Christine of France (Christine Marie; 10 February 1606 – 27 December 1663) was the sister of
Louis XIII and the
Duchess of Savoy by marriage. At the death of her husband
Victor Amadeus I in 1637, she acted as regent of Savoy between 1637 and 1648.
Princess of France
Christine was born in the
Palais du Louvre in
Paris, she was the third child and second daughter of King
Henry IV of France and his second wife, the Italian
Marie de' Medici. As a daughter of the king, she was a
Fille de France. She was a younger sister of
Louis XIII of France and
Elisabeth of France. She was also an older sister of
Nicholas Henri, Duke of Orléans,
Gaston, Duke of Orléans and
Henrietta Maria of France. Christine was a sister-in-law of
Philip IV of Spain through Élisabeth and of
Charles I of England through Henrietta Maria.
After the marriage of her older sister Elisabeth in 1615 to the future
Philip IV of Spain, Christine took on the honorary title of
Madame Royale indicating her status as the eldest and most senior unmarried daughter at the court of her father. After her marriage, the style went to her younger sister
Henrietta Maria of France.
Princess of Piedmont
She married
Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, on 10 February 1619 at the Louvre in the capital. From 1619 till her husbands accession, she was known as the
Princess of Piedmont. He was a son of
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and
Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain. Caterina Micaela was in turn a daughter of
Philip II of......
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