Eleanor of Austria – The eternal servant (Part three)

Read part two here.

Rumours soon arose that Eleanor was having a love affair with her stepson, now King John III of Portugal. These rumours travelled as far as Poland and included that she was pregnant with John’s child. If there was any truth in the rumours, there was no way she would be allowed to marry John; she was too valuable of an asset to her brother. Her wedding agreement stated that she and any children she had were free to leave Portugal upon her husband’s death, but when Charles recalled her to Castile, King John refused to let Maria travel with her mother.

In May 1523, Eleanor left Portugal and Maria behind. They would not see each other again for almost 30 years, although there would be many attempts over the years to reunite mother and daughter. On her return home, Eleanor travelled via Tordesillas to visit her mother. In February 1525, it was Eleanor’s sister Catherine who became the next Queen of Portugal. For Maria, Catherine would be the only mother she knew.

Eleanor once again became a chess piece on her brother’s board. During the Battle of Pavia in 1525, King Francis I of France was taken prisoner by Charles’s troops. In an attempt to neutralise the French King, he was offered Eleanor as a bride, while her daughter Maria would marry Francis’s eldest son. From his prison, Francis tried to negotiate the terms Charles had set concerning land claims. When Francis’s sister Marguerite came to visit him, she met Eleanor, and the two reportedly became good friends. In the end, Francis promised to marry Eleanor, and he was released, although his two sons, Francis and Henry, were to take his place as prisoners. Charles and Francis came together to meet Eleanor on 17 February 1526, and he visited her again the following day. He left without her as she had to wait for the final settlement of the Treaty of Madrid before following Francis to France. In March, his two young sons arrived to take his place as prisoners, and Francis began to delay the signing of the treaty. This situation would last for three years.

The disappointed Eleanor tried to remain a loyal sister to Charles. In June 1527, Eleanor carried Charles’s first-born child to the baptismal font – he had finally married Isabella of Portugal in 1526. Eleanor travelled with the court as they tried to outpace the plague. Eleanor became frustrated with waiting and retired to a monastery for some time. Finally, in August 1529, through the negotiations of Margaret of Austria and Louise of Savoy, Francis’s mother, the so-called Ladies’ Peace settled matters. It renewed the Treaty of Madrid and, thus, Eleanor’s betrothal to King Francis.

In January 1530, the proxy wedding between Francis and Eleanor took place, and she began her travels north. She finally met her two stepsons, who joined her. She told them, “Come, my children, let us go to the fertile land of the king, your father.”¹ On 1 July 1530, Eleanor finally entered her new homeland and “she was so desired by the whole kingdom and by all kinds of people that it was an incredible thing. […] As for the desire that everyone has for her coming, they say that she will be the cause of the restoration of this kingdom, which, in truth, from what I have heard, really needs it.”² Eleanor may have been an angel of peace, but Francis was very much in love with another woman – Anne de Pisseleu d’Heilly – who soon became Eleanor’s lady-in-waiting.

On 7 July 1530, the in-person wedding took place. Ambassador Marsan wrote, “From what I know, the Queen, rejoicing to have such a King as her lord, does not simply wish to become his wife but his eternal servant.”⁴ Eleanor met Francis’s formidable mother not much later, but their relationship did not have much time to develop as Louise of Savoy died on 22 September 1531.

On 5 March 1531, Eleanor was crowned Queen of France at the Basilica of St Denis, and the festivities lasted for several days. For the next three years, Eleanor and the French went on a tour around France in order to present her as the new Queen. In 1533, she received a young Catherine de’ Medici, who was to marry Francis’s second son. The court finally returned to Paris at the end of February 1534. Eleanor’s life at court followed a regular pattern, but she managed to incorporate her love of music and hunting. She was also very pious. In 1538, she suffered from some kind of illness, and she wrote to Francis, “My illness gives me more trouble, and I cannot leave to go find you. […] Your letter has done me so much good that I have felt better since then and will leave as soon as possible, desiring nothing so much as to be in your company and good grace.”⁵

Although her political role in France was barely visible, she left a mark on the arts and culture. Several works of literature were dedicated to her. However, she remained in the shadows of Francis’s celebrated mistress, Anne de Pisseleu d’Heilly and his sister, Queen Marguerite of Navarre.

Part four coming soon.

1. Éléonore d’Autriche: seconde épouse de François Ier by Michel Combet p.133
2. Éléonore d’Autriche: seconde épouse de François Ier by Michel Combet p.134
4. Éléonore d’Autriche: seconde épouse de François Ier by Michel Combet p.143/note] The marriage was immediately consummated, and “from their mutual joy and the fact that they continue to sleep together every night despite the stifling heat, we can conclude that they are very satisfied with each other.”³Éléonore d’Autriche: seconde épouse de François Ier by Michel Combet p.144
5. Éléonore d’Autriche: seconde épouse de François Ier by Michel Combet p.173