Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590Cartwright, Julia
History
Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590
Cartwright, Julia
Christine, Duchess, consort of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, 1521-1590; Europe -- History -- 1517-1648
During the course of the summer Philip made his "joyeuse entrée"
into the different cities of the Low Countries, and a memorable
series of fêtes was given in his honour by Mary of Hungary at her
beautiful summer palace of Binche. At the end of August the Duchess
of Aerschot gave birth to a posthumous son, who was christened by the
Bishop of Arras in the Court chapel, and named Charles Philip, after
his godfathers, the Emperor and the Prince. But while Anne's second
marriage and her brother's union with Egmont's sister strengthened
the ties between Lorraine and Flanders, the close connection of the
younger branch of the ducal house with France increased daily. After
the marriage of Guise's third son, Mayenne, with Diane de Poitiers's
daughter, his brothers were loaded with favours of every description.
Aumale was created a Duke and appointed Governor of Savoy, and Charles
was made a Cardinal at the King's request, and loaded with rich
benefices. Their mother stood sponsor to Henry II.'s daughter Claude,
who was one day to be the wife of Christina's only son, and had the
deputies of the thirteen Swiss cantons for her godfathers. A new link
was forged by the coming of the little Queen of Scots to France in the
autumn of 1548, as the future bride of the Dauphin. Antoinette met
her granddaughter at Brest, and brought her to St. Germain, where the
charms of the little Queen soon won all hearts. "I can assure you,"
wrote the proud grandmother to her eldest son, "she is the best and
prettiest child of her age that was ever seen!" And her uncle the
Cardinal added: "She already governs both the King and Queen." At the
Court ball in honour of Aumale's wedding, all the guests stood still to
watch the lovely little Queen and the Dauphin dancing hand in hand, and
the King smiled maliciously when the English Ambassador remarked that
it was the most charming thing in the world to see the two children
together.[419]
When Christina returned to Lorraine in May, 1549, all the Guises were
at Paris for the King and Queen's state entry, and the young Duke of
Longueville led his grandmother's white horse in the procession. After
this Antoinette brought her daughter-in-law to spend the autumn quietly
at Joinville, and great was the rejoicing when, on the last day of the
year, Anna gave birth to her first son, the Prince who was to become
famous as "Henri le Balafré." Christina was careful to remain on good
terms with the family at Joinville, and the presence of the Duchess
of Aerschot, who spent the winter in Lorraine, increased the friendly
intercourse between the two houses. Anne's letters to her aunt and
cousins abound in playful allusions to early recollections, and she
always addressed Aumale as "Monsieur mon serviteur" and signed herself
"Votre bonne maîtresse." When, in January, 1550, the Duke of Guise fell
ill, Christina sent her steward Grammont repeatedly to make inquiries
at Joinville.
[Sidenote: APRIL, 1550] DEATH OF GUISE]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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