Diane d'Estr�es |
| GO TO JEAN-LOUIS, LE DUC D'�PERNON |
Children of the duc d'�pernon and Diane d'Estr�es
-
Louise.
-
Louis. He was Bishop of Mirepoix from 1630 to 1655 and was known there as Louis de Nogaret d��spernon.
Mirepoix Cathedral (Cath�drale Saint-Maurice de Mirepoix) is a former Roman Catholic cathedral, and a national monument of France, located in the town of Mirepoix, Ari�ge, in the south-west of France.
In 1655, Louis de Nogaret de La Valette became the Bishop of Carcassonne, and served as such until his death on 8 September 1679.
For more on this son, see
Sons of the Cloth
-
Bernard. As an adult, Bernard was the Prior of Bellefonds. Next to nothing is known of this son and my online research proved fruitless. There is a �Bellefond� commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in south-western France where there were thick family ties. Otherwise, �Bellefonds� is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.
My page
Sons of the Cloth
Diane was the sister of the much-famed Gabrielle d'Estr�es, who was the mistress of King Henry IV. Much more is known about her, including that a very famous painting was done of her. A summary of her life appears below (scroll down).
Gabrielle d'Estr�es
Gabrielle d'Estr�es, Marquise de Monceaux, Duchesse de Beaufort.
The d'Estr�es sisters were descended from one of the noblest houses in Picardy. Gabrielle was born in 1571 and died on April 10, 1599. She was about twenty years old when she met King Henry IV for the first time at the chateau of Coeuvres, where she lived with her family.
Gabrielle was a beauty with a flawless complexion. She had blue eyes, golden hair, and her whole presence beamed with intelligence, gentleness and grace.
She inspired the French monarch with a violent passion, which, however, did not interrupt her relation with her lover, the Duke of Bellegarde. Even though Gabrielle had another lover, Henry still pursued her, often dressing as a peasant in order to see her. Being moved with such ardor and devotion, she became his mistress.
To escape the severe scrutiny of her father, Henry married her to a nobleman named M. de Liancourt, as a nominal husband, and subsequently raised her to the rank of Marchioness of Monceaux.
In 1595 she was then raised to Duchess of Beaufort. At the same time, he lavished riches upon her, so much so that at the time of her death she possessed more than twelve estates.
Fiercely loyal, Gabrielle accompanied Henri during his campaigns. Even when heavily pregnant, she insisted on living inside his tent near the battlefield, making sure his clothing was clean and that he ate well after a battle, handling the day to day correspondence while he fought. As she was an intelligent and practical woman, Henri confided his secrets to her and followed her advice. When the two were apart, they wrote each other frequent letters.
Born a Catholic, Gabrielle knew that the best way to conclude the religious wars was for Henri himself to become a Catholic. Recognizing the wisdom in her argument, on 25 July 1593 Henri declared that "Paris is well worth a Mass" and permanently renounced Protestantism. This enabled him to be crowned King of France on 27 February 1594. Henri also arranged for Gabrielle's marriage to Liancourt to be annulled.
Henry would have divorced himself from Margaret of Valois, his legitimate wife, in order to raise Gabrielle to the position of Queen of France, but Gabrielle could not cope with the influence his friend and aide had over him.
In 1596, King Henry IV raised Gabrielle to Marquise de Monceaux and, in 1597, the Duchesse de Beaufort.
Henry lavished riches upon her, so much so that at the time of her death she possessed more than twelve estates.
After applying to Pope Clement VIII for an annulment of his marriage and authority to remarry, in March of 1599 Henri gave his mistress his coronation ring. In November 1598, she had moved into the official bedchamber reserved for the queen.
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". It was but a few days after that statement, on 9 April, that she suffered an attack of eclampsia and gave birth to a stillborn son. King Henri was at the Ch�teau de Fontainebleau when news arrived of her illness. The next day, 10 April 1599, while Henri was on his way to her, she died in Paris after the miscarriage.
The king was grief-stricken, especially given the widely-held rumor that Gabrielle had been poisoned. He wore black in mourning, something no previous French monarch had done before. He gave her the funeral of a Queen; her coffin was transported amidst a procession of princes, princesses, and nobles to the Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois church in Paris, for a requiem mass. Remembered in French history and song as La Belle Gabrielle, she was interred at the Notre-Dame-La-Royale de Maubuisson Abbey in Saint-Ouen-l'Aum�ne (Val-d'Oise, �le-de-France).
She had three children by the King:
-
C�sar de Bourbon, duc de Vend�me. Born 7 June 1594. On 4 January 1595, Henri IV officially recognized and legitimized his son in formal letters patent. In that text, he also recognized Gabrielle d'Estr�es as the mother of his son and as "the subject the most worthy of our friendship". In other words, Henri IV had the Parlement de Paris officially ratify Gabrielle's position as his mistress.
C�sar de Bourbon, duc de Vend�me (1594�1665), married Fran�oise of Mercoeur and had issue.
C�sar was involved in many noble intrigues during the reign of his half-brother Louis XIII of France; most notably against Cardinal Richelieu, resulting in his imprisonment (along with his brother Alexandre, the Chevalier de Vend�me) in the Ch�teau de Vincennes in 1626. Released in 1630, he fled to Holland; and returned in 1632. In 1641 he was accused of conspiracy again and this time fled to England.
After the death of Cardinal Richelieu in December 1642, he returned [the same time as our Bernard, the duc de La Valette, and for the same reason]. At this time, a year before the death of his half-brother, C�sar reconciled with the king.
-
Catherine-Henriette de Bourbon, in 1596 (also legitimized). She married Charles II, Duke of Elbeuf; and died in 1663.
-
Alexandre de Bourbon, in 1598 (legitimized and titled Chevalier de Vend�me) He died in 1629.
-
A stillborn son (1599).
Click on the image for a larger version
Gabrielle d'Estr�es et une de ses s�urs (1594)
Gabrielle sits up nude in a bath, holding (presumably) Henry's coronation ring, whilst a 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 resides in the Louvre, which states that the sister on the left is the Duchess of Villars. I have yet to locate a genealogy of Gabrielle that lists any sisters. However, in one article, the sister was said to be Diane.
The painting is loaded with other imagery such as the woman at the fireplace in the background, and more.
RESOURCES
Wikipedia Articles
Gabrielle d'Estr�es
Basilica of St. Nazaire and St. Celse, Carcassonne, France.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Carcassonne-Narbonne.
Blogs and Other Articles
Esoteric Curiosa Blog - King Henry IV (a good article).
Basilica St. Nazaire Blog - Louis de Nogaret de la Valette
Catholic Hierarchy: Louis de Nogaret.
Languedoc, France: Carcassonne: Basilica of Carcassonne - St. Nazaire.
Gabrielle d'Estr�es, by Leo van de Pas.
This account is lengthy and seems rather complete, but a little overworked. There is a flashy ad on this page.
Click your Back button to return
to the page you just left to get here.
This candle was lit on September 11th, 2001, in memory of
those who perished at the hands of terrorists.
Keep it burning for our children.
This website was begun on Geocities. This logo was designed
by Nanny's Victorian Graphics - no longer on the internet.
