Claim: Margaret of Valois was the older sister of Charles IX.

Margaret of Valois -LRB- Marguerite , 14 May 1553 -- 27 March 1615 -RRB- was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became queen consort of Navarre and later also of France .   A daughter of King Henry II of France and Catherine de ' Medici , Margaret was the sister of kings Francis II , Charles IX and Henry III , and of Elisabeth of Valois Queen of Spain , as well as Claude of Valois . Charles IX arranged for her to marry a distant cousin , King Henry III of Navarre , and she thus became Queen of Navarre in 1572 . In 1589 , after all her brothers had died leaving no sons , Margaret 's husband , the senior-most agnatic heir to France -LRB- the `` Prince du sang '' -RRB- , succeeded to the French throne as Henry IV , the first Bourbon King of France .   A queen of two kingdoms , Margaret was subjected to many political manipulations , including being held prisoner -LRB- albeit at a comfortable castle -RRB- by her own brother , Henry III of France , for many years . However , her life was anything but passive . She was famous for her beauty and sense of style , notorious for a licentious lifestyle , and also proved a competent memoirist . She was indeed one of the most fashionable women of her time , and influenced many of Europe 's royal courts with her clothing . Margaret took many lovers both during her marriage and after its annulment , of whom the best-known are Joseph Boniface de La Môle , Jacques de Harlay , Seigneur de Champvallon and Louis de Bussy d'Amboise . While imprisoned , she took advantage of the time to write her memoirs , which included a succession of stories relating to the disputes of her brothers Charles IX and Henry III with her husband . The memoirs were published posthumously in 1628 .   Her life has inspired a variety of stories over the centuries , beginning with William Shakespeare 's early comedy Love 's Labour 's Lost , which was in fact written within her lifetime , to Alexandre Dumas , père 's 1845 novel La Reine Margot ; to a 1994 movie La Reine Margot .