| Princess Claude | |
|---|---|
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| Biographical Information | |
| In History: | Claude of Valois |
| Family Name: | Claude de Valois |
| Title: | Princess of France |
| Born: | November 12, 1547 |
| Age: | 18 |
| Height: | 5'5 |
| Gender: | Female
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| Nationality: | French 
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| Status: | Alive |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic |
| Originally From: | Viennese, France |
| Affiliations: | Kingdom of France House of Valois |
| Relationship Information | |
| Parents: | King Henry † (Father) Queen Catherine (Mother) |
| Husband: | Luc Narcisse Duke Boinel (Annulled) |
| Family: | Clarissa † (Half-sister) Sebastian (Half-brother) |
| Interests: | Lord Narcisse (Fling) Louis of Condé (Ex-fiancé) |
| Character Information | |
| First Appearance: | The Prince of the Blood |
| Last Appearance: | All It Cost Her |
| Portrayed By: | Rose Williams |
| GALLERY | |
- "I don't need a husband. I already have a mother to make me miserable."
- —Princess Claude to Queen Mary
Princess Claude is the younger sister of King Francis and only recently returned from overseas. She is a very sexually advanced young lady and had an unhealthy attraction to her half-brother, Sebastian, and Stéphane Narcisse. She was in a relationship with Leith Bayard, but believing him dead agreed to an arranged marriage to Luc Narcisse.
Must See Episodes
- The Prince of the Blood
- Banished
- Reversal of Fortune
- Fight or Flight
- Bruises That Lie
- Playing With Fire
Personality
Upon arriving to court, Claude was quite the troublemaker who stirred the pot a lot. Claude preferred trysts and didn't react well to being told that she would be married off, although she eventually budged on the engagement to Louis of Condé. She was initially quite cold to Kenna, which stemmed from her envy of Kenna's relationship with Sebastian, but she came to acknowledge that Kenna was "rather kind to me after all".
Even after getting in a relationship with Leith, Claude maintained her streak of independence, but was now comfortable with allowing someone in and admitted that she liked having someone take care of her. She is fearless, as well as loyal and affectionate to the few dearest to her.
Biography
Early Life
Princess Claude of Valois was the third child born to her mother, Queen Catherine, and her father, the late King Henry.
When Catherine gave birth to twins, Henriette and Emone, Claude was jealous of them, as she had to share her mother's attention with them. She especially hated that they always pulled flowers off of her dress. One night, Catherine found the twins dead. The doctor determined that they were suffocated when he found a flower in each of their throats, the same flowers that the twins had been pulling off of Claude's dress. And so, Catherine believed that it was her daughter, Claude, who suffocated them. However, she lied about their cause of death to protect her daughter.
By covering up what she thought was a murder committed by her daughter, Catherine claimed that she always mothered Claude the most. But the two never got along, with Catherine shipping Claude away for most of her life. There, Claude was supposed to become an educated, well-cultured woman, but she threw that away in favour of patrying. She ended up growing into quite the troublemaker.
Season 1
Royal Blood - (Referenced)
A lock of hair labeled with her name is shown in her mother's shadow box, along with neatly tied hair from her other brothers and sisters.
