Claude of France
Claude of France (13 October 1499 – 26 July 1524) was Duchess of Brittany from 1514. She was Queen of France from 1515 as the wife of King Francis I. She was the eldest daughter of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany. Claude became Duchess of Brittany after her mother’s death in 1514. Months later, at the age of 14, she married her cousin Francis, securing Brittany's union with the French crown.
| Claude | |
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.png) Contemporary image of Claude, c. 1520 | |
| Duchess of Brittany | |
| Reign | 9 January 1514 – 26 July 1524 |
| Predecessor | Anne |
| Successor | Francis III |
| Queen consort of France | |
| Tenure | 1 January 1515 – 26 July 1524 |
| Coronation | 10 May 1517 |
| Born | 13 October 1499 Romorantin-Lanthenay |
| Died | 26 July 1524 (aged 24) Château de Blois |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue more... | |
| House | Valois-Orléans |
| Father | Louis XII of France |
| Mother | Anne, Duchess of Brittany |
After the death of Louis XII in 1515, Francis and Claude became King and Queen of France. Claude's reign as queen was largely overshadowed by her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, and her sister-in-law, Margaret of Angoulême. Claude did not actively engage in political matters, leaving the administration of Brittany and her other lands to her husband, though she resisted his efforts to fully annex Brittany into France.
Claude was mostly known for her religious devotion and her frequent pregnancies. She had seven children in just nine years. Her son Henry later became Henry II of France. Claude's health suffered from her many pregnancies, and she died at the age of 24 at the Château de Blois. The cause of her death is uncertain, with theories ranging from exhaustion due to childbirth to bone tuberculosis or syphilis, possibly contracted from her husband.
Her eldest son, Francis, briefly succeeded her as Duke of Brittany. After his death in 1536, her second son, Henry, took the title and later became King of France. Claude's legacy lives on through her children and her role in maintaining the union between Brittany and France. She was buried at St. Denis Basilica.