Diana's full name is Diana de Poitiers, the "chief mistress" of King Henry II of France, 20 years older than Henry, more than enough to be his mother, but she was favored by Henry II throughout her life and can be called the French version of "Princess Wangui".
During Henry's reign, she openly exercised political power with Henry, and her power fell to the opposition. However, when Henry II was wounded and killed in a competition, Diana also lost power and gradually faded from the stage of history, and finally spent the rest of her life in peace and security away from the world.
The germ of the seed of love
In 1525, the Battle of Pavia broke out, in which King François I of France was defeated by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor who was weaker than himself, and was taken prisoner with himself.
As a condition for the release of François I, the 6-year-old Henry II and his brother Dauphin François were sent to Spain as hostages.
The young Henry II had just lost his mother a year earlier, and now he was forced to go to a completely strange country, and the fear of the unknown took over his whole heart, when Henry was offered a gentle kiss.
The owner of this "kiss" was none other than the then 26-year-old Divanne de Poitiers, who at this time was also the wife of Louis de Brezer, lord of Arne, a young and beautiful court aristocratic woman.
It is said that it was this kiss that gave young Henry the warmth of his mother, and the touch like a spring breeze made him unforgettable during his years as a hostage in Spain.
Age is never an excuse for love
In 1531, Diana de Poitiers' husband died, and she changed into black and white clothes ever since. Henry also ended four years of Spanish proton life and successfully returned to France.
That same year, 12-year-old Henry greeted Diana for the first time during a knightly contest to celebrate the coronation of King François I's new queen.
It was also one of the few intersections between Henri and the widow Diana de Poitiers upon his return.
In 1533, at the age of 15, Henry II married Catherine de' Medici of the Medici, and from this time on, Diana assumed the task of caring for Catherine.
In order to let Henry and Catherine, who had been married for a long time, have their own children, Diana frequently persuaded Henry to go to Catherine's bedroom; When Catherine was sick, Diana also stood by and gave her meticulous care and care; In addition, Diana was responsible for the education of Henry and Catherine's children for 18 years. She has become an important role in Henry's family and life.
Based on this, most people believe that Henry's relationship with Diana broke out in the second year of his marriage to Catherine, when Henry was 16 years old and Diana was 36 years old.
A mistress who has been with Henry for the longest time
In 1547, King François I died at the Château de Rambouilis, and in the same year Henry, as second son, was crowned King of France.
At this time, it had been 13 years since Diana became Henry's mistress, and Henry had grown from a 16-year-old boy to a strong young man, while Diana would be more than half a hundred years old.
However, Henry's favor for her did not disappear with the passage of time, and after he became king, he cherished his relationship with Diana even more. The emotions between the two of them are also more "blatant".
Henry II had a very special affection for Diana, like a lover and like a relative, and he did many incredible things to express his love for Diana.
These include signing political documents with the name "Henry Diana", publicly taking Diana to court ceremonies, tying ribbons with her name to her paraphernalia, and the symbol of D and H intertwined throughout the palace, as if this were Henry and Diana's love nest. What they do is like a little couple in love.
In addition, Henry not only built Arne Castle for Diana, but even gave Queen Catherine's most desired Chenonceau Castle to live in, and it was this act that completely aroused Catherine's jealousy and resentment, and also planted the seeds for her later departure.
Henry II died, and Diana spent the rest of her life away from the world
In 1559, Henry was seriously wounded in a contest, and Catherine immediately seized the opportunity to take control of the situation.
It is said that on the occasion of his death, he summoned Diana several times to see her again, but the news was intercepted by Catherine, who was in power at this time, and Diana not only received any news, but was also restricted from approaching the king.
In the end, Henry died of his injuries, and Diana was not even allowed to attend the funeral.
After Henry's death, Diana completely lost her backer. But she was still clever, and immediately returned all the jewels she had given by Henry to Catherine, and also gave up the castle of Chenonceau, so Catherine also decided to let her go.
Since then, Diana has been away from the mundane and spent the rest of her life in obscurity in the castles of Arne and Eur-Loire.
And this legendary love affair of the French royal family, which was 20 years apart, came to an end with the death of Diana in 1565.