1514. Anne de Bretagne, his wife, died at Blois. François I. lived there during early part of his reign, leaving it later for Chambord and Fontainebleau.
1588. Duc de Guise assassinated on December 23.
1589. Catherine de Medici died a few days after the murder.
After these tragic events the Kings of France disliked the château, and only one Duc d’Orléans, Gaston, brother of Louis XIII., resided there. He formed a sort of provincial court round him, and employed Mansard to build the west wing. After Gaston’s death in 1660 only two Princesses used it—Marie Casimire, widow of Sobieski, King of Poland, and the mother of Stanislas, King of Poland, who died at Blois in 1722. After this the château was abandoned, and even partly mutilated, and the Revolution continued the destruction.
1841. The château was classed as an historical monument, and its restoration has been carried out since that year.
AMBOISE.
An exceedingly picturesque town on the Loire, with its famous château conspicuous above the river.