really