She ruled the court of King Francis I of France and she wasn't even his queen! Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly, Duchess of Etampes was the beloved mistress to King Francis I of France. King Francis treated his beautiful mistress as the Queen of France while his actual queen, Eleanor of Austria was in the background. Beautiful, cultured, and had the love of the King of France, what a life!
Born in 1508 to Adrian de Pisseleu,. Anne served as a maid-of-honour to the mother of King Francis I, Louise of Savoy, Duchess of Angouleme. The beautiful blonde caught the eye of King Francis after his return from captivity at Madrid. King Francis currently had a mistress, Francoise de Foix, but he put her aside so he could have the beautiful Anne.
King Francis and Anne became lovers and were truly devoted to one another. King Francis was a notorious womanizer, but the beautiful and cultured Anne completely had his heart. King Francis made Anne feel like a queen with pretty dresses, jewels, and let her preside over the court with him while Eleanor of Austria, his actual queen, stayed in the background. The king married Anne to Jean IV de Bosse, Duke of Etampes making Anne the Duchess of Etampes.
Anne was friends with King Francis's sister, Marguerite de Navarre, had a rivalry with Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of King Francis's son and dauphin, Henry, and promoted Admiral Phillippe de Chabot. She also embraced the Protestant faith. She used her love and influence with King Francis to promote various family members as well.
The death of King Francis put Anne's power in jeopardy. Diane de Poitiers had her rival removed from the court and made certain that Anne's legacy as King Francis's beloved was tarnished. Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly beloved mistress of King Francis I of France died in 1580, a long life indeed!
Comments