Game of Queens Read online

  As religion divided sixteenth-century Europe, an extraordinary group of women – queens, consorts and thinkers – rose to power. Despite finding themselves on opposing sides of power struggles both armed and otherwise, through family ties and patronage they educated and supported each other in a brutal world where the price of failure was disgrace, exile or even death. Theirs was a unique culture of feminine power that saw them run the continent for decades. And yet, as the sixteenth century waned the Virgin Queen of England found herself virtually alone as a ruler — a queen surrounded by kings once more.

  From mother to daughter and mentor to protégée, Sarah Gristwood follows the passage of power from Isabella of Castile and Anne de Beaujeu through Anne Boleyn – the woman who tipped England into religious reform – and on to Elizabeth I and Jeanne d’Albret, heroine of the Protestant Reformation. Unravelling a gripping historical narrative, she reveals the unorthodox practices adopted by these women in the face of challenges that retain an all-too familiar aspect today, and assesses their impact on the era that began the shaping of the modern world. Epic in scale, this game of queens is a remarkable spectacle of skill and ingenuity.

  For my eldest niece, Emily West

  Contents

  Illustration Credits

  Game of Queens: Who’s Who

  Maps

  Chronology

  Preface

  Author’s Note

  PART I: 1474–1513

  1 Entrance

  2 ‘Lessons for my Daughter’

  3 Youthful experience

  4 ‘Fate is very cruel to women’

  5 Princess Brides

  6 Repositioning

  7 ‘False imputations’

  8 Flodden

  PART II: 1514–1521

  9 Wheel of Fortune

  10 ‘a splendid New Year’s gift’

  11 ‘One of the lowest-brought ladies’

  12 ‘inestimable and praiseworthy services’

  13 The Field of Cloth of Gold

  14 Repercussions

  PART III: 1522–1536

  15 ‘Wild for to hold’

  16 Pavia

  17 ‘a true, loyal mistress and friend’

  18 New pieces on the board

  19 ‘ladies might well come forward’

  20 The Ladies’ Peace

  21 Exits and entrances

  22 ‘Thus it will be’

  23 ‘a native-born Frenchwoman’

  24 ‘inclined towards the Gospel’

  25 ‘to doubt the end’

  PART IV: 1537–1553

  26 Daughters in jeopardy

  27 Pawns and princesses

  28 New winds

  29 Accommodations

  30 ‘device for the succession’

  PART V: 1553–1560

  31 ‘Herculean daring’

  32 ‘not one year of rest’

  33 Sisters and rivals

  34 ‘if God is with us’

  35 ‘maidenly estate’

  36 Trouble in Scotland

  PART VI: 1560–1572

  37 ‘Rancour and division’

  38 ‘Two Queens in One Isle’

  39 Challenge and conciliation

  40 ‘Majesty and love do not sit well together’

  41 ‘daughter of debate’

  42 The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Day

  PART VII: 1572 onwards

  43 Turning points

  44 Prise

  Postscript

  Plate Section

  A note on sources

  Acknowledgements

  Notes

  Illustration Credits

  Game of Chess, 1555, Anguissola, Sofonisba (c.1532–1625): Museum Narodowe, Poznan, Poland/Bridgeman Images.

  Isabella of Castile, Ms 604/1339 f.64v King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, from the ‘Devotionary of Queen Juana the Mad’, c.1482 (vellum): Musee Conde, Chantilly, France/Bridgeman Images.

  Anne de Beaujeu, detail of the right leaf of the Triptych of the Virgin in glory, 1498–1499, by Jean Hey or Hay (ca.1475–ca.1505), known as the Master of Moulins, sacristy of the church of Notre-Dame in Moulins, France: DeAgostini/Getty Images.

  The Field of the Cloth of Gold: Wikimedia Commons.

  Margaret of Austria, c.1490 (oil on oak panel), Master of Moulins (Jean Hey), (fl.c.1483–c.1529): Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA/Bridgeman Images.

  Manuscript miniature showing french queen Louise of Savoy: PVDE/Bridgeman Images.

  Marguerite of Navarre, c.1527, by Jean Clouet (c.1485–1541), found in the collection of Walker Art Gallery: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images.

