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| Francois of France Duke of Anjou the Little Monkey |
Dauphin of France 1576, Duke of Anjou, Touraine & Berry 1576-1584, Duke of Alencon & Chateau-Thierry 1566-1584, Count of Perche, Meulan, Mantes 1566-1584; Duke of Evreux 1560-1584; Prince of the Netherlands 1580; Duke of Brabant & Count of Flanders 1582.
Son of: Henri II de France & Catherine de' Medici.
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
"Her [Elizabeth I] influence upon France was further strengthened by another bout of matrimonial politics, when once more she invited the attentions of Francis, duke of Anjou. He was the unfortunate youth, then duke of Alencon, the reports of whose personal attractions were the object of many jokes at the English court; his face was pitted with the scars of smallpox, and he had a slight deformity of the spine which belied his nickname of 'Hercules'. He was also twenty-one years younger than the English queen, which might leave Elizabeth herself open to ridicule. . . ." (Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I: 385)
"Francois, Duke of Alencon and Anjou (1554-1584), was the youngest of the four sons of King Henri II of France and Catherine de' Medici. In childhood, he contracted smallpox, which left him disfigured (though little of it is shown in portraits). The smallpox also left him weak and caused his growth to be stunted, which exposed him to ridicule. He was under five feet tall.1 His lack of interest and proficiency in the manly arts of sports further opened him to derision in an era where these qualities, for a great part, were the measure of a man." (Luminarium)
" . . . One of Queen Elizabeth's suitors. In 1572 he sent the queen a love letter and subsequently paid three visits to England to court her. His last visit, in 1579, was often referred to as if the date marked the end of an era. . . The duke came to be known in England by the nickname 'Monsieur,' from the queen's habit of calling him that." (The Ben Jonson Encyclopedia: 11)
1) Charlotte de Sauve (1551-1617)
Physical appearance & personal qualities.
"Her [Elizabeth I] influence upon France was further strengthened by another bout of matrimonial politics, when once more she invited the attentions of Francis, duke of Anjou. He was the unfortunate youth, then duke of Alencon, the reports of whose personal attractions were the object of many jokes at the English court; his face was pitted with the scars of smallpox, and he had a slight deformity of the spine which belied his nickname of 'Hercules'. He was also twenty-one years younger than the English queen, which might leave Elizabeth herself open to ridicule. . . ." (Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I: 385)
"Francois, Duke of Alencon and Anjou (1554-1584), was the youngest of the four sons of King Henri II of France and Catherine de' Medici. In childhood, he contracted smallpox, which left him disfigured (though little of it is shown in portraits). The smallpox also left him weak and caused his growth to be stunted, which exposed him to ridicule. He was under five feet tall.1 His lack of interest and proficiency in the manly arts of sports further opened him to derision in an era where these qualities, for a great part, were the measure of a man." (Luminarium)
" . . . One of Queen Elizabeth's suitors. In 1572 he sent the queen a love letter and subsequently paid three visits to England to court her. His last visit, in 1579, was often referred to as if the date marked the end of an era. . . The duke came to be known in England by the nickname 'Monsieur,' from the queen's habit of calling him that." (The Ben Jonson Encyclopedia: 11)
His lovers were:
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| Charlotte de Sauve @Wikimedia |
Lover in 1574-1575
French noblewoman, beauty, courtier & royal mistress.
Vicomtesse de Tours & Baron de Semblançay (in her own right)
Baroness Semblançay, Baroness de Sauve & Marquise de Noirmoutier (by marriage)
Maid-of-Honour to Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Navarre
Daughter of Jacques de Beaune, Baron de Semblançay, Vicomte de Tours, and Gabrielle de Sade
Wife of:
1. Simeon de Fizes, baron de Sauve, secretary of state, mar 1569-1579
2. Francois de La Tremoille, Marquis de Noirmoutier, mar 1584-1608
"One must also keep in mind that an intense hostility and rivalry gradually developed between Alencon and his older brothers, Charles and Henry. As for his rivalry with Henry of Navarre, this only developed later, when both princes resided together at court after 1572. It stemmed from Alencon's personal jealousy, and was exacerbated by the sharing of a mistress: Charlotte de Beaune, madame de Sauve, wife of one of the principal secretaries of state. These personal rivalries were important, because the followers of Charles IX, Henry III and Navarre rarely wrote or said anything complimentary about Alencon. . . ." (The Duke of Anjou and the Politique Struggle During the Wars of Religion: 14)
" . . . After the death of M. de Sauve, in 1579, his widow married Francois de la Tremouille, marquis de Noirmoustier. During the life of her first husband Charlotte was distinguished at court by the appellation of 'la belle madame de Sauve.' She was grand-daughter of Semblancay, the unfortunate minister of Francis I." (Henry III King of France and Poland: His Court and Times: 107)
2) Joseph-Boniface de La Mole (1526-1574)
Lover in 1573.
