Free The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King by HRH Princess Michael of Kent Page B

she did have one glorious moment—her coronation in Saint-Denis on May 10, 1517, and her official entry into Paris threedays later. A queen’s coronation and entry into the capital was traditionally celebrated long after the king’s—sometimes only after the birth of an heir. The delay helped to defray the expense of two coronations and state entries so close together. In Claude’s case, the ritual had been postponed for two years due to the queen’s pregnancies and slow recoveries.
    It vexed the king that, in order to make the preparations for Claude’s coronation and entry into Paris, he had to remain in the capital for three months. He amused himself by visiting taverns and inns incognito; according to the
Journal d’un bourgeois de Paris
, he drunkenly forced his way into private homes, a diversion that was far from popular.
    During the splendid parade, Diane remained in close attendance on the queen, who was carried to the cathedral in a litter draped in cloth of silver. She wore her crown and the crown jewels, including a necklace of untold value. François watched the coronation ceremony from a balcony hidden behind a metal grille. The duc d’Alençon stood behind the queen, holding up Charlemagne’s heavy crown. In front of her, Charles, the Constable de Bourbon, knelt holding the train of her long cloak of blue velvet lined with ermine. The prince de la Rochesur-Yon, who held her scepter, knelt next to her on one side, and on the other was the comte de Guise, who held the “hand of justice.”
    As the queen made her state entry into Paris, Diane de Poitiers was again in attendance and noted that it was as splendid as the king’s entry two years earlier.
    Carried in a litter shaded by a canopy gallantly borne in turn by all the representatives of the city’s guilds, Claude was escorted by sixteen princesses on horseback whose hats were cut to resemble crowns. All along the processional route, tableaux were staged to demonstrate the queen’s virtues and allegories of her charms. When Claude’s litter reached a fountain, three nymphs burst from a heart, symbolizing the three kinds of love: divine, earthly, and conjugal. Finally, the celebrations came to a climax in the evening with a sumptuous banquet at the Palais de Justice. This was served on an immense marble table, draped in cloth of gold and covered with gold and silver plate. The royal trumpeters announced the serving of each course.
    The ermine, symbol of Brittany, was used by Queen Claude of France, who was also the sovereign Duchess of Brittany in her own right.
    The next day, François organized a tournament under the patronage of the
fleur-de-lys
of France and Claude’s symbol, the white ermine of her duchy of Brittany. 1 The Knights of the Night, dressed in black and led by the comte de Saint-Pol, competed in the tournament against the Knights of the Day, dressed all in white and led by the king.
    The queen’s coronation was the occasion for the king to take her on a “progress,” or journey, through the kingdom, setting in motion an immense royal cavalcade of some ten thousand people. Passing through Picardy, the monarch and the court arrived at Rouen. On August 2, wearing his chain of office and magnificently dressed in cloth of gold, his charger caparisoned in the same, the king made his official entry. François I was met by Louis de Brézé, who presented him with the keys to the city. The next day was the turn of the queen’s official entry.
    The king and queen were received in the city by Diane at the château de Rouen, and then again at the Brézé country château de Mauny. While the king hunted with his hosts, his ministers negotiated with the Norman elders for a sizable loan.
    François I was one of the most attractive and exciting personalities ever to sit on the throne of France—tall, dark, well built, he was thought most handsome (despite rather spindly legs), and very regal. He also had great charm and blind courage, and