No, I didn’t select the wrong picture… because Anne was a man!

In those days, the first name Anne didn’t bear a gender distinction and could be used for both sexes (a little weird, I admit). He was thus named in honor of his godmother, queen Anne de Bretagne.

Born in Chantilly, he spent his teenage years with François d'Angoulême (who was later to become king Francis I at the age of 20, Anne was 21). Since he was Francis’s buddy, he became one of the most influential men in the kingdom… until he was 48 years old and had an argument with the king’s official favorite (i.e. mistress) at the time, Anne de Pisseleu (not a very elegant name) who managed to have him banished from the Court for 6 years. His exile ended with the death of Francis I on March 31, 1547 (on the day of his son Henri’s 28th birthday). As soon as Henri ruled (as Henri II), he made Anne de Montmorency very powerful again… not only because he saw Anne as an uncle and a second father, but also because Henri’s mistress, the famous Diane de Poitiers, had always been Anne de Pisseleu’s fiercest enemy; Henri was more than happy to re-establish someone who had suffered from her.

(1493-1567)