At sixty years old, Diane de Poitiers was remarkably good-looking and did not look older than a young woman in her thirties. The beautiful Diana did not resort to the services of plastic surgeons, because in the 16th century the level of development of medicine left much to be desired. Evil tongues claimed that Diane de Poitiers made a deal with the devil.
Finding scientists
If there is some disagreement among historians regarding the date of birth of Diane de Poitiers, then the date of her death is known for sure. Diane de Poitiers died on April 26, 1566 at the age of 66 in the French city of Anne. The body of the former king's favorite was embalmed, placed in a lead sarcophagus and buried in the tomb of the city cathedral. In 1789, a revolution was raging in France. The rebellious mob unceremoniously dealt with the remains of Diane de Poitiers. Her burial place was ravaged, and her body was thrown into a common grave near the walls of the cathedral.
In 2009, the remains of Diane de Poitiers were recovered from a common grave, thanks to modern technology, scientists were able to identify them with great accuracy. Recently in the British Medical Journal, pathologist Philippe Charlier of the Paris Hospital Association and toxicologist Joel Poupon published their findings. Scientists have studied the hair and bones of Diane de Poitiers. It turned out that the gold content in them was exceeded 250 (!) Times. How to explain such a high content of the precious metal? Scientists suggest that during her lifetime, Diana regularly consumed a certain drink, which contained particles of gold.
It is the use of a miraculous drink that scientists try to explain the unfading beauty of Diana de Poitiers. Perhaps it was prepared especially for Diana by alchemists, who considered gold a noble metal - a source of youth and beauty. According to the surviving testimonies of contemporaries, Diana always had a very bright face, and a few months before her death, it literally turned white. Modern scientists suggest that this could have happened due to the poisoning of a woman's body with gold. This is the version of scientists at the beginning of the XXI century. Previously, the beauty of Diane de Poitiers was attributed to a healthy lifestyle and a correct daily routine. At the court of the French king, it was whispered that she had sold her soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth.
Court careerist
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Diane de Poitiers fully demonstrated her extraordinary mind and strong-willed qualities after the death of her husband Louis de Brese. Diana became interested in financial affairs, and independently managed the household. Diana made every effort to keep the title, and with it the duties of her late husband - the governor of Normandy. In addition, she fought desperately to regain the lost privileges of the late Louis de Brese, who was a relative of the royal family, and the prudent Diana made a bet on this. The king went to meet Diana's demands and allowed her to use the income that was once due to her husband until the status of the disputed lands was finally determined.
Diane de Poitiers passionately and consistently pursued a career at court. Her dizzying successes are not at all the story of a Cinderella from a fairy tale. Diana was of noble birth, and skillfully used her privileges. As a married woman, she became a courtier to the Queen of France. After the death of the queen, Diane de Poitiers became maid of honor to Louise of Savoy, then Eleanor of Habsburg. The next stage of her career was the appointment of the young heir to the French throne as curator, who spent several years in captivity in Spain and returned to his native France again.
Soon the young heir to the throne became king, and his yesterday's mentor became … the official favorite. The favorite of King Henry II of France is the peak of Diane de Poitiers' court career. King Henry II at that time was only 20 years old, and his favorite Diane de Poitiers was 39 years old. Such a big age difference is really impressive. Here it is worth making a small digression and emphasizing that at that time Diana was unusually beautiful and looked like a young girl. This union lasted for a long twenty-five years.
Mighty Favorite
When Henry II ascended the French throne, it was not the king's legal wife, Catherine de Medici, who became the real ruler, but his favorite, Diane de Poitiers. Even during the solemn coronation ceremony, Diana took a place of honor, while Catherine was at a remote podium. The coming to power of Henry II turned into a triumph for Diane de Poitiers. Diana began her journey to power with the massacre of the former king's mistress. The new favorite took over the castles and the Parisian mansion of the defeated rival, and she herself was expelled from the capital.
In accordance with a long tradition, when changing reigns, officials were required to pay a special tax "for confirmation of authority." All funds did not go to the royal treasury, but personally to Diane de Poitiers. Also, from now on, she began to receive part of the tax on the bell towers. In addition, King Henry II gave his beloved the wonderful castle of Chenonceau, not to mention the numerous expensive gifts. In 1548, Diana received the title of Duchess of Valencia. It was like a golden rain fell on Diane de Poitiers, she became the richest and most influential woman of her era.