Season 2
The Prince of the Blood Later, Claude is caught having sex with Father Benoit, the priest who brought her back to the castle, by Catherine. He is then sent away, defrocked and in shame, while Claude bemoans the fact that she will soon be sent away too. However, she manages to convince her mother to let her stay, with the warning that she will be sent away at the first hint of misbehaviour. That night, Claude attends her Welcome Home Party. She strolls with Francis, asking him about Bash and Kenna's relationship. She makes a few thinly-veiled comments about Kenna, but is warned by Francis that she will have to answer to him if she messes with their relationship.   Don't touch me The following day, Claude pinches Bash's butt to detain him. As it turns out, Claude had an attraction to Bash that she manipulated him into acting upon when they were younger by convincing him that Henry wasn't his real father. But now that he knows the truth, he admonishes her that what happened between them mustn't happen again. In the middle of the night, Claude wakes up to Catherine standing over her. In a terrified manner, Catherine tells her daughter that she cannot stay at court, and leaves with no explanation. Terror of the Faithful
However, Catherine argues that the alliance with Bavaria could help France's trade routes and that every member of the family has to contribute in continuing the family line, so Claude will get married whether she wants it or not.   As if! That afternoon, Catherine tells her daughter that she is to undergo a virginity test, one that will be assured with a sizeable donation to assure the outcome, because Claude "couldn't possibly pass." The test will be done because the count wants to make sure that Claude's virtue is still in tact before going through with his son's union with her. Claude protests, but Catherine ignores her. Claude complains about the test and arranged marriage to Sebastian, who encourages her to view it as a chance to find someone who loves her and grant herself a happy life with him. During the test, a few members of The Vatican are inspecting Claude, who looks very uncomfortable. Her preoccupied mother gets up and holds her hand for support. Afterwards, Catherine apologizes for making her daughter go through the test while looking absentmindedly into the backround. Catherine then launches into an effusion of how much she loves her daughter.
Yet when Claude tells her that she doesn't want to get married, Catherine concludes that the deed has been decided.   Checkmate, mother That night, Claude is to be introduced to her future husband. She walks into the hall and holds their gazes. However, instead of walking up to them, she walks up to Lord Narcisse. She sits on his lap and begins flirting with him, still looking at her the shocked groom, his father, and her mother. When she sees that the count throws the marriage contract on the floor and walks away, she smirks at her mother and struts away. Acts of War   I will not marry! Queen Mary informs Claude that she is to marry the Prince of Condé to ease tensions between the Protestants and the Catholics. Claude flatly refuses to go through with it, with Queen Catherine in agreement with her daughter for once. However, Claude warns her mother that she will not be married off by her, either. However, she does meet Condé. They introduce themselves, and Claude engages him in a talk full of innuendos, though he seems to be amused by it. Not long after, Narcisse pays a visit to Claude in her chamber and warns her that she's merely a test subject to see if an interfaith marriage would succeed. He offers to marry her in order to protect her, as she would have a huge target on her back if she wed Condé, and even tries seducing her into accepting his proposal.
  I'm not sure... However, Claude merely says that she'll think about it. Yet Narcisse's proposal does impact her, as she goes to Francis straight after, questioning whether she should go through with the marriage after all, given the precarious position it places her in. He tells her that everyone in their family is in danger and to treat the marriage as an opportunity to prove herself to her family and feel like one of them after being isolated for so long. Following her brother's advice, Claude rejects Narcisse's proposal and tells him that she's marrying Condé after all, regardless of the danger it puts her in. At The Feast of St. Nicolas that night, Mary announces Condé and Claude's engagement to the court, with the King's blessing. However, Condé then secretly decides not to go through with it and is planning on leaving court. Mercy Claude is talking with her ladies when Catherine comes up. Catherine warns Claude that it's not safe for her in the castle. She gives her enough gold to take her anywhere she wants to go. However, Claude refuses it, pointing out that there is something wrong with Catherine. She pours out the money, calling Catherine a relic who has outlived her usefulness. When Claude threatens Catherine and Catherine talks away, Kenna steps in. She tries to help Claude, but Claude only derides her. Catherine