Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues
Catherine Henriette de Balzac d' Entragues (* 1579 in Orléans, † February 9, 1633 in Paris), the mistress of the French king's Heinrich was named after the sudden death of Gabrielle d' Estrées ' 1599 IV A written promise of marriage of the king became a nuisance to the young Queen Maria de ' Medici. From the house Balzac coming, she was also Marchioness of Verneuil.
Life
Catherine Henriette was the daughter of François de Balzac, Seigneur d' Entragues, and Marie Touchets, a former mistress of Charles IX. , Which also Henry IV was comforted during the night of St. Bartholomew. The natural son of Charles IX. , Charles de Valois, duc d' Angoulême, was Catherine's half-brother.
Her relationship with Henry IV was less influenced by love than by calculating ambition of her family. Before she gave herself to the king, she asked for him a written promise of marriage, subject to the condition that she brought forth a son. Henry IV gave her this kompromitierende piece of paper, even though it was negotiating simultaneously with the Grand Duke of Florence about marrying his niece Maria de Medici. In fact, Henriette became pregnant, but suffered a miscarriage as a ball of lightning struck in her room. Henry IV kept his relationship with her more upright and she gave birth shortly after Maria de Medici 's birth with Louis XIII also a son. Henriette saw himself as the rightful wife and their children than the actually legitimate heir to the crown. Because there were some quite influential nobles who supported this claim, it was a dangerous rival of the Queen.
Henriette made next to the king many other lovers and sat him by their ambitious demands highly. Nevertheless, the king, who in turn had another lover beside her never broke until his death finally with her. Not even after a treacherous intrigue which they hatched in 1604 with their relatives. The Entragues family searched for the implementation of its plan, the assistance of the Spanish King Philip III. to attract and incite a part of the French nobility against Henry IV. This should be clearly eliminated and Henriette's son from his new king. The plot was uncovered, her father and half-brother were taken into custody, the pronounced death sentences but not enforced. Henriette's father handed out the promise of marriage in exchange for a pardon to the king. He was released; Henriette's half- brother was serving life imprisonment. 1605 Henriette could even move freely again.
After the failure of this plan Catherine Henriette de Balzac d' Entragues was temporarily by the new mistress Jacqueline de Bueil, afterwards became Countess of Moret, a ward of Charlotte de la Trémouilles, the Princess of Condé, replaced. She was pushed aside final only by the death of Henry IV Your legitimized by royal children were called Gaston, later Henri de Bourbon, duc de Verneuil, who was appointed with five to Prince-Bishop of Metz, and Gabrielle Angélique, Bernard de Nogaret de La Valette, the Duke of Épernon married.