The favorite actively intervened in all state affairs. Nothing escaped her attention. She was equally interested in both the internal policy of the state and the foreign one. Diana de Poitiers gave advice to the king and his ministers, did not hesitate to express her opinion. The king did not make important decisions without first consulting his favorite. Foreign ambassadors maintained official correspondence with Diane de Poitiers. Even the Pope exchanged courteous messages with a powerful mistress.
Keyhole
At the age of thirteen (according to other sources, this happened at the age of 15), Diana de Puttier was married to Louis de Brese, Comte de Molvrier, maternal grandson of Charles VII, governor of Normandy. The husband was almost forty years older than his young wife. Despite such a huge age difference, the couple lived happily together. Diana was a faithful wife, two daughters were born in marriage - Françoise and Louise. Diana's husband died, leaving her a widow at the age of 31. Diana sincerely grieved for her deceased husband, in memory of him she erected a majestic tomb in the Notre Dame Cathedral in the city of Rouen.
It was said at court that her husband, experienced in amorous affairs, taught Diana all the secrets of seduction. Thanks to his lessons, she became a sensual and passionate lover. Once Queen Catherine de Medici had the opportunity to be convinced of this. Through the keyhole, of course. The queen decided to observe the lovers in the hope that she would be able to find out something that could be used against the favorite in order to ridicule or humiliate her.
A very spicy scene appeared to the Queen's eyes. Half-naked lovers are comfortably settled on a luxurious bed. Diane de Poitiers looked great, she had a slender and toned figure, beautiful skin. The lovers had a great time together. What she saw shocked and upset Catherine de Medici, because her relationship with the king had never been so passionate. “Alas, I wanted to see what I shouldn't have, and it hurt me,” these words belong to the queen. The nocturnal adventure became the property of historians thanks to the talkativeness of the court ladies.
Did the king cheat on his favorite Diane de Poitiers? Yes. The king had fleeting love affairs, but not a single mistress managed to stay in bed and in the king's life for a long time. Until the end of his life, Henry remained sincerely attached to Diana. Only once did Diana's position nearly shake. The mistress's ill-wishers (they were at court and such) very cleverly "slipped" a new mistress to the king. History has kept her name - Jane Flaming, she was the mentor of the little Scottish Queen Mary Stuart. The schemers hoped that the king would turn his attention to the new favorite and give Diana a resignation. However, this did not happen.
Favorite and Queen
In 1533, Henry married Catherine de Medici. The French court did not approve of this union; there was a cool and wary attitude towards the new queen. For a long time, the king and queen had no children. Doctors examined the king and concluded that despite some problems with male health, he may have an heir. The confirmation of the correctness of the doctors was the baby who was born from the king's intrigue on the side. The court decided that the queen was sterile. This meant that there was a serious reason to get rid of the childless Catherine. The deposition of the queen ceased to be ghostly and could well become a reality.
The favorite, Diane de Poitiers, decisively intervened in the matter. She insisted that the king visit the queen more often in her bedroom and regularly do his marital duty. The result was not long in coming. The firstborn of the royal couple was born. In total, Henry II and Catherine de Medici had ten children. Each time, Diane de Poitiers was present at the birth of the queen, and then took an active part in the upbringing and education of the royal children.
Catherine de Medici and Diane de Poitiers managed to find common ground and coexist relatively calmly under the roof of the royal palace for many years. Of course, they did not become close friends. For Catherine de Medici, the king's favorite was a rival, unceremonious and intrusive. It is interesting to note that the queen and the favorite were distant relatives of each other. As for Catherine de Medici, she would rather be an orphan than have such a relative.
Catherine de 'Medici deeply harbored a grudge against Diane de Poitiers. Only after the unexpected death of the king, she was finally able to get even with her worst rival. In 1559, Henry II was mortally wounded in a tournament. Catherine de Medici ordered Diane de Poitiers to immediately leave the court, while the favorite was ordered to leave all the jewelry that the king gave her.
Upon learning that, despite the mortal wound, the king was still alive, Diane de Poitiers disobeyed the queen's order and did not leave the palace. The favorite rightly believed that while her beloved king was alive, no one had the right to give her orders. Despite all the efforts of the doctors, Henry II soon died and Francis II, the very heir to the throne, whose birth was once helped by Diana, reigned on the throne. The newly made king immediately repeated the demand to leave the court. This time, Diane de Poitiers had to obey.