and Claude chat. Catherine apologizes and tells Claude that she has always loved her and wants to start acting more like her mother. As she starts to feed her daughter soup, the ghosts smile. Catherine asks Claude to forgive her. Claude walks up to Bash. She appears to be drunk. Just as she recounts the suitors she had, she collapses into Bash's arms. Getaway After taking away several of Catherine's meals, Kenna helps Claude get back to her old self, but when Kenna tells accuses her mother of being the one who put her in that state, Claude gets angry. So angry, lashes out and confesses to being lovers with Bash, completely taking Kenna off-guard. Catherine walks in on Claude searching for the poison she's been using on her. Claude knew her mother hated her, but not to the point of killing her. Catherine tells her that she murdered her twin sisters out of jealousy from the attention they received from Catherine. Claude denies it, but Catherine doesn't believe her. Claude almost drinks the entire glass of poison, but Catherine knocks it out of her hand and holds her as she breaks down in tears. Banished One of the nannies, Yvonne, is found. Since the twins' death, she has been relieved from the castle and has gone on to marry a noble. Claude is suspicious of how she managed that. During an interrogation, Yvonne reveals that on the night that the twins died, Henry coerced her into sleeping with him after forcing her to try Turkish smoke. When she woke up hours later, she returned to the twins and found them frozen to death after someone opened the windows. In order to save herself, she shoved flowers down their throats so Queen Catherine wouldn't blame her, but Claude. The nanny is then taken to the dungeon. Sins of the Past The End of Mourning Tasting Revenge |
Season 3
Betrothed   Charles and Claude talk; she asks that he keep Francis' promise not to force her to marry, but he does not agree to her request. Leith overhears their entire exchange, including the fact that Francis is dying. At night, Claude has trouble sleeping, and Leith comes in with the news that he tried to find her sable, but to no avail. She then asks him to tell her about his life, adding that it might help her drift off. Extreme Measures At first, he wants nothing to do with the situation, but when he inspects her and notices that she is still breathing, he changes his mind. Using a stomach pump, he safely brings her back to consciousness. Constance being well does not let Charles off the hook, however. Narcisse explains to Charles that his actions reflect not only on his future reign as King, but on Francis as well. Claude goes to Leith to boast about her role in saving Constance's life, only to find him in bed with her lady-in-waiting. She walks away in confusion, and when Leith runs after, he explains that instead of falling for someone higher in station, such as Claude, he went for someone he is up to par with. In a way, Leith alludes to having feelings for Claude, a sentiment that Claude appreciates. The Price Fight or Flight Claude tries to teach Leith the ways of the highborn, which includes dancing and dining. Instead, he ends up teaching her dances from the village. Claude tries to continue her plan to teach Leith the ways of the nobles but he knows there is no Juliet. She just wanted to spend time with him because she wishes they could be together.
Queen Catherine warns Claude that if she doesn't return with her brother, King Charles, she wants her to see that her brothers and sisters are safely transported to Spain and seek refuge with their older sister, Queen Leeza. Catherine makes Claude promise to take care of her siblings. |
Season 4
With Friends Like These Claude is upset that her mother is marrying her off just because Leeza said so, but Catherine reminds her that Spain can crush their nation if she doesn't. Martel comes in and hands Claude a letter she wrote to Leith that was found on one of the burned bodies as a means of getting her to accept that Leith is gone. He also urges her to marry him. At a dinner party that night, Claude, clearly delirious from grief, takes a knife and slowly walks over to Martel. Catherine stops her before she can do something she will regret later and Claude breaks into tears, telling her that Martel had Leith killed. The letter she wrote to Leith led her to witnesses, but she doesn't know if they would testity against a powerful family that are the Guise, especially now that they have aligned themselves with Spain. Catherine and Claude plot to kill Martel together. A Grain of Deception Catherine, Claude, and Leeza wait for Charles to show up to dine with them, but he doesn't. Leeza sinks her teeth into Claude and her grief over Leith, driving her away from the table. Upon the request of her sister and Stéphane Narcisse, the dashing Luc Narcisse arrived at French Court to woo and immediately marry Claude. The two both understood it was an arranged marriage due to her indiscretions, but Luc promised to be faithful and wanted a happy marriage with her. Not long after his arrival did the two marry in a small Royal ceremony. [1] A Bride. A Box. A