Vem daterade Françoise de Montmorency-Fosseux?

Françoise de Montmorency-Fosseux, född 1566, död 1641, kallad La Fosseuse, var officiell mätress till kung Henrik IV av Frankrike 1579-81.

Hon var den yngsta av fem döttrar till Pierre de Montmorency, baron av Fosseux, och blev 1579 hovdam till Navarras drottning Margareta av Valois. Hon beskrivs som söt men blyg vid hovet.

Henrik IV ska ha övertalat henne till ett sexuellt förhållande genom att bland annat ge henne sötsaker och kallade henne "min dotter". Efter att förhållandet inletts ska hon ha uppträtt med arrogans mot drottningen. Då hon år 1581 blev gravid, använde hon det som ett argument för att få Henrik att gifta sig med henne och skilja sig från sin barnlösa drottning. Hon var rädd för skvallret vid graviditeten och ville resa bort med Henrik. Henrik föreslog att Margareta skulle agera som deras förkläde, men denna vägrade och föreslog att Fosseux skulle lämna hovet ensam. Fosseux vägrade, och fick därefter en dödfödd dotter. Missfallet doldes vid hovet, och Margareta ska ha agerat barnmorska.

Efter misshandeln inbjöds Margareta till franska hovet av sin mor Katarina av Medici, som föreslog att hon skulle ta med Fosseux som en av sina medföljande hovdamer. Margareta följde rådet, och då de kom till Paris, rådde Katarina av Medici Margareta att skicka tillbaka Fosseux till sin familj, vilket hon också gjorde. Detta avslutade automatiskt hennes ställning som Henriks mätress. Henrik tog detta som en förolämpning, men vidtog inga åtgärder eftersom han vid samma tillfälle hade blivit förälskad i Diane d'Andoins.

Hon gifte sig 1596 med François de Broc, Baron de Cinq-Mars.

Henry IV (French: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (le Bon Roi Henri) or Henry the Great (Henri le Grand), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. He pragmatically balanced the interests of the Catholic and Protestant parties in France, as well as among the European states. He was assassinated in Paris in 1610 by a Catholic zealot, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII.

Henry was baptised a Catholic but raised as a Huguenot in the Protestant faith by his mother, Queen Jeanne III of Navarre. He inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on his mother's death. As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the French Wars of Religion, barely escaping assassination in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. He later led Protestant forces against the French royal army. Henry inherited the throne of France in 1589 upon the death of Henry III, his distant cousin. Henry IV initially kept the Protestant faith (the only French king to do so) and had to fight against the Catholic League, which refused to accept a Protestant monarch. After four years of military stalemate, Henry converted to Catholicism, reportedly saying that "Paris is well worth a Mass". As a pragmatic politician (politique), he promulgated the Edict of Nantes (1598), which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants, thereby effectively ending the French Wars of Religion.

An active ruler, Henry worked to regularize state finance, promote agriculture, and encourage education. He began the first successful French colonization of the Americas. He promoted trade and industry, and prioritized the construction of roads, bridges, and canals to facilitate communication within France and strengthen the country's cohesion. These efforts stimulated economic growth and improved living standards.

While the Edict of Nantes brought religious peace to France, some hardline Catholics and Huguenots remained dissatisfied, leading to occasional outbreaks of violence and conspiracies. Henry IV also faced resistance from certain noble factions who opposed his centralization policies, leading to political instability. His main foreign policy success was the Peace of Vervins in 1598, which made peace in the long-running conflict with Spain. He formed a strategic alliance with England. He also forged alliances with Protestant states, such as the Dutch Republic and several German states, to counter the Catholic powers. His policies contributed to the stability and prominence of France in European affairs.