  Margaret Tudor: Sir Francis Ogilvy/The National Library of Scotland.

  Anne Boleyn, 1534 (oil on panel), English School: Hever Castle, Kent, UK/Bridgeman Images.

  Katherine of Aragon: Universal History Archive/Getty Images.

  Elizabeth I when a Princess, c.1546, attributed to William Scrots (1537–53): Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016.

  Queen Mary I (1516–58) 1554 (oil on panel), Mor, Anthonis van Dashorst (Antonio Moro) (c.1519–1576/77): Prado, Madrid, Spain/Bridgeman Images.

  An Allegory of Tudor Succession: The Family of Henry VIII: Wikimedia Commons.

  Mary of Guise (1515–1560), 1537, found in the collection of the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images.

  Mary of Austria (a.k.a. Mary of Hungary), c.1520 (oil on vellum on panel), Maler, Hans or Johan (fl.1510–1523): Society of Antiquaries of London, UK/Bridgeman Images.

  Margaret of Parma: Stedelijk Museum ‘Het Prinsenhof’, Delft, Netherlands/Lessing Images.

  Jeanne d’Albret: Peter Horree/Alamy Stock Photo.

  Catherine de Medici (1519–89) (oil on panel), French School: Musee Conde, Chantilly, France/Bridgeman Images.

  François Dubois (1529–1584) – St. Bartholomew’s Night, August 24, 1572: DEA/G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images.

  Elizabeth I: His Grace the Duke of Bedford and the Trustees of the Bedford Estates, from the Woburn Abbey Collection.

  Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots by François Clouet (1510–1572): World History Archive/Alamy Stock Photo.

  Game of Queens: Who’s Who

  Spain and the Habsburg Empire

  Isabella of Castile (1451–1504)

  Queen Regnant of Castile from 1474, Isabella’s marriage to Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452–1516) united the two main Spanish kingdoms. They famously ruled together as the mighty Catholic monarchs, producing only a short-lived son but several influential daughters. On Isabella’s death Castile was inherited by their eldest surviving daughter, Juana ‘the Mad’ (1479–1555), but Ferdinand proved reluctant to lose his power in that kingdom.

  Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459–1519)

  After his marriage to Mary of Burgundy (1457–1482), ruling duchess of what would later be known as the Netherlands, Maximilian’s ambition was to unite as much of Europe as possible under the hands of his Habsburg family. The marriage of his son Philip of Burgundy (1478–1506) to Ferdinand and Isabella’s daughter Juana produced (among other children) the future Charles V.

  Margaret ‘of Austria’ (1480–1530)

  Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy also had a daughter, Margaret. Contracted to the young French king Charles VIII, she was sent as a toddler to be raised in that country. When that alliance collapsed she married Isabella and Ferdinand’s son and heir Juan and then, after his early death, the Duke of Savoy. But when he too died she returned to the Netherlands, which she ruled as regent for many years on behalf of her nephew Charles; the twelve-year-old Anne Boleyn was one of her maids.

  Charles V (1500–1558)

  Charles
inherited the Austrian lands of his paternal grandfather Maximilian, as well as the elective title of Holy Roman Emperor, which Maximilian also held, the Burgundian inheritance of his father Philip (the Netherlands), the Castile of his mother Juana and the Aragon of his maternal grandfather Ferdinand, to say nothing of lands in the New World. He found the inheritance personally wearing and ultimately ceded the Austrian lands, power in Eastern Europe and eventually leadership of the Holy Roman Empire to his younger brother Ferdinand (1503–1564). This concentration of territories into the hands of one family established the Habsburg dominance of the sixteenth century.

  Mary ‘of Hungary’ (1505–1558)

  Another sibling of Charles V and Ferdinand, Mary was married to the King of Hungary until the Battle of Jarnac made her a youthful widow. She then held Habsburg power on Ferdinand’s behalf against the advance of the Ottoman Turks. The niece of Margaret of Austria, who brought her up, she then became Margaret’s successor as Regent of the Netherlands. Mary’s three sisters all became queens consort: Eleanor (1498–1558) first of Portugal, then of France, Isabella (1501–1526) of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and Catherine (Catalina, 1507–1578) of Portugal, which she later ruled as regent.

