, loved the arts and letters, read many poets and conversed with the humanist and logician Petrus Ramus, and the French bishop and classical scholar Jacques Amyot. Charles learned to love political science by studying with the French statesman Michel L’Hôpital. By the time he was sixteen, Charles was an accomplished gentleman.

At eleven, Claude married Charles of Lorraine on January 19, 1559, in the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. Claude’s dowry included three hundred thousand écus and the small territory of Stenay in the Grand Est Region, on the border between northeastern France and Lorraine. The wedding symbolized the union of peace between France and Lorraine and ended Charles’ detention in France.

This marriage served as a precursor to the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis, concluded on April 3, 1559, which ended a long-standing struggle between France and Spain for control of Italy. The terms called for two additional marriages. Henri II’s eldest daughter Elisabeth married King Philip II of Spain and his sister Marguerite, Duchess of Berry, married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy and Prince of Piedmont. During the magnificent celebrations of these two marriages, Henri II suffered a fatal jousting accident and died on July 10.

This horrible tragedy delayed Claude’s departure for Lorraine, but she finally left France at the end of 1559, shortly before her sister Elisabeth departed for Spain and her aunt for Savoy. Chroniclers described Claude and Charles’ marriage as a happy one. The Duke was kind and attentive. Because of Claude’s youth, they delayed the consummation of the marriage. In January 1564, Catherine de’Medici, now regent of France, took her son King Charles IX for a long progress throughout his kingdom. She would stop in Bar-le-Duc to attend the baptism of her first grandchild, Claude’s son Henri, born on November 8, 1563.

Because of Lorraine’s convenient location on the eastern border of France, close to Paris, Claude and Charles would visit her mother frequently and Catherine would visit them often. She loved Claude’s growing family. Following the birth of Henri, Claude had Christina (1565-1637) who would marry Ferdinando I de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Son Charles (1567-1607) would become Cardinal of Lorraine.

Daughter Antonia (1568-1610) married Jean-Guillaume, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Anne of Lorraine lived from 1569 to 1576. Son Francis (1572-1632) would become Duke of Lorraine for a brief period in 1625. Catherine (1573-1648) was the Abbess of Remiremont, a monastery patronized by the House of Lorraine. Claude’s daughter Elisabeth (1574-1635) married Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria. A short-lived daughter, Claude, was born in 1575.

Claude had helped to ward off a match with the Guise family for her sister Marguerite, (known as Margot), after Margot asked her to intervene. By August 1572, Margot was scheduled to marry the Protestant King Henri of Navarre in Paris. On her way to attend the wedding, Claude became ill, and her mother rushed to her side to take care of her at Châlons.

Many notables were in Paris for the nuptials, including Catholics and Protestants. There had been tensions between the adherents of the two religions in France, resulting in outright wars in 1562, 1567, and 1568. The union of Margot and Henri was meant to bring peace. The wedding took place in Notre-Dame Cathedral on August 18 and celebrations followed. Margot wrote in her memoirs the events that took place on the evening of August 24.

Somehow, Claude had heard the news of a massacre that would take place against Henri of Navarre and his retinue. Margot says Claude had tears in her eyes as she begged her sister to stay in her mother’s chamber rather than retire to her husband’s bedroom, even grabbing her arm to stop her. Catherine de’Medici challenged Claude and argued Margot would be safe if God wished and if she didn’t join her husband, it would arouse suspicion. Claude said Margot risked becoming a target, and it was not right to send her to be sacrificed. Catherine ordered Margot to leave, and Claude broke down in tears.

After the onset of the massacre, one of the Navarrese courtiers named de Leran broke into Margot’s bedchamber and begged her to save him from the Captain of the Guard, M. de Nancay. Nancay agreed to spare de Leran and then escorted Margot to take refuge in Claude’s room. Margot and Henri survived the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, but the Huguenot leader Coligny had been murdered, and the fourth French war of religion broke out. It must have been a terrifying night.

Claude’s brother and Catherine de’Medici’s third and favorite son Henri had little chance of ascending the throne of France. In 1573, the kingdom of Poland sought a ruler and elected Henri as their king. In November, Henri traveled to Krakow. On the way, he stopped at the court of his brother-in-law Charles of Lorraine. Claude had just given birth to her daughter Catherine, and they celebrated her christening. Because of the indisposition of Claude, Catherine, Countess of Vaudémont, second wife of Nicolas, the former regent of Lorraine, hosted the events. The Countess of Vaudémont’s step-daughter Louise was a part of her entourage and she came to the attention of the new Polish king Henri.

Henri was smitten with Louise, but continued on to Poland. Shortly after his arrival, his brother King Charles IX died, and he inherited the French throne. Henri made an escape from Poland, became king of France, and eventually married Louise of Lorraine-Vaudémont.

Claude gave birth to another daughter a year later and was once again pregnant. When she gave birth to her last daughter Claude in 1575, she did not survive the ordeal. They buried her in the Église Saint-François-des-Cordeliers in Nancy. Catherine de’Medici took over the guardianship and education of Claude’s eldest daughter, Christina, following her mother’s death.

The historian Brantôme gave the following description of Claude:

“In her beauty she resembled her mother, in her knowledge and kindness she resembled her aunt; the people of Lorraine found her ever kind as long as she lived, as I myself have seen when I went to that country; and after her death, they found much to say of her. In fact, by her death that land was filled with regrets, and M. de Lorraine mourned her so much that, though he was young when widowed of her, he would not marry again, saying he could never find her like, though could he do so he would remarry, not being disinclined. […] In short, she was a true daughter of France, having good mind and ability, which she proved by seconding wisely and ably her husband, M. de Lorraine, in the government of his seigneuries and principalities.”

Further reading: “The Brood of False Lorraine: The History of the Ducs de Guise (1496-1588), Volumes I and II” by H. Noel Williams, “Récits lorrains: Histoire des ducs de Lorraine et de Bar” by Ernest Mourin, “Catherine de’Medici” by Robert J. Knecht, “Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France” by Leonie Frieda, “The Rival Queens: Catherine de’Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois and the Betrayal That Ignited a Kingdom” by Nancy Goldstone