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Élisabeth de Valois, by Sofonisba Anguissola, 1565

Élisabeth de Valois (April 13, 1545 – October 3, 1568) was a daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici.

Princesse Elisabeth de France married Philip II of Spain ("Philip the Catholic"), son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Isabel of Portugal in 1559 in Guadalajara, Spain. The marriage was a consequence of the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis (1559).

Elisabeth of Valois had originally been betrothed to Philip's son, Don Carlos/Charles, Prince of Asturias, but political complications unexpectedly necessitated her marriage to Philip instead. Despite the significant age difference between them, Philip was very attached to Elisabeth, staying close by her side even when she was ill with smallpox. Elisabeth's first pregnancy in 1564 ended with a miscarriage of twin girls. She later gave birth to Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain on 12 August 1566, and then to Isabella's younger sister Catherine Michelle of Spain October 10, 1567. Elisabeth had another miscarriage on October 3, 1568, and died the same day, along with her newborn infant son.

The Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia became the major vehicle of her father's unsuccessful claims to the thrones of the Kingdom of England and France. Philip married her to her Habsburg cousin, Archduke Albert (1559-1621), who was made regent of the Spanish Netherlands in 1598. Their joint reign coincided with a golden age for the Habsburg Netherlands.

Isabella bore Albert three children, Archdukes Philip (born 21 October 1605) and Albert (born 27 January 1607) and Archduchess Anna Mauritia; however, all three died in infancy.

After Albrecht died, the archduchess ruled as a governor in the name of her nephew, the king of Spain, for the last twelve years of her life.

French Monarchy-
Capetian Dynasty, House of Valois
(Valois-Angoulême branch)

Francis I Children    Francis    Henry II    Madeleine of Valois    Charles of Valois    Margaret of Valois Henry II Children    Francis II    Elizabeth of Valois    Claude of Valois    Louis of Valois    Charles IX    Henry III    Marguerite of Valois    François, Duke of Anjou    Joan of Valois    Victoria of Valois Francis II Charles IX Henry III

Catalina Micaela, Élisabeth's younger daughter, was married to Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy, and was the mother of Vittorio Amedeo.

Sofonisba Anguissola, the first Italian woman artist to win international recognition, served as Élisabeth's lady-in-waiting from 1559 to 1569, and painted Élisabeth's portrait.

Friedrich Schiller's romantic tragedy linking Don Carlos of Spain with Élisabeth of Valois in a doomed romance (without historical basis) furnished the subject of Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlos.

They were the subjects of an exhibition in Brussels in 1998-1999 [1]

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Elisabeth de Valois

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