DIANE DE POITIERS, DUCHESSE (DUCHESS) DE VALENTINOIS

born Sept. 3, 1499 died April 22, 1566, Anet, France mistress of Henry II of France. Throughout his reign she held court as queen of France in all but name, while the real queen, Catherine de Mdicis, was forced to live in comparative obscurity. Diane seems to have concerned herself with augmenting her income and with making provisions for her family and protgs rather than with public affairs. A beautiful woman with a lively, cultivated mind, she was a friend and patron of poets, including Pierre de Ronsard, and of many artists. The great Renaissance architect Philibert Delorme built her chteau at Anet, and the Mannerist sculptor Jean Goujon adorned it with his works. Diane came to court as a lady-in-waiting first to the mother of Francis I, Louise of Savoy, then to Queen Claude. Shortly after the death of her husband, Louis de Brz, comte de Maulevrier, in 1531, the prince Henry, then duc d'Orlans and 20 years her junior, fell violently in love with her, and she became his mistress. Even in their own time legends grew up around them. On Henry's death (1559), his wife, Catherine, forced Diane to restore those of the crown jewels Henry had given her and to accept the fortress-like chteau of Chaumont in exchange for Chenonceaux. Diane retired to Anet. The Lettres indites de Diane de Poitiers were published by G. Guiffrey (1866).