page_title: Françoise de Brézé
section_title: Court career
hierarchical_section_title: Françoise de Brézé / Life / Court career
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Sedan- Château - Tours jumelles, échauguette et Grosse tour
context_page_description: Françoise de Brézé, Suo jure Countess of Maulévrier, was a French noblewoman and courtier. She served as Première dame d'honneur to Queen Catherine de' Medici from 1547 until 1560 and was the regent of the Principality of Sedan from 1553 to 1559.
context_section_description: Through her mother's high position as King Henry II's mistress, Françoise was appointed Première dame d'honneur to Queen Catherine de' Medici. Despite being her chief attendant was the daughter her husband's mistress, Queen Catherine didn't seem to have been personally disliked Françoise. As Première dame d'honneur, Françoise supervised the female courtiers, was in control the household's budget, ordered necessary purchases, organized the annual accounts and staff list, and introducing those seeking audience with the Queen.
  From 1553, however, she would in practice have been absent from court attending to her duties as regent of Sedan and dame d'atour Madeleine Buonaiuti would have functioned as Première dame d'honneur accordance with court protocol. Françoise lost her office as Première dame d'honneur upon King Henry's death, but when Catherine became regent in 1560, Françoise was given a position as lady-in-waiting in the Queen Mother's household, which she kept until 1570.
caption: The Château de Sedan, seat of the  Princes of Sedan.
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