Françoise de Maridort

Françoise de Maridor (c. 1558 - 29 September 1620) was a French courtier and a lady in waiting to Catherine de Medici.

She was born at the Château de la Freslonnière around 1558, the daughter of Olivier de Maridor, lord of Vaux-en-Belin, Saint-Ouen, La Freslonnière, and Château-Sénéchal and Anne daughter of Jacques I er Goyon de Matignon. During her first marriage in 1574, she married Jean de Coësmes, lord of Lucé, one of the richest lords of Sarthe . He died facing the Huguenots, during the siege of Lusignan in December 1574 or January 1575.

Widowed, she was courted by Charles de La Rochefoucauld - Randan (nephew of François III de La Rochefoucauld ) and Jean III or II de Beaumanoir - Lavardin, who end up fighting for her (in May 1575, Beaumanoir kills Randan in a duel and took refuge with Henri de Navarre in Gascony). She finally remarried on January 10, 1576, with Charles de Chambes, Count de Montsoreau, Chambellan and Grand-hunter of the Duke of Alençon and of Anjou.

She had four daughters and two sons:

René de Chambes (around 1587–1649) Charles de Chambes (1594-1640) Marguerite de Chambes (circa 1590–1634) Françoise de Chambes Françoise de Chambes Suzanne de Chambes (1600-1625)

La Dame de Monsoreau In the novel La Dame de Monsoreau by Alexandre Dumas, she was renamed "Diane de Méridor".