Charlotte des Essarts (1580-1651), was a French noblewoman. She was the

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

in 1607–1609. She had two daughters with the king. She was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

to the queen,

Maria de Medici Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingd ...

. She participated in many political plots at court. She was the daughter of François de Essarts, seigneur de Sautour, an equerry of the king, and his second wife Charlotte de Harlay de Chanvillon. Before coming to the French court, Charlotte des Essarts had been a member of the household of the French ambassador in London, Christophe de Harlay, Count of Beaumont and his wife Anne Rabot. She was a relation of Beaumont.Julia Pardoe, ''The Life of Marie de Medicis, Queen of France, Consort of Henry IV'', vol. 1 (London, 1852), p. 415.

References

* Hugh Noel Williams: Last loves of Henri of Navarre. Hutchinson, London 9xx S. 184–187 {{DEFAULTSORT:Essarts, Charlotte des 1580 births 1651 deaths 17th-century French nobility Mistresses of Henry IV of France French ladies-in-waiting Household of Marie de' Medici