Hi, friend, and welcome back to the Renaissance English History Podcast, a part of the Agora Podcast Network, and the original Tudor History podcast telling stories of 16th century England

since 2009. I am Heather. And as always, I am so delighted that you are here with me today.

We are going to talk today about Anne Bejure, who should have ruled France. One of these women who had a massive impact France,

and it's interesting because France had the Seleic law that kept women from inheriting the throne,

which England didn't have. And yet there were so many women in France in the late 15th and 16th

centuries who had such profound influences

on the way France developed and on ruling in France from behind the scenes. And we've talked

about some of them here recently, like Marguerite of Navarre, for example. And you can check out

some of my other episodes on that. And today we are going to talk about

an de beaujeure. So let's get right into it. Also, I have to say in advance, just a blanket

apology for the way I will butcher French. I do not speak French. I apologize in advance.

That's all I can say. It's just kind of like a blanket apology I'm throwing out

there. All right. So it's the summer of 1483. And France is holding its breath. King Louis

the 11th, the Spider King, feared and cunning, was dying at Place Is Littour. He had ruled with

webs of spies and iron-fisted centralization, but now the

question that plagued the court was this. Who would rule after him? Not his 13-year-old

son Charles. The boy was frail in both body and will. His mother, Queen Charlotte, was ill and uninvolved. The princes

of the blood were circling, but standing calmly in the storm was his daughter, Anne. Not queen,

not heir. But Anne had spent the last decade shadowing her father, learning every grimy trick of politics that he had to teach her.

And when Louis finally died that August, he left no official regent.

He didn't need to.

Anne and her husband Pierre de Beauvoir had already taken charge of the boy king.

...