French aristocrat.
Son of: Jacques Boniface, Seigneur de Mole & Colobrieres.
"Among the favorites of Francis of France (1555-1584, François d'Alençon, Duke of Anjou and last son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici), - I recall that in the Court of Charles IX, he takes the head of the party Malcontents and conspires with Henry of Navarre to win the king's successor instead of his brother Henry ... - so among the favorites of Francis d'Alençon is the Lord Boniface de La Mole (1526-1574 ), famous as a beautiful dancer and very beloved of ladies ... And very devout! After Mass, he devoted himself to love, persuaded " that Mass devoutly expiated all the sins and sins that might have been committed ." One day, he meets Marguerite, molded in a brocade dress, open bodice, revealing the throat " full and fleshy, which all courtiers die ," and he immediately falls in love ... The volcanic Queen of Navarre has noticed Boniface for a long time ... Seduced by this handsome man, she feels a kind of fire "burning her jewel" in her, and she looks forward to his kind wishes. a sign ... That day, he allows himself a look a little insistent. The effect exceeds his expectations. Marguerite leaps upon him, takes him by the hand, and drags him to his room, where their loves are so unobtrusive that two hours later the whole Court knows that the Queen of Navarre has one more lover." (Il Etait Une Fois . . . Le Feminin)
"Joseph de La Mole was a French nobleman and one of Margot's Provencal lovers shortly after her arranged marriage to Henry of Navarre, the future king of France. La Mole served Francois, Duke of Anjou and Alencon, Marguerite's brother and youngest son of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. La Mole was accused of making an attempt on the king's life when a wax figurine pricked with needles, which he had obtained from the astrologer Cosimo Ruggieri, was found in his possession. After being subjected to questioning and torture, allegedly at Margot's direction, he was condemned to death. He was quartered and beheaded at the Place de Greve in Paris with his co-conspirator, Annibal de Coconnas. Despite her part in his torture and murder, historical rumor has it that Marguerite embalmed La Mole's head and kept it in a jeweled casket in her boudoir." (The Truthseekers)
" . . . In reality, he was a fervent womanizer and a fundamentalist Catholic who took mass each day . . . to expiate his sexual adventures with both sexes. He took part in the Massacre of August 1572. . . He was wounded at the siege of La Rochelle in February 1573, by which time he was one of d'Alencon's male lovers. Catherine believed he soured relations between d'Alencon and d'Anjou. Charles IX disliked him intensely, twice ordered him to be strangled during the siege, and personally held a candle while six men lay in wait for him at the Louvre. In January 1574 he became the lover of Marguerite. . . ." (La Reine Margot: 476)
"The Duke of Alencon had two favourites, who were of bold and scheming dispositions, and by whose counsels he had been excited to such measures. They were Joseph Boniface De la Mole, and Annibal, Count De Coconas, an Italian. The Queen of Navarre laid no restraint on her passions for La Mole, and the Duchess of Nemours, Guise's mother, placed her affections on Coconas: the King of Navarre and the Duke of Alencon disputed for the affection of Madame de Sauve, who was also addressed by the Duke of Guise. Charles IX was indignant that his sister should so disgrace herself, and employed some person to dispatch La Mole as he quitted the young queen's apartment; but either being warned, or by chance, he stayed there till morning, and this escaped the snare. . . ." (A History of the Huguenots: 105)
" . . . The duc d'Alencon had a favourite gentleman, one Joseph Boniface, seigneur de la Mole, to whom he imparted most of his schemes, as such was the weakness of the duke's character that a secret oppressed him, and he was never easy until he had divulged it. This la Mole was the most consummate petit maitre of the court. Vain, foppish, frivolous, and fitted only to figure in a court ballet, la Mole, nevertheless aspired to political pre-eminence, and had plunged into the perilous vortex of intrigue. Charles IX, who detested the race of sycophants of which la Mole was the type, had it is said, twice during the siege of La Rochelle commanded his brother Henry to strangle M. d'Alencon's gentleman. His majesty even once plotted to hang la Mole with his own royal hands. Fortunately, the latter escaped the ambuscade posted in one of the galleries of the Louvre to seize him as he passed to his apartment, by paying an unexpected visit to the queen of Navarre, by whom la Mole was greatly favoured. . . ." (Henry III: King of France and Poland: 272)
3) Louis de Clermont d'Amboise, Seigneur de Bussy (1549-1579)
French medieval general
Seigneur de Bussy d'Amboise.
