- Elisabeth of Austria (1554–1592)
Infobox French Royalty|majesty|consort
name = Elisabeth of Austria
title =Queen consort of France
coronation =
spouse =Charles IX of France
issue =Marie Elisabeth of Valois
royal house =House of Habsburg
royal anthem =
father =Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor mother =
Maria of Spain
date of birth =June 5 ,1554
place of birth =Vienna
date of death =January 22 ,1592 ,
place of death =
buried =Elisabeth of Austria (
June 5 1554 –January 22 1592 ), was born anArchduchess ofAustria , and later became Queen ofFrance . She was the daughter ofHoly Roman Emperor Maximilian II andMaria of Spain . She was married toCharles IX of France for three and a half years, until his death.Early life
Elisabeth enjoyed a privileged and secluded childhood in
Vienna , where she and her many siblings were raised as devout Catholics. With her flawless white skin, long blonde hair and perfect physique, she was considered one of the greatest beauties of the era. Demure, pious and warm-hearted, she was also naïve and intensely innocent because of her sheltered upbringing.Marriage: Queen of France
At the age of sixteen, she was married to King
Charles IX of France to help cement an alliance between theHabsburg emperors and the French Crown. She was first married by proxy (with ambassadorAlbert de Gondi standing in for the king) in Vienna, and then in an official ceremony in Paris with immense pomp and extravagance, despite the dire state of French finances. Her wedding gown was of silver and her tiara was studded with pearls, emeralds, diamonds and rubies.Her husband, who already had a long-term mistress,
Marie Touchet , was devoted to his teenage bride. Although they never fell in love, the couple had a warm and supportive relationship. Charles realised that the scandalous ways of the French Court might shock Elisabeth and, along with his mother,Catherine de' Medici , he made an effort to shield her from its excesses. She continued to hear Mass twice a day, despite being horrified at how little respect was shown for religion by the supposedly Catholic courtiers. Her one controversial act was to make a point of rejecting the attentions ofProtestant courtiers and politicians by refusing them permission to kiss her hand when they paid homage to the royal family.Charles suffered periodic bouts of madness, which had to be hidden from the public as best as possibleVerify source|date=June 2008. Despite these hindrances, Elisabeth quickly fell pregnant and left Paris to enjoy the country air at
Fontainebleau Verify source|date=June 2008. It was during this seclusion that she received news of theSaint Bartholomew's Day Massacre in August 1572, when thousands of French Protestants were slaughtered on the streets of Paris. Although she loathed Protestantism, Elisabeth never publicly rejoiced at so many deaths - like other prominent Catholics did. Her daughter, Marie-Elisabeth, was born a few months later, on27 Oct 1572 .Widowhood and Death
Two years later, when France was devastated by another religious civil war, Charles IX died, with Elisabeth at his bedside - weeping "tears so tender, and so secret," according to one eyewitness. She retired to the countryside, rejecting her father's proposition that she attempt to marry her dead husband's brother - now King
Henry III of France . She made half her fortune available to her sister-in-law -Marguerite de Valois - who was ostracised from the rest of the royal family. Her last great tragedy came on9 April 1578 , when her six year-old daughter died of an unknown infantile infection.Elisabeth died in 1592, by which time the House of
Valois had been destroyed and a new royal family ruledFrance .Family and Children
Elisabeth and Charles IX had one child:
*Marie Elisabeth of Valois (27 Oct 1572 -9 April 1578 ), who died at the age of sixAncestry
Ancestors of Elisabeth of Austria
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