Anne of France - Regency

Regency

During the minority of Anne's brother, Charles VIII of France, Peter and Anne held the regency of France. This regency lasted from 1483 until 1491, and together Peter and Anne maintained the royal authority and the unity of the kingdom against the Orléans party, which was in open revolt during the "Mad War" of the 1480s. As regent of France, Anne was one of the most powerful women in the late fifteenth century, and she was referred to as "Madame la Grand".

Anne's regency overcame many difficulties, including unrest amongst the magnates who had suffered under Louis XI's oppressions. Concessions, many of which sacrificed Louis's favourites, were made, and land was restored to many of the hostile nobles, including the future Louis XII of France, then Duke of Orléans. Louis tried to obtain the regency, but the Estates General sided with her.

She gave her support to Henry Tudor against his rival, King Richard III of England, when he sought her aid to oust Richard, who was deemed by many to have been a usurper. Anne supplied him with French troops for the 1485 invasion which culminated at the Battle of Bosworth on 22 August, where Henry emerged the victor, ascending the throne as Henry VII.

Anne made the final treaty ending the Hundred Years' War, the Treaty of Etaples and, in 1491 (despite Austrian and English opposition), arranged the marriage of her brother Charles to Anne, Duchess of Brittany, in order to annex Brittany to the French crown. When Charles ended the regency in 1491, both Anne and Peter fell victim to the wrath of the new queen, whose duchy's independence had been compromised.

Anne and Peter produced only one surviving child, Suzanne, born 10 May 1491. Anne had also become pregnant in 1476, but the baby is presumed to have miscarried or been stillborn. Suzanne succeeded Peter as suo jure Duchess of Bourbon on his death in 1503. Anne, however, had always been the more dominant member in her marriage and remained the administrator of the Bourbon lands after his death, protecting them from royal encroachment. In addition to having had a strong, formidable personality, Anne was an extremely intelligent, shrewd and energetic woman. Her father had termed her "the least foolish woman in France". Anne was dark-haired with a high forehead, a widow's peak, and finely-arched eyebrows. She was further described as having had clear brown eyes, direct in their gaze; a sharp, haughty nose, thin lips, thin hands, and she "stood straight as a lance".

Anne was responsible for the housing and education for many of the aristocracy's children including Diane de Poitiers and Louise of Savoy. She is credited with instructing these young people with the new "refined" manners such as not using their fingers to wipe their noses but a "piece of fabric". Louise of Savoy would act as regent several times when her son Francis was king. By being raised by Anne, she was able to learn about France and its governance from up close. Anne also oversaw the education of Margaret of Austria, who had been intended as a bride for Anne's brother Charles. Margaret would later become Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands.

Suzanne married another Bourbon prince, Charles of Montpensier, who became Charles III, Duke of Bourbon. The couple, however, failed to produce surviving offspring, and Suzanne predeceased her mother. When Anne herself died in 1522, her own line and that of her father became extinct. A descendant of Anne's aunt, Anne of Laval, was considered to be her heir.