Fulvie de Randan


Fulvie de Randan, née Pic de Mirandole was a French court official. She served as Première dame d'honneur to the queen of France, Louise of Lorraine, from 1583 until 1601.

Life

Fulvie de Randan was the daughter of Galeotto II Pico della Mirandola. She married Charles de La Rochefoucauld, comte de Randan in 1555.
In 1583, she was appointed to the office of Première dame d'honneur to the new queen of France, Louise of Lorraine. She was given the position in the request of the queen, who was attracted to her piety, but the king found her to be too austere for the royal court, and although he granted the queen's wish, she split the office in two and appointed the more fashionable Louise de Cipierre to share the office with her: when de Cipierre died just two years later, however, de Randan did not have to share the office anymore.
As Première dame d'honneur, she was responsible for the female courtiers, controlling the budget, purchases, annual account and staff list, daily routine and presentations to the queen.
Fulvie de Randan was described as a beauty and a Catholic fanatic, determined to live out her life in an eternal mourning period after she was widowed, and known for her support for the Catholic League during the French Wars of Religion. In 1570, she was known to have supported a marriage between Margaret of Valois and Henry I, Duke of Guise. She was outspoken about her support of the Catholic League, and demonstrated them both during the Catholic uprising in 1585 as well as during the conflict between the king and the Ligue in 1588.
Brantôme described her: