Name Filippa Duci | Children Diane de France | |
 | ||
Died October 15, 1586, Tours, France Similar People Henry III of France, Philip III of France, Henry II of France, Henry IV of France, Charles IX of France | ||
Filippa Duci (French - Philippa Desducs; 1520, Moncalieri, Piedmont - before October 1586, near Tours), dame de Couy, was an Italian courtesan.
Life
Her father was Gian Antonio Duci, and, during the Italian Wars, the French dauphin Henry (later Henry II of France) stayed with a squire, Filippa's brother. Henry was seduced by Filippa on first sight, and she became his mistress, giving birth to their daughter Diane de France in Paris in 1538. This proved that Henry was not sterile; he had been married to Catherine de Médicis, yet had still not produced an heir due to urological problems.
Francis I of France granted Duci 400 'livres tournois' a year for life in an Ordinaire de Touraine in 1541. She married the Italian gentleman and privy councillor Jean Bernardin de Saint-Severin. After Diane was legitimised, Filippa was known as dame de Bléré en Touraine. In 1582, she became a lady in waiting to Catherine de Médicis.