White Queen Louise of Lorraine: the story of a real Cinderella
It is no secret that many famous fairy tales are based on real events. For example, Cinderella can have many prototypes, because there are many cases when ordinary girls married princes. The story of Louise of Lorraine, Queen of France, is just that. True, it did not end at all according to a fairy-tale scenario.
The future wife of the French monarch, Louise de Vaudemont, was born in 1553. Her parents, Nicolas Merker of Lorraine and Marguerite Egmont, were nobles from ancient families. The first three children of the couple died at birth or in the first days of life. Therefore, in the fourth - Louise, the parents doted on the soul.
But just a year after the birth of her daughter, her mother dies, and the Comte de Vaudemont marries a second time. His chosen one was Jeanne of Savoy, whom contemporaries remember as a kind and caring woman. Soon, four kids appear in the family one after another. At the same time, the stepmother did not divide the children into “her own” and “strangers” in any way and treated her stepdaughter as her own. Louise, on the other hand, grew up as a beautiful and obedient girl, without upsetting her father and his wife in any way.
But this time, family happiness did not last long. Soon the second wife of the count also died. The third chosen one of de Vaudemont was 19-year-old Catherine, who was only 3 years older than Louise. She immediately disliked the children of the count from past marriages and dark times came for them. Louise, as the oldest, suffered especially. Her stepmother constantly humiliated her and forced her to do housework along with the servants.
Catherine's main goal was the complete elimination of the girl. She urged her already elderly husband that Louise should be sent to a monastery. Her behavior was based not only on jealousy for the old man's beloved daughter, who takes away his attention. The young countess was also led by self-interest. By getting rid of her eldest daughter, she could spend more on dresses, balls and entertainment. And in the event of the death of the count, an adult heiress could break all plans for the inheritance.
The count resisted for a long time, but then surrendered. The unfortunate Louise began to prepare for the monastic life. She was sent on pilgrimages to holy places and even temporarily left to live at the monastery. Of the joys of life, the girl had access only to books that she read one after another. At a time when her peers were having fun at balls and preparing for marriage, Louise disappeared in the monastic libraries.
When Louise turned 20, she realized that she would not be able to get married and in a couple of years she would be too “old”. In this case, she will only have to go to the monastery, as the evil stepmother insisted. But a real miracle happened and the groom himself came to the girl, and not just any, but of royal blood!
22-year-old Henry of Valois, the favorite son of Catherine de Medici, drove past the Château de Vaudemont and stopped to spend the night. It was not just a pleasure walk or a hunt. The prince was on his way to Poland, as the Sejm had chosen him as king. Henry was a special prince. He stood out among other members of his Catholic family for his open sympathy for the Huguenots at a time when France was torn apart by religious strife.
In addition, the young man's heart was broken by an unhappy love for Maria of Cleves. His love was engaged to another person, and then died, plunging Henry into the abyss of severe depression. But the prince forgot about everything when he saw Louise de Vaudemont in the castle. It was the same love at first sight, and mutual. Heinrich stayed away for a whole week, and then informed his mother that he had met his fate.
The queen did not take seriously the letter from her son. And Henry, being on the Polish throne, all the time thought only of Louise. A little over a year had passed and it was time for him to return to Paris to become King of France. Upon arrival home, the heir immediately announced that he wanted to marry Louise de Vaudemont.
Catherine de Medici was at first against it, as such a marriage was considered unequal. Louise, by birth, was not at all fit for queen. But on reflection, the cunning woman realized that she would only benefit from such a marriage. She will be able to maintain influence in the kingdom and easily manipulate her son and his wife. Therefore, Henry received the go-ahead for the wedding.
Louise's father and her stepmother were the first to hear the news. One morning she woke up and saw how they were standing near her bed in a deep bow. After that, the Comte de Vaudemont solemnly informed his daughter that the king desired to take her as his wife. Now he and the evil stepmother addressed her only as "Your Highness."
At the French court, everyone was amazed that a girl from a poor noble family would become the queen. And this is when dozens of the royal families of Europe would be happy to intermarry with the Valois, having married their daughters to Henry. Everyone was also surprised that the feelings between young people were sincere, while almost always such marriages were arranged.
The life of Heinrich and Louise after the wedding was happy. The king turned out to be an extremely decent man and was faithful to his young wife. She answered him the same. This is the time to complete the tale of the real Cinderella. But, unfortunately, she had a continuation and not at all fabulous. A year, two, six passed, and Louise could not give birth to her husband's child. Neither drugs prepared by the best healers, nor sacred relics helped.
At court, the king began to hint that he needed to divorce his barren wife and look for another. But even after 11 years of marriage, the king refused to betray his love. Louise took her infertility hard. She fervently prayed and made pilgrimages to holy places, asking God for a child.
In 1579, she went on a barefoot pilgrimage, incognito, after taking a vow of silence. For several weeks, under the autumn rains, she walked in a crowd of ordinary people, breaking her legs on stones until they bled. The painful campaign did not bring results, but undermined Louise's already poor health. After returning, she spent most of her time in bed, suffering from a fever. A loving husband tried to be near her as often as the duties of the king allowed.
But Louise's trials didn't end there. Soon her husband was vilely murdered by a religious fanatic. We have already said that Henry favorably treated the Protestants. His dream was the reconciliation of Catholics and Huguenots. In society, his desire was perceived ambiguously. Some representatives of the Catholic clergy considered the monarch a traitor to their faith.
Once the monk Jean Clement came to the king. He said that he had an important letter for Heinrich. As the king began to unroll the scroll, the monk stabbed him in the stomach. The attacker was immediately killed by the guards, but the wound of the monarch also turned out to be fatal. He died a day later in the arms of the inconsolable Louise.
After the death of her husband, the queen put on a white mourning robe and stopped talking. She left Paris and went to the castle of Chenonceaux, donated by Catherine de Medici, located in the Loire Valley. There, she ordered all decorations and paintings to be removed, the windows to be hung with black cloth, and even the walls to be painted black. Louise removed all servants from the castle, replacing them with nuns. She spent the remaining 11 years of her life in voluntary confinement in constant prayer.
The queen ceased to take part in the political administration of the country. Only occasionally, on particularly important occasions, did she appear before the council of her ministers to make some important decision. So sadly, but quite typical of the 16th century, the story of Cinderella ended.