  Christina of Denmark (1521–1590)

  Daughter of Isabella and her husband King Christian of Denmark, after her father was deposed Christina was raised by Isabella’s aunt Margaret of Austria and sister Mary of Hungary. Married first to the Duke of Milan and then the Duke of Lorraine, she was considered as a possible bride for Henry VIII of England. She was a determined player on the European political scene, attempting to regain her father’s Scandinavian kingdoms, and a key negotiator of the important Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis.

  Margaret ‘of Parma’ (1522–1586)

  The illegitimate daughter of Charles V, Margaret was also raised by Mary of Hungary, whom she in turn succeeded in 1555 as Regent of the Netherlands, ruling on behalf of her half-brother Philip of Spain. Her son Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, was Philip’s great general.

  Philip II (1527–1598)

  Philip ‘of Spain’ was also hereditary ruler of the Netherlands, as well as the increasingly important New World territories. Early in his life, his marriage to Mary Tudor made him King Consort of England; late in it, he inherited Portugal, through his mother. He is of course famous, or infamous, for the Armada he sent against Elizabeth of England in 1588.

  France

  Anne de Beaujeu (Anne of France) (1461–1522)

  The oldest daughter of the French king Louis XI (1423–1483), Anne acted as regent of France in all but name during the minority of her younger brother Charles VIII (1470–1498). A powerful and influential figure, author of a manual of advice for noblewomen that has been compared to Machiavelli’s The Prince, she helped bring up both Margaret of Austria and Louise of Savoy.

  Anne of Brittany (1477–1515)

  Inheriting the independent duchy of Brittany from her father in 1488, Anne’s hope was to preserve the independence of Brittany in the face of pressure from France. After some months of armed conflict, in 1492 she found herself forced to marry the young French king Charles VIII who, with the help of his sister Anne de Beaujeu, kept her largely powerless. By the terms of the marriage, she was forced on Charles’s death to marry his successor, the next King of France, Louis XII (1462–1515).

  Louise of Savoy (1476–1531)

  Initially a poor relation of Anne de Beaujeu, Louise’s status rose steadily as several French kings in succession died without heir until the closest in line to the throne was François, her son by the Count d’Angoulême. After François I (1494–1547) became king in 1515, Louise was widely regarded as the power behind his throne.

  Marguerite of Navarre (Marguerite d’Angoulême, 1492–1549)

  As well as François, Louise also bore a daughter, Marguerite. The three were so close they were known as ‘the Trinity’. Neither of Marguerite’s two marriages (to the Duc d’Alençon and to Henri II of Navarre) impeded her devotion to her brother or her sway over his court. An author, an intellectual, and a reformer of the Catholic church, Marguerite may have been a role model for the young Anne Boleyn.

  Bonnivet (Guillaume Gouffier, Seigneur de Bonnivet 1488?–1525)

  A soldier and nobleman, Bonnivet was raised in company with the future François I, whose tutor was Bonnivet’s older brother, Artus Gouffier. Made Admiral of France in 1515, François’s favour placed him in charge of a number of important military and diplomatic campaigns. He has been identified as the predatory hero of sections of Marguerite of Navarre’s Heptaméron.

  Catherine de Medici (1519–1589)

  Daughter of the great Florentine banking family, with all too bitter a personal experience of the wars of the early sixteenth century, Catherine’s marriage to the future Henri II (1519–1559) made her Queen Consort of France. But only after Henri’s death in 1559 did she became the powerful figure behind the three of her sons who successively occupied the French throne: François II (1544–1560), Charles IX (1550–1574) and Henri III (1551–1589).

  Guise (Francis, Duc de Guise, 1519–1563, Henri, Duc de Guise, 1550–1558, and the Guise family)

  Catherine de Medici’s chief rivals for power in France were the members of the powerful Guise family. As uncles of the young Mary, Queen of Scots, the soldier duke Francis and his brother the Cardinal of Lorraine exercised particular influence over Mary and her husband, the French king François II. After Francis was assassinated in 1563 his son Henri became the leader of the Catholic faction in the French Wars of Religion.

