Diane de Poitiers could have-and should have-been Queen of France. King Henri II was devoted to her throughout his life. His childhood attachment turned into an adolescent attraction, and eventually into a passionate and consuming love. His greatest wish was to make her his wife and to have her rule France at his side. However, theirs was a time when royal marriages were arranged for political gain, and Henri´s first duty was to France, he was forced to marry a woman he could never love. Diane de Poitiers was beautiful, wealthy, and well educated. Nineteen years his senior, she was Henri´s ideal woman. Diane and Henri loved each other with a love that was not only romantic and physical, but which also existed on a pure and spiritual level. Henri lavished gifts upon the woman he loved, and Diane guided and inspired him like no other-until they were separated for eternity by a cruel twist of fate. Over five hundred years later, historians credit Diane with the success of Henri´s reign. But who was this woman who won the heart of the King of France? Let her tell you, in her own words...
