AKA Marguerite de Valois

Born: 14-May-1553
Birthplace: Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Died: 27-Mar-1615
Location of death: Paris, France
Cause of death: unspecified

Gender: Female
Religion: Roman Catholic
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Royalty

Nationality: France
Executive summary: Consort of Henry of Navarre

Margaret of Valois, also called Marguerite de Valois, was the daughter of Henri II by Catherine de Medici. She was born on the 14th of May 1553. When very young she became famous for her beauty, her learning, and the looseness of her conduct. She was married, after a liaison with the Duke of Guise, to Henry of Navarre, afterwards Henri IV, on the eve of St Bartholomew's Day. Both husband and wife were extreme examples of the licentious manners of the time, but they not unfrequently lived together for considerable periods, and nearly always on good terms. Later, however, Marguerite was established in the castle of Usson in Auvergne, and after the accession of Henri the marriage was dissolved by the pope. But Henri and Marguerite still continued friends; she still bore the title of queen; she visited Marie de Medici on equal terms; and the king frequently consulted her on important affairs, though his somewhat parsimonious spirit was grieved by her extravagance. Marguerite exhibited during the rest of her life, which was not a short one, the strange Valois mixture of licentiousness, pious exercises, and the cultivation of art and letters, and died in Paris on the 27th of March 1615. She left letters and memoirs the latter of which are admirably written, and rank among the best of the 16th century. She was the idol of Pierre de Bourdeille Brantôme, and is the "Reine Margot" of anecdotic history and romance.

Father: Henri II (King of France)
Mother: Catherine de Medici
Boyfriend: Duke of Guise
Husband: Henri IV (then Henry of Navarre)

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