Body. They agree and meet with Henri, but it seems like he has already made up his mind about ending it with Nicole as she's getting "too attached". The intervention ends there and Henri leaves. As Luc is about to leave as well, Claude blurts out that she has missed him and wants him to stay for the party. The next day, a reception is being hosted where Charles is to announce his new fiancée once he makes a choice. Catherine reassures the Spanish ambassador that Charles will make his choice soon and volunteers Claude to talk to the ambassador about his study of astronomy. Claude excuses herself to go dance with her husband, but as they begin dance intimately, Claude freezes up, apologises and runs away. Blood in the Water All It Cost Her Thinking Henri killed Nicole, Charles threatens Henri and draws his sword, Henri doing the same in retaliation. Catherine jumps in between them and talks them out of blaming each other and into blaming Spain, having betrayed both Charles and Henri. Claude walks away before the end of Catherine's speech. |
Family Tree
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| King Francis I † |
| Claude of France † |
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| Duke Francis † |
| King Henry † |
| Queen Catherine |
| Madeleine of Valois † |
| Charles of Valois † |
| Margaret of Valois † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| King Francis † |
| Mary Stuart ♔ |
| Queen Elisabeth |
| King Philip ♔ |
| Princess Claude |
| Luc Narcisse |
| King Charles ♔ |
| Prince Henri |
| Princess Margot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| John Philip |
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| Prince Don Carlos | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trivia
- Claude had a one-time sexual relationship with her half-brother, Sebastian, when they were teenagers. [2]
- Had an arranged engagement to Louis of Condé. [3]
- Had a sexual relationship with Stéphane Narcisse. [3][4]
- Revealed to have romantic feelings for Leith Bayard, and soon share their first kiss. [5][6]
- Consummated her relationship with Leith Bayard. [7]
- Briefly engaged, and married to Duke Boinel. However, it was soon annulled because of his domestic abuse. It is later revealed that Catherine bribed Duke Boinel to strike Claude so that Charles would depose of Lord Narcisse and make her regent. [7][8]
- Claude and Leith are unofficially engaged, but cannot be married until Leith rises significantly in station. [8] He does so by saving Queen Catherine and Claude. He then receives Queen Catherine's blessing. [9]
- Believing Leith Bayard dead, agreed to an arranged marriage to Luc Narcisse. [1]
- In the Reign cast note, Claude was described as a 'glorious troublemaker' who lives to make her mother's life a 'living Hell'. [10]
In History
- Princess Claude is named after her paternal grandmother, Claude, Duchess of Brittany.
- Historically she is only 12 years old at the start of Season Two, but in the show was aged to be 15 for the second season.
- She was her mother, Catherine de' Medici's favorite daughter.
- Princess Claude was married to Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, when she was 11, on 19 January 1559.
- Princess Claude actually had 9 children, with two already born by 1565 when she was only 16.
Appearances
| Season Two | ||||||||||
| The Plague | Drawn and Quartered | Coronation | The Lamb and the Slaughter | Blood for Blood | Three Queens | The Prince of the Blood | Terror of the Faithful | Acts of War | Mercy | Getaway |
| Banished | Sins of the Past | The End of Mourning | Forbidden | Tasting Revenge | Tempting Fate | Reversal of Fortune | Abandoned | Fugitive | The Siege | Burn |
| Season Three | ||||||||||
| Three Queens, Two Tigers | Betrothed | Extreme Measures | The Price | In a Clearing | Fight or Flight | The Hound and the Hare | Our Undoing | Wedlock | ||
| Bruises That Lie | Succession | No Way Out | Strange Bedfellows | To The Death | Safe Passage | Clans | Intruders | Spiders in a Jar | ||
| Season Four | ||||||||||
| With Friends Like These | A Grain of Deception | Leaps of Faith | Playing With Fire | Highland Games | Love & Death | Hanging Swords | Uncharted Waters | |||
| Pulling Strings | A Better Man | Dead of Night | The Shakedown | Coup de Grace | A Bride. A Box. A Body. | Blood in the Water | All It Cost Her | |||
Related Pages
Pages related to Princess Claude are the following:
• Princess Claude
• History's Princess Claude
• Princess Claude's Fashion Style
• Princess Claude's Welcome Home Party
• Princess Claude and Lord Luc's Wedding
• Claude and Leith • Claude and Narcisse • Claude and Luc
• Claude and Catherine • Princess Claude's Diary
• Rose Williams
| King: | Charles IX of France | Queen: | Catherine de' Medici (Regent) |  | |
| Heir: | Henry of Valois | Lands: | Kingdom of France | ||
| Title(s): | King of France · King of Poland · King Consort of Scotland · Grand Duke of Lithuania · Duke of Orléans · | ||||
| Deceased Members: | Louis of Valois · Henriette of Valois · Emone of Valois · Henry II of France · Francis II of France | ||||
| Household: | · | ||||