On this day in history, Sunday 5th November 1514, Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, daughter of the late Henry VII, and the new wife of King Louis XII of France, was crowned Queen of France by the Bishop of Bayeux at the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis (Basilique Saint-Denis), just outside of Paris.
The eighteen-year-old Mary had married the fifty-two-year-old Louis on 9th October 1514, the feast day of St Denis, in the great hall of the Hôtel de la Gruthuse, the King’s residence in Abbeville. The marriage was to be short-lived because Louis died on 1st January 1515.
Today is, of course, the anniversary of the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 – click here to read more about it.
Picture: Basilique Saint-Denis, photo by Tim Ridgway.
The Abbey Of St. Denis is were the French monarchs were buried I believe, rather like our own Westminster Abbey were our monarchs are also crowned and in the past, buried, 34 years age difference heavens! In his portrait the King looks sour faced and not particularly handsome, poor Mary who has been described as a paradise by one contemporary was a high spirited girl and in her portrait she looks sweet faced and charming, the ill matched couple were married for only three months and rotten though it seems, she must have been overjoyed at his demise for she was free to marry her true love Charles Brandon.
Yes, that’s right, it has a royal mausoleum. It’s beautiful, well worth a visit.
Iv seen photos of some of the tombs they are beautiful and some are very ornate.
They are, yes, and the crypt is very interesting too. If you’re ever in Paris then do go, it’s easy to get to from Paris on the Metro.