Christine of France
| Christine of France | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basilica of Sant'Andrea | |||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue Detail | |||||
| |||||
| House | Bourbon | ||||
| Father | Henry IV of France | ||||
| Mother | Marie de' Medici | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Christine Marie of France (10 February 1606 – 27 December 1663) was
Daughter of France
Born in the
After the marriage of her older sister Elisabeth in 1615 to the future Philip IV of Spain, Christine took on the honorary title of Madame Royale, which indicated her status as the eldest and most senior unmarried daughter at the court of her father. After her marriage, the style went to her younger sister Henrietta Maria.
Princess of Piedmont
Christine married
She did as much as she could to ensure that her court rivalled in splendour that of her sister Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I of England. In spite of this, the two sisters maintained an avid correspondence throughout their life which showed their close relationship. She was a confidant to the exiled Queen Henrietta, who often wrote to her about her experiences during the English Civil War and her son's restoration. Christine encouraged her husband to claim his right to the rather empty title of King of Cyprus and Jerusalem, a 'kingdom' which led to him being tagged as 'a king without a crown'. She did not keep it a secret that she would rather have been a queen than a duchess, or that she also wanted to transform the minor Duchy of Savoy into a little France.
Duchess and Regent of Savoy
Victor Amadeus became Duke after the death of his father on 26 July 1630. When Christine's husband died in 1637, she was created regent in the name of her son Francis Hyacinth. At the death of Francis Hyacinth in 1638, her second son Charles Emmanuel II succeeded and Christine retained the regency.
Both
After four years of fighting, Christine was victorious, thanks to French military support. Not only did she keep the Duchy for her son, she also prevented France getting too much power in the Duchy. When peace was concluded in 1642, Maurice married his fourteen-year-old niece Louise Christine, abandoning the title of cardinal and asking dispensation from Pope Paul V. Maurice became governor of Nice. Christine of France stayed in firm control of the Duchy of Savoy until her son could follow in her footsteps; her formal regency ended in 1648, but she remained in charge at his invitation until her death.[2]
She lived an uninhibited private life and had relationships with the French Ambassador, Marini, her brother-in-law, Maurice, and Count Filippo d'Aglié, a handsome learned and courageous man who remained faithful to her all her life.
Her regency was terminated in 1648.
Later life
She encouraged her son Charles Emmanuel to marry her niece Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans, the youngest surviving daughter of Gaston, Duke of Orléans, her youngest brother. They married 3 Apr 1663.[2]
Christine died at the Palazzo Madama, Turin, on 27 Dec 1663[3] at the age of 57 and was buried at the Basilica of Sant'Andrea. She had outlived 4 of her seven children.
Aftermath and legacy
Françoise Madeleine died in January 1664 and her son later married another cousin,
In 2010, it was revealed on NBC's Who Do You Think You Are? that one of her descendants is model/actress Brooke Shields.[6] Princess Michael of Kent, born Baroness Marie Christine, is also a descendant by Christine's son, Charles Emmanuel.[7]
Issue
- Stillborn son (1621)
- Prince Louis Amadeus of Savoy (1622–1628)
- Prince Maurice of Savoywith no issue.
- Francis Hyacinth, Duke of Savoy (14 September 1632 – 4 October 1638), Duke of Savoy
- Marie Jeanne of Savoyand had issue.
- Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma, and died in childbirth.
- Princess Henriette Adelaide Maria of Savoy (6 November 1636 – 18 March 1676) married Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria, and had issue.
- Princess Catherine Beatrice of Savoy (6 November 1636 – 26 August 1637) died in infancy.
Ancestors
| Ancestors of Christine of France María Osorio y Pimentel | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3. Marie de' Medici | ||||||||||||||||
| 28. Philip I of Castile | ||||||||||||||||
| 14. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
| 29. Joanna of Castile | ||||||||||||||||
| 7. Joanna of Austria | ||||||||||||||||
| 30. Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary | ||||||||||||||||
| 15. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary | ||||||||||||||||
| 31. Anne of Foix-Candale | ||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ Parrott 1997, p. 36.
- ^ a b Oresko 2004, p. 20.
- ^ Oresko 2004, p. 21.
- ^ Oresko 2004, p. 21-23.
- ^ Oresko 2004, p. 18.
- Who Do You Think You Are? – USA. Episode 2. United Kingdom. BBC. BBC One.
Back in New York, Brooke sets out on the trail of her very different paternal ancestry, the family of her paternal grandmother, the glamour heiress Marina Torlonia. Her journey takes her to Rome where she discovers that as bankers to the Vatican, the Torlonia family became one of the wealthiest and most influential families in 19th-century Italy. But it doesn't end there – on the trail of yet another illustrious ancestor, the mysteriously titled 'Madame Royale', Brooke heads to Paris and the very heart of French nobility.
- ^ Princess Michael of Kent. The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King, Simon and Schuster, Sep 13, 2005. Index. Princess Michael Descent Chart
- ^ Robert Knecht, Renaissance France, genealogies; Baumgartner, genealogical tables.
Sources
- Oresko, Robert (2004). "Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy-Nemours (1644–1724): daughter, consort, and Regent of Savoy". In Campbell Orr, Clarissa (ed.). Queenship in Europe 1660–1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press. pp. 16–55. ISBN 0-521-81422-7.
- Parrott, David (1997). "The Mantuan Succession, 1627–31: A Sovereignty Dispute in Early Modern Europe". The English Historical Review. CXII, Issue 445, February (445). Oxford Academic: 20–65. .
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
