History is usually written by the winners, which is why Francis Duke of Anjou often ends up as a footnote or a punchline. Most people only know him as the guy Queen Elizabeth I called her "Frog." It sounds cute, right? Like some weird Tudor-era pet name for a guy she was never going to marry anyway.
But honestly, that’s a massive oversimplification.
Francis was actually a terrifyingly ambitious wildcard who almost flipped the script on the entire 16th century. He wasn’t just a suitor; he was the youngest son of Catherine de’ Medici, a prince of France, and for a hot minute, the sovereign of the Netherlands. He was the man who could have united England and France into a Catholic-Protestant superpower that would have crushed Spain decades before the Armada.
He was also, by almost all accounts, kind of a disaster.
The Prince Born With the Wrong Name
He started life as Hercule. No joke. Born in 1555, he was the fourth son of King Henry II of France. Being the fourth son usually means you’re destined for a quiet life in the church or a minor governorship, but the Valois family had a habit of dying young.
When he was confirmed, he swapped "Hercule" for "Francis" to honor his late brother, King Francis II. It was a bit of a glow-up in terms of branding, but physically, things were rough. Smallpox hit him hard when he was eight. It left his face deeply pitted and scarred. Some contemporaries described his nose as being "split" or deformed.
In a royal court like the Louvre, where image was everything, Francis grew up in the shadow of his handsome, athletic brothers. It’s not hard to see why he became so "ambitious and devious," as the historians at Britannica put it. He had a chip on his shoulder the size of a cathedral.
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The Only Man to Ever Woo the Virgin Queen in Person
This is where the story gets really juicy. By 1579, Elizabeth I was in her 40s. The clock was ticking on an heir. Most of her "marriages" were just diplomatic chess moves that never involved her actually meeting the guy.
Francis Duke of Anjou was different.
He actually showed up. Twice. In 1579 and again in 1581, he crossed the Channel to court her. Despite the age gap—she was 46 and he was 24—and despite his pockmarked face, they hit it off. They were famously flirtatious. Elizabeth gave him the nickname "le Grenouille" (The Frog).
"I would keep her picture by me till the end of my bones," Anjou reportedly wrote to her.
He was charming, witty, and surprisingly tolerant of her Protestantism. But the English public was not having it. They remembered the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. They saw his mother, Catherine de’ Medici, as the "Jezebel of our age."
One lawyer, John Stubbs, wrote a pamphlet so aggressively against the marriage that Elizabeth had his right hand chopped off. That’s how high the stakes were. Even though Elizabeth seemed to genuinely like him—writing the poem "On Monsieur’s Departure" when he finally left—the political pressure was too much. The marriage died on the vine.
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The "French Fury" and the Antwerp Disaster
So, Francis pivoted. If he couldn't be King of England, he’d be the savior of the Netherlands.
The Dutch were in the middle of a brutal revolt against Spain and needed a heavyweight protector. William the Silent invited Francis to become the "Protector of the Liberty of the Netherlands." It sounded great on paper.
In reality? It was a mess.
Francis felt like a puppet. He wanted real power, not just a fancy title and a small allowance. On January 17, 1583, he decided to take it by force. He tried to pull a "Joyous Entry" into Antwerp—essentially a ceremonial parade—but his troops had orders to seize the city once they were inside.
The citizens of Antwerp weren't stupid. They saw it coming.
As the French troops entered, the gates were slammed shut. The citizens opened fire from the windows. It was a slaughter. Nearly his entire army was wiped out in what became known as the French Fury. Francis barely escaped with his life, fleeing back to France in total disgrace.
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A Death That Changed Everything
Francis Duke of Anjou died on June 10, 1584. He was only 29. The cause was likely malaria, though in the 16th century, people just called it "tertian ague."
His death wasn't just a personal tragedy; it was a geopolitical earthquake. Because his older brother, King Henry III, had no children, Francis had been the heir to the French throne. With him gone, the next in line was a Protestant: Henry of Navarre.
This sparked a massive escalation in the French Wars of Religion. If Francis had lived, France might have avoided years of further bloodshed. If he had married Elizabeth, the map of the world would look entirely different today.
What We Can Learn From the "Frog" Prince
Francis teaches us that history isn't just about the great heroes; it's about the "almosts."
- Don't ignore the underdogs: Francis was the "runt of the litter" who nearly became the most powerful man in Europe.
- Charisma beats looks: Despite his scars, he was the only suitor to actually win Elizabeth's personal affection.
- Ambition without strategy is fatal: The Antwerp disaster happened because he chose force over the slow work of building trust.
If you’re ever in Paris, you can find his heart at the Church of Val-de-Grâce. It’s a small reminder of a man who spent his whole life trying to be a giant and ended up a footnote.
To get a better sense of how he looked, you should check out the Valois Tapestries. He’s depicted there in all his late-Renaissance glory, a patron of the arts who couldn't quite master the art of ruling.
Next Steps for History Buffs:
If you want to see the "Frog" for yourself, look up the Clouet portraits of Francis. They don't hide the scars, giving you a raw look at the man who almost stole Elizabeth's heart. You might also want to read The Queen's Frog Prince by David Lee, which dives deep into the actual letters they sent each other. They're surprisingly modern and, honestly, a bit heartbreaking.