Dates

January: A month full of deaths for French Queens

As my friends and I were planning out our posts for January, we wanted to hit the highlights of the eras that we each wrote about. That included deaths, marriages, births and coronations for various members of the French royal family.



It wasn’t long before I noticed a disturbing pattern: At least four French queens died in the month of January. At this point, I’ve identified four of them from my own era, and according to one of my author friends, that trend started about a century earlier.

January 5th: Catherine de Medici dies at Chateau de Blois

Catherine de Medici, portrait that hangs in Chateau de Chenonceau


January 20th: Anne of Austia dies of complications from breast cancer at Val de Gråce in Paris

Elizabeth of Austria as a widow

January 22nd: Elizabeth of Austria dies at the convent she founded and supported during her widowhood.

January 25th: Louise of Lorraine dies at Chenonceau.

Louise of Lorraine