  Jeanne d’Albret (1528–1572)

  The daughter of Marguerite ‘of Navarre’, in 1555 she inherited her father’s Navarrese kingdom. Reared in her mother’s reforming tradition, in 1560 she publicly converted to the Protestant faith and became the first great heroine of the Reformation. Her marriage to Antoine de Bourbon (1518–1562) produced a son, Henri of Navarre (1553–1610) who eventually became Henri IV of France.

  Scotland

  Margaret Tudor (1489–1541)

  The older sister of Henry VIII, Margaret was married to James IV (1473–1513), the King of Scots, only to see him killed by her brother’s army at Flodden, leaving her regent for her baby son, James V (1512–1542). Determined to hold on to power, Margaret was, nevertheless, insecure about her ability to wield it alone and made two futher disastrous marriages.

  Angus (Archibald Douglas, sixth Earl of Angus, 1489?–1557)

  Margaret Tudor married Angus as her second husband in 1514, perhaps to claim the support of his powerful Douglas clan. The marriage soon turned sour and Angus became one of Margaret’s chief rivals for control of her son, the young king. The marriage also produced a daughter, Lady Margaret Douglas (Countess of Lennox, 1515–1578), whose bloodline produced the future monarchs of a united British Isles.

  Albany (John Stuart, second Duke of Albany, 1481?–1536)

  Reared in France, and married to a French heiress, Albany was, nonetheless, a grandson of the fifteenth-century King of Scotland, James II. He was thus an obvious choice to replace Margaret Tudor as regent for her infant son James V. He acted with considerable ability as Regent of Scotland from 1515 but never altogether came to terms with the country.

  Marie de Guise (1515–1560)

  A French noblewoman from the powerful Guise family, in 1538 Marie married James V of Scotland. He died in 1542, days after the birth of their only child, the future Mary, Queen of Scots. From that time Marie’s life was dedicated to trying to preserve the Scottish throne for her daughter.

  Arran (James Hamilton, second Earl of Arran and Duke of Châtelherault, 1519?–1575)

  Arran’s descent from an earlier Scottish king, James II, left him convinced he had the right to take a leading part in Scottish affairs. Vacillating (or perhaps pragmatic) after James V’s death he nevertheless contended for power with Marie de Guise and was a thorn in the side of her daughter Mary Stuart.

  James Stewart (first Earl of Moray, 1531/2–157
0)

  The illegitimate son of James V, Lord James had, before the return of his young half-sister Queen Mary, established himself in a position of power in Scotland; a position he had no desire to relinquish. A committed Protestant, he moved from being Mary’s advisor to one of the agents of her downfall and regent for the son who replaced her.

  Mary Stuart (Mary, Queen of Scots 1542–1587)

  Queen of Scotland from her earliest infancy, Mary spent most of her youth in France, awaiting marriage to Catherine de Medici’s eldest son, François. After his early death, she returned to Scotland in 1561 and set about trying to rule that turbulent country. Her mistakes are notorious and all male: Rizzio, Darnley and Bothwell. But just as significant in her final downfall and execution at Fotheringhay was the fact that her bloodline made her a Catholic rival for Elizabeth Tudor’s English throne.

  Darnley (Henry Stuart, or Stewart, Lord Darnley, 1545–1567)

  The son of Lady Margaret Douglas, Margaret Tudor’s daughter, Darnley thus had a claim to the English throne. This may be the rationale behind his marriage in 1565 to Mary, Queen of Scots. His personality soon showed Mary, however, that the marriage had been misguided, while his murder at Kirk o’Field besmirched her reputation and led indirectly to her overthrow.

  Bothwell (James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell, 1534?–1578

  The direct cause of Mary’s downfall was her third marriage, to the Earl of Bothwell, made in May 1567 while Bothwell was still widely suspected of Darnley’s murder. Mary’s hand may have been forced by Bothwell’s abduction and rape of her. Fleeing abroad after her defeat and deposition, he died a prisoner in Denmark, reputedly insane.

  James VI (1566–1625)