Diane de Poitiers (1500–66) was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power as King Henry II’s royal mistress and counsel until his death. Her position advanced her wealth and family’s status. She was a prominent patron of French Renaissance architecture.
Born in Château de Saint-Vallier, Drôme, Diane was initially a lady-in-waiting first to the mother of Francis I, Louise of Savoy, then to Queen Claude. After the death of her husband, she became the mistress of Prince Henry, then Duc d’Orléans, and 20 years her junior.
De Poitiers forced the real queen, Catherine de Médicis, to live in comparative obscurity. Upon Henry’s death (1559,) Catherine forced Diane to restore the crown jewels Henry had given her and accept the fortress-like Château de Chaumont in exchange for Château de Chenonceaux. De Poitiers lived the rest of her life in comfortable obscurity in Anet, Eure-et-Loir.
De Poitiers was a confidante and patron of poets, including Pierre de Ronsard and numerous artists. The great Renaissance architect Philibert Delorme built her the Château at Anet, and the Mannerist sculptor Jean Goujon adorned it with his works.
The Lettres inédites de Diane de Poitiers were published by G. Guiffrey (1866.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Diane de Poitiers
Courage is as often the outcome of despair as of hope; in the one case we have nothing to lose, in the other everything to gain.
—Diane de Poitiers
Topics: Courage
The years that a woman subtracts from her age are not lost. They are added to other women’s.
—Diane de Poitiers
Topics: Aging
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