Story of sex, eroticism and pornography XVII. - Henry III. of France

Henry III. of France was a controversial king.  Let’s see why!

Henry III. of France, an average portrait of him

Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

His marriage 

After Henry II. his son, Henry III. († 1589) ruled. He was not brought to the news by his lovers. More like his boyfriends, the infamous "mignons." First Henry III. at the age of 22, he was the fiancé of Queen Elizabeth of England, who was forty-year-old. Later, Anna Jagiellonia, of Poland who was 50 years old. But he was in love with someone else. Henry hoped the Pope would end the woman's marriage. But she, unfortunately, died in her first birth. When Henrik found her, he fainted. 

But after that, he got love marriage. He married Louise de Vaudémont. Her mother hoped that the gentle, humble wealthy Louise would be an obedient bride. And so it became. 

Louise de Vaudemont

wikipedia.org

"Dear" mignons 

However, even though Louise was an ideal wife, she became pregnant once and unfortunately had an abortion. And then she remained barren. Because of the childless marriage, the king was blackened by a number of pamphlets. He was accused of blood feuds, and it was also common for the king to be actually gay. What could have been behind this? 

The royal court was full of young, handsome men. They were called mignons in the royal court, meaning "kind." Various writings in the French Renaissance style detailed the orgies arranged by Henry and the Mignons. Probably none of this was true. It is a fact, however, that the relationship between the ruler and the mignons was not expected. Other kings also had confidants, but they did not caress them or beat them with fists in their anger. They did not exchange gentle-sounding letters with them, nor did they keep their hair in a pendant after their death. 

Henry III. and the mignons

But then what was this whole mignon case at Henry III.? The childless ruler found companions in the minions. They did not have homosexual partners but replaced their unborn children. Henry III. did everything he could to get his "mignons" to marry and make a real marriage. He richly married the minions, and even the wives were chosen by him. 

Despite the name, the mignons were strong, savage, and robust soldiers. Many lost their lives in battle or duel. Henry entrusted them with the most dangerous and confidential tasks, and there were plenty of opportunities to do so. 

The king's strange habits 

Henry's strange habits reinforced the rumors. He excelled at a young age with his special attire. He was prone to eccentricity and liked extravagant attire. For example, she sewed tiny silver skulls on her dress. The dresses were otherwise embroidered with gold and decorated with precious stones and pearls. She had scented necklaces and huge earrings. He even wears earrings in a formal portrait! But there is an exception! Do we see his earrings?

Henry III. of France

wikipedia.org

If it is true that Henry had no physical connection with the "mignons," the courtiers rightly discovered a sign of repressed homosexuality. The king sometimes dressed as a woman at masquerade balls. 

In a country where things are going well, the king is popular and confident; the people forgive many things to the ruler. However, there were significant troubles in the country, and the people saw perversion in all the actions of the ruler. But for sure: if a man today would act and behave like Henry III, they'd say that he is gay. 

And the situation is even more confusing if we look even more closely at the fact that one of Henry's lovers was Veronica Franco, the famous Venetian courtesan! 

Veronica Franco

wikipedia.org

Story of sex, eroticism and pornography XVI. - Henry II. of France

 Early years - Catherine de' Medici 

Henry II. ruled France in the middle of the XVI. century. 

Henry II. of France

alamystockphoto.com

His wife was Catherine de' Medici, who was added to the king at the age of 14. After the large and bright wedding, the marriage of Catherine and Henry was uneventful for a long time. And permanently childless. However, this did not bother any of them for a long time. Especially not Henrik. At the age of 16, he began a relationship with Diane de Poitiers, who was almost 20 years older than him. Then Henry became heir to the throne of France. From then on, Catherine was under high pressure to give birth to offspring. However, in the first ten (!) Years, the attempts were not followed by success. And Catherine feared that the king would part with her and be exiled. 

Yet she tried all the possibilities of medicine at the time. One is more bizarre than the other: 

· She was expecting her husband in bed with cow dung and deer antler, 

· She drank mule urine 

· She drilled holes in her husband's bedroom ceiling and watched him with his lover – like she was watching a live porn movie - she was excited about it and hoped she would get pregnant. 

Catherina de Medici

wikipedia.org

But the ultimate success was taken in the form of vanilla orange pancake called Crѐpe Suzette. This is a well-known dessert to this day. Her husband couldn't resist it anymore. It is said that this stimulated their sex life so much that in the next 13 years, they had 10 children. The survival of the dynasty was thus ensured. Their third son was the later Henry III. of France.

Diane de Poitiers 

Catherine of Medici spent her entire marriage in the shadow of her royal lover, Diane de Poitiers. The king piled Diane with her presents and told her all her worries and joys. Yet Diane was twenty years older than the king! That was a pretty rare thing at the time. 

The reason for this was that Henry lived in the courtyard of Madrid as a small child like a noble hostage. Because of this, he became an evasive, grumpy, inhibitory teenager. Therefore, his father entrusted his upbringing to the young widow of an old general. She was Diane de Poitiers. 

Diane was in her thirties at the time. In the  XVI century, it was a reasonably high age for a woman. She was a tall and beautiful blonde woman. For a long time, she surrounded Henry with maternal care but later seduced her regularly. Today we would say that she was a hot MILF who tied the young king to her with her sexual experience. It is quite understandable that this had a significant impact on Henry. She was his only love, and she remained faithful to him until his death. Although Catherine de' Medici had 11 children, the king always loved only Diane. 

Diane de Poitiers

wikimedia.org

After the king's death 

After 27 years, a lousy marriage Henry II. was fatally wounded in a court knight tournament. Catherine de' Medici, of course, nurtured the ruler in its last days. She didn't even take off her black mourning dress for the rest of his life. But she also had plenty of time to remove Diane de Poitiers from the court and prepare for his son's reign. 

Catherine was obsessed with power and a violent queen. She used every means to preserve her family and her own power. She was considered by many to be a cruel ruler. She even ordered murders to protect her own and his family's power. She also ordered the St. Bartholomew's Night Massacre in Paris. She died on January 5, 1589. 

Maybe if she had had a more satisfying marriage, she wouldn't want to be more masculine than men. 

Read about Henry VIII. of England, who was their contemporary!