Claude of France

Claude of France (13 October 1499 – 20 July 1524) was the ruling Duchess of Brittany from 1514 until her death in 1524 and Queen of France by marriage to King Francis I, which was also in 1514, shortly before he became king on the death of her father. She was a daughter of King Louis XII of France and his second wife, the duchess regnant Anne of Brittany. Life Claude was born on 13 October 1499 in Romorantin-Lanthenay as the eldest daughter of King Louis XII of France and Duchess Anne of Brittany. She was named after Claudius of Besançon, a saint her mother had invoked during a pilgrimage so she could give birth to a living child: during her two marriages, Queen Anne had at least fourteen pregnancies, of whom only two children survived to adulthood: Claude and her youngest sister Renée, born in 1510. Marriage negotiations Because her mother had no surviving sons, Claude was heiress presumptive to the Duchy of Brittany. The crown of France, however, could pass only to and through male heirs, according to Salic Law. Eager to keep Brittany separated from the French crown, Queen Anne, with help of Cardinal Georges d'Amboise, promoted a solution for this problem, a marriage contract between Claude and the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.