King of France consort of Henry IV Queen Marguerite

Born in 1553 as the daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, Marguerite of Valois grew up at the heart of one of Europe's most powerful and turbulent royal courts. She married Henry of Navarre in 1572, a union meant to ease the divide between Catholics and Protestants, but the wedding was followed by the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, one of the darkest episodes of the French Wars of Religion.

Her marriage to Henry was famously difficult, and the two spent much of their lives apart. After years of political tension, imprisonment, and exile, the marriage was annulled in 1599, after Henry had become King Henry IV of France. Even so, she kept the rank and style of queen and later returned to Paris, where she became an important patron of letters and a respected presence at court.

Marguerite died in 1615. She is remembered not only for the drama of her life, but also for her intelligence and literary gift: her memoirs are among the earliest important autobiographical works written by a French woman.