Françoise Babou de La Bourdaisière
Françoise Babou de la Bourdaisière (1542–1592) was a French noble and courtier, and the daughter of Jean Babou de La Bourdaisière and Françoise Robertet.[1] She married Antoine d'Estrées in 1558 and was the mother of Gabrielle d'Estrées, later mistress of Henry IV of France.[1]
| Françoise Babou | |
|---|---|
 Francoise Babou de La Bourdaisiere | |
| Born | Françoise Babou 1542 |
| Died | 1592 |
| Spouse | Antoine d'Estrées (m. 1558) |
| Issue | François Annibal, Duc d’Estrées Gabrielle d'Estrées, Duchess of Beaufort and Verneuil Angélique, Abbess of Maubisson Julienne-Hypolite-Joséphine, Duchess of Villars |
| Father | Jean Babou de La Bourdaisière |
| Mother | Françoise Robertet |
Biography
Francoise was raised at court as a fille d'honneur to Mary Stuart[1] until her marriage in 1558, and then served as dame d'honneur to Mary Stuart from 1559 until Mary left for Scotland in 1561; she served in the same position to Queen Louise in 1575-1583.
Françoise Babou lived with separate rooms from her husband during her years in service at court and had an affair with Louis de Béranger.[1] He was killed in a duel in 1575.[1]
In 1583 she left the court and her husband permanently to live with her lover Yves d'Alègre on his estates in the Auvergne.[1] In 1589, Yves d'Alègre was appointed governor of Issoire in Auvergne by Henry III. She accompanied him there, and they ruled the city together. With his approval, she introduced sumptuary laws with death penalty. Their rule was highly unpopular, and in 1592, they were both assassinated for political reasons by citizens who broke in to their home.
She is a subject of the writings by Brantome.
References
- Wellman 2013, p. 327.
Sources
- Wellman, Kathleen (2013). Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France. Yale University Press.
Further reading
- Jacques-Xavier Carré de Busserolle, Dictionnaire géographique, historique et biographique d'Indre-et-Loire et de l'ancienne province de Touraine, vol. 1, Tours, Éditions de la Société archéologique de Touraine, 1878, 488 p. (lire en ligne [archive]), « Babou », p. 109 à 110.