Golden Age Ladies: Women Who shaped the Courts of Henry VIII and Francis I - 4 The End (Pages 141 - end)

 

After Anne Boleyn's execution, Lancelot de Carle wrote a poem about her life and death, which  upset Henry VIII. Lancelot de Carle (also Carles) (c. 1508 – July 1568), Bishop of Riez, was a French scholar, poet and diplomat. Carle was an eyewitness to the trial and execution of Anne Boleyn, Queen consort of Henry VIII, and shortly afterwards, he wrote a poem detailing her life and the circumstances surrounding her death.

Another Frenchman, Etienne Dolet, wrote an epitaph about Anne Boleyn, named 'The Queen of Utopia'. Étienne Dolet ( 3 August 1509 – 3 August 1546) was a French scholar, translator and printer.

Henry VIII lost his illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, and Francis I's son, Dauphin Francis, also died. The Dauphin Francis died at the Château de Tournon on 10 August 1536, at the age of eighteen. The circumstances of his death appeared suspicious, and many believed he was poisoned. After playing a round of tennis, the Dauphin asked for a cup of water, which was brought to him by his secretary, Count Montecuccoli. Shortly after drinking it, Francis collapsed and died several days later. Montecuccoli was accused of being in the pay of Charles V. When his quarters were searched, a book detailing several types of poison was discovered. Under torture, Montecuccoli confessed to poisoning the Dauphin and was subsequently executed.

Francis I married his daughter Madeleine off to James V of Scotland. 

Madeleine of Valois (10 August 1520– 7 July 1537) was a French princess who briefly became Queen of Scotland in 1537 as the first wife of King James V. Madeleine died in July 1537, only six months after the wedding and less than two months after arriving in Scotland.

After Jane Seymour's death, Henry VIII wanted another wife and considered several candidates. 

One was Mary of Guise but she eventually married widowed James V of Scotland. Mary of Guise (22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560) was Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. 

Renee of Guise was her sister but she had joined a religious order. 

Christina, Duchess of Milan, was Charles V's niece, but she did not want to marry Henry. There were negotiations but there was not agreement. Christina of Denmark  (November 1521 – 10 December 1590) was a Danish princess, the younger surviving daughter of King Christian II of Denmark and Norway and Isabella of Austria. Christina, then only sixteen years old, made no secret of her opposition to marrying the English king, who by this time had a reputation around Europe for his mistreatment of wives: Henry had annulled his marriage to his first wife Catherine of Aragon (Christina's great-aunt), and beheaded his second, Anne Boleyn.

Charles V and Francis met in June 1538 in Aigues-Mortes to negotiate peace. Mediated by Queen Eleanor of France, the dramatic summit temporarily ended decades of brutal Italian Wars. The kings discussed a united front against the Ottoman Empire and ways to suppress the growing Protestant threat in Europe. The meeting left England and Henry VIII temporarily isolated.

After the death of his brother, Henri became the dauphin. 

He was married to Catherine of Medici, niece of Pope Clement VIII. 

Their daughter, Elizabeth of Valois, was Henry VIII's goddaughter.

Dauphin Henri trusted his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and courtier who wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. 

Francis I died shortly afterwards Henry VIII. King Francis I of France died at the age of 52 on March 31, 1547, at the Château de Rambouillet. Contemporary reports and autopsies indicate that the cause of death was sepsis brought on by severe kidney failure and nephritis, compounded by long-standing health issues.

Eleanor returned to Spain, and Charles V abdicated in his son Philip. Emperor Charles V abdicated between 1555 and 1556, splitting his massive global empire between his son Philip II (who received Spain and the Netherlands) and his brother Ferdinand I (who received the Holy Roman Empire). Exhausted by war, religious division, and severe gout, Charles retired to the Monastery of Yuste in Spain, where he died in 1558.

Henri became the king after his father's death. Henri II died in a jousting accident. Henry II was King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. On 30 June 1559, a tournament was held near Place des Vosges to celebrate the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis and the marriage of his daughter Elisabeth of Valois to King Philip II of Spain. During a jousting match, Henry, wearing the colours of his mistress Diane de Poitiers, was wounded in the eye by a fragment of a  splintered lance.