Madeleine of Valois

Infobox Scottish Royalty|Scottish|majesty|consort
name =Magdalene of Valois
title =Queen consort of Scots


imgw =180px
caption =Madeleine de Valois by Corneille de la Haye
reign =1 January - 7 July, 1537
spouse =James V
royal house =House of Valois
titles ="Her Grace" The Queen
Princess Madeleine of France
father =Francis I of France
mother =Claude, Duchess of Brittany
date of birth =birth date|1520|8|10|mf=y
place of birth =St. Germain-en-Laye
date of death =death date and age|1537|7|7|1520|8|10|mf=y
place of death =Edinburgh, Scotland
place of burial =Holyrood Abbey|

Madeleine de Valois (August 10, 1520 – July 7, 1537), was a princess of France and Queen consort of James V, King of Scots. Princess Madeleine was born at St. Germain-en-Laye, France, the fifth child and third daughter of King Francis I of France and Claude de France, daughter of Louis XII of France. Very frail since birth, she was raised in the warm and temperate Loire Valley region of France, rather than at Paris, as her father feared that the cold would destroy her delicate health. By her sixteenth birthday, she had contracted tuberculosis.

Despite this, she sparked the interest of the visiting Scottish King, James V, who arrived in France in 1536, seeking a bride who would both strengthen political ties between Scotland and France and would also bring a large dowry that would help the virtually bankrupt Scottish coffers. James V was smitten with the delicate young princess and asked her father for her hand in marriage. Citing her illness and the harsh climate of Scotland, which he feared would prove fatal to be his daughter's already failing health, Francis I initially refused to permit the marriage. James V then temporarily turned his attention to another bride, Marie de Guise, but abandoned his courtship of her when he saw Madeleine again at a court ball.

He approached Francis I for Madeleine's hand again, and despite his reservations and nagging fears, Francis I reluctantly granted permission to the marriage when Madeleine made her interest in marrying James very obvious. The pair married on January 1, 1537 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in what Francis I and James V hoped would renew and strengthen the "Auld Alliance" between Scotland and France [ [http://www.gaddgedlar.com/Rough-Wooing.htm The Rough Wooing ] ] . Francis I also provided Madeleine with a very generous (and much needed) dowry, which proved to be a great help to the Scottish treasury.

After months of festivities and celebrations, the couple left France for Scotland in May, 1537. By this time, Madeleine's health had deteriorated even further and she was very sick when the royal pair landed in Scotland. On July 7, 1537, a few short weeks later (and a month before her 17th birthday), Madeleine died in her husband's arms at Edinburgh, Scotland.

Queen Madeleine was interred in Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh. Less than a year after her death, her husband married the widowed Mary of Guise, the woman he had previously wooed and who had been present at his wedding to Madeleine.

References