Jeanne d'Albret 1528–1572 Queen of Navarre

As the niece of the French king Francis I and the daughter of the ruler of the kingdom of Navarre in the Pyrenees, Jeanne d'Albret was a key player in the royal politics of France. She worked hard to ensure that her son Henry of Navarre would succeed to the throne. She was also a tireless promoter of the Huguenot (French Protestant) cause.

Jeanne grew up in Normandy, far from the royal court of the Valois dynasty. Nicholas de Bourbon, a humanist*, supervised her education and may have encouraged an interest in religious reform. After 1537 Jeanne became a pawn in her family's political intrigues. Her father planned a marriage for her with Philip of Spain, while the king arranged that she should wed the duke of Clèves. Jeanne openly objected to marriage with the duke, designed to cement a political alliance, but it took place in 1541. Four years later, however, the marriage was annulled* when the political alliance disintegrated.

In 1548 Jeanne married Antoine de Bourbon, who headed the powerful house of Bourbon-Vendôme. Jeanne became queen of Navarre upon her father's death in 1555. Then, in 1560, she publicly announced her conversion to the Protestantism of John Calvin. Jeanne devoted much of her energy to the Huguenot cause, becoming involved in religious struggles at the French court and throughout France. Jeanne died before seeing her son secure the throne as Henry IV through his marriage to Margaret of Valois, the Catholic daughter of Henry II and Catherine de MÉdicis.

(See alsoFrance; Wars of Religion. )

* humanist

Renaissance expert in the humanities (the languages, literature, history, and speech and writing techniques of ancient Greece and Rome)

* annul

to declare legally invalid