"The picture of the young duke that emerges from the correspondence of his governor, St-Sulpice, is less extreme. The former ambassador reveals that Alencon was a normal teenage prince who enjoyed the usual pursuits of this in his exalted position: sports, hunting, falconry, and the company of the opposite sex. Unlike his brother, Henry, Alencon's sexual preferences were never questioned, and he was never accused of being homosexual. Indeed, his appetite for amorous activity was the subject of court gossip by the time he was fifteen. While rumors of his sexual proclivity were doubtless exaggerated, they certainly aroused the ire of the queen mother. St-Sulpice spent much of his time smoothing Catherine's ruffled feathers." (Holt, 2002, p. 15)
"...Like many at the court, he was bisexual, and was the lover of La Mole and Madame de Sauves...." (Dumas, 1999, 0. 474
French noblewoman, beauty, courtier & royal mistress.
Vicomtesse de Tours & Baron de Semblançay (in her own right)
Baroness Semblançay, Baroness de Sauve & Marquise de Noirmoutier (by marriage)
Maid-of-Honour to Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Navarre
Daughter of Jacques de Beaune, Baron de Semblançay, Vicomte de Tours, and Gabrielle de Sade
1. Simeon de Fizes, baron de Sauve, secretary of state, mar 1569-1579
2. Francois de La Tremoille, Marquis de Noirmoutier, mar 1584-1608
"One must also keep in mind that an intense hostility and rivalry gradually developed between Alencon and his older brothers, Charles and Henry. As for his rivalry with Henry of Navarre, this only developed later, when both princes resided together at court after 1572. It stemmed from Alencon's personal jealousy, and was exacerbated by the sharing of a mistress: Charlotte de Beaune, madame de Sauve, wife of one of the principal secretaries of state. These personal rivalries were important, because the followers of Charles IX, Henry III and Navarre rarely wrote or said anything complimentary about Alencon. . . ." (The Duke of Anjou and the Politique Struggle During the Wars of Religion: 14)
" . . . After the death of M. de Sauve, in 1579, his widow married Francois de la Tremouille, marquis de Noirmoustier. During the life of her first husband Charlotte was distinguished at court by the appellation of 'la belle madame de Sauve.' She was grand-daughter of Semblancay, the unfortunate minister of Francis I." (Henry III King of France and Poland: His Court and Times: 107)
2) Joseph-Boniface de La Mole (1526-1574)
Lover in 1573.
French aristocrat.
Son of: Jacques Boniface, Seigneur de Mole & Colobrieres.
