Almost A Queen

Who’s Who at the French Court

Who’s Who at the French Court

The Royal Family

Catherine de Medici, Queen Mother of France, wife of Henry II.

Charles, King of France, Catherine's son

Elizabeth of Austria, Charles’ wife

Henri, Duke of Anjou, Catherine's son

Louise of Lorraine, Henri's wife

Francis/ Hercules, Duke of Alençon, Catherine’s youngest son

Margot of Valois, Catherine's daughter

The Bourbons

Jeanne, Queen of Navarre, first cousin of Henry II, due to France's Salic Law, she cannot inherit the French throne, yet her descent through a male relative means any of her male decedents can.

Antoine, King of Navarre. Jeanne's husband

Henry, King of Navarre, Jeanne's only surviving son and heir

Catherine of Bourbon, Henry's only sister

Henri, Prince of Conde, Henry's first cousin

Marie of Cleves, Henri the Prince of Conde's first cousin and his wife

Henriette of Cleves, Duchess of Nevers, the eldest of the Cleves sisters and close friend of Princess Margot of Valois.

Louis Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers, an Italian who became a naturalized French due to his association with Catherine de Medici. He inherited the title Duke of Nevers from his father-in-law.

The Guise

[Descended from Claude, a younger brother of the Duc de Lorraine, the family retains the epithet “of Lorraine,” and strong ties to their Lorraine cousins.]

Anna, Duchess of Guise and Nemours, a granddaughter of Louis XII.

Francis, her deceased first husband and the second Duke of Guise

Mary of Guise, Francis's sister and mother of Mary, Queen of Scots

Henri, Duke of Guise, Anna's eldest son and heir to Guise dukedom

Catherine of Cleves, Henri's wife and older sister of Marie of Cleves. Became Princess de Porcelian through her first marriage.

Catherine of Lorraine, Duchess of Montpensier Anna's only daughter

Louis II, Cardinal of Guise, younger brother of Henri

Charles, Duke of Mayenne, brother of Henri

The Court

Simon, Baron de Sauve, Catherine de Medici's secretary who rose to become one of Charles IX's Secretaries of State.

Charlotte, Baronesse de Sauve and later Marquis of Noirmourtier, his wife.