"Among the favorites of Francis of France (1555-1584, François d'Alençon, Duke of Anjou and last son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici), - I recall that in the Court of Charles IX, he takes the head of the party Malcontents and conspires with Henry of Navarre to win the king's successor instead of his brother Henry ... - so among the favorites of Francis d'Alençon is the Lord Boniface de La Mole (1526-1574 ), famous as a beautiful dancer and very beloved of ladies ... And very devout! After Mass, he devoted himself to love, persuaded " that Mass devoutly expiated all the sins and sins that might have been committed ." One day, he meets Marguerite, molded in a brocade dress, open bodice, revealing the throat " full and fleshy, which all courtiers die ," and he immediately falls in love ... The volcanic Queen of Navarre has noticed Boniface for a long time ... Seduced by this handsome man, she feels a kind of fire "burning her jewel" in her, and she looks forward to his kind wishes. a sign ... That day, he allows himself a look a little insistent. The effect exceeds his expectations. Marguerite leaps upon him, takes him by the hand, and drags him to his room, where their loves are so unobtrusive that two hours later the whole Court knows that the Queen of Navarre has one more lover." (Il Etait Une Fois . . . Le Feminin)
"Joseph de La Mole was a French nobleman and one of Margot's Provencal lovers shortly after her arranged marriage to Henry of Navarre, the future king of France. La Mole served Francois, Duke of Anjou and Alencon, Marguerite's brother and youngest son of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. La Mole was accused of making an attempt on the king's life when a wax figurine pricked with needles, which he had obtained from the astrologer Cosimo Ruggieri, was found in his possession. After being subjected to questioning and torture, allegedly at Margot's direction, he was condemned to death. He was quartered and beheaded at the Place de Greve in Paris with his co-conspirator, Annibal de Coconnas. Despite her part in his torture and murder, historical rumor has it that Marguerite embalmed La Mole's head and kept it in a jeweled casket in her boudoir." (The Truthseekers)
" . . . In reality, he was a fervent womanizer and a fundamentalist Catholic who took mass each day . . . to expiate his sexual adventures with both sexes. He took part in the Massacre of August 1572. . . He was wounded at the siege of La Rochelle in February 1573, by which time he was one of d'Alencon's male lovers. Catherine believed he soured relations between d'Alencon and d'Anjou. Charles IX disliked him intensely, twice ordered him to be strangled during the siege, and personally held a candle while six men lay in wait for him at the Louvre. In January 1574 he became the lover of Marguerite. . . ." (La Reine Margot: 476)
"The Duke of Alencon had two favourites, who were of bold and scheming dispositions, and by whose counsels he had been excited to such measures. They were Joseph Boniface De la Mole, and Annibal, Count De Coconas, an Italian. The Queen of Navarre laid no restraint on her passions for La Mole, and the Duchess of Nemours, Guise's mother, placed her affections on Coconas: the King of Navarre and the Duke of Alencon disputed for the affection of Madame de Sauve, who was also addressed by the Duke of Guise. Charles IX was indignant that his sister should so disgrace herself, and employed some person to dispatch La Mole as he quitted the young queen's apartment; but either being warned, or by chance, he stayed there till morning, and this escaped the snare. . . ." (A History of the Huguenots: 105)
" . . . The duc d'Alencon had a favourite gentleman, one Joseph Boniface, seigneur de la Mole, to whom he imparted most of his schemes, as such was the weakness of the duke's character that a secret oppressed him, and he was never easy until he had divulged it. This la Mole was the most consummate petit maitre of the court. Vain, foppish, frivolous, and fitted only to figure in a court ballet, la Mole, nevertheless aspired to political pre-eminence, and had plunged into the perilous vortex of intrigue. Charles IX, who detested the race of sycophants of which la Mole was the type, had it is said, twice during the siege of La Rochelle commanded his brother Henry to strangle M. d'Alencon's gentleman. His majesty even once plotted to hang la Mole with his own royal hands. Fortunately, the latter escaped the ambuscade posted in one of the galleries of the Louvre to seize him as he passed to his apartment, by paying an unexpected visit to the queen of Navarre, by whom la Mole was greatly favoured. . . ." (Henry III: King of France and Poland: 272)
3) Louis de Clermont d'Amboise, Seigneur de Bussy (1549-1579)
French medieval general
Seigneur de Bussy d'Amboise.
"The picture of the young duke that emerges from the correspondence of his governor, St-Sulpice, is less extreme. The former ambassador reveals that Alencon was a normal teenage prince who enjoyed the usual pursuits of this in his exalted position: sports, hunting, falconry, and the company of the opposite sex. Unlike his brother, Henry, Alencon's sexual preferences were never questioned, and he was never accused of being homosexual. Indeed, his appetite for amorous activity was the subject of court gossip by the time he was fifteen. While rumors of his sexual proclivity were doubtless exaggerated, they certainly aroused the ire of the queen mother. St-Sulpice spent much of his time smoothing Catherine's ruffled feathers." (Holt, 2002, p. 15)
"...Like many at the court, he was bisexual, and was the lover of La Mole and Madame de Sauves...." (Dumas, 1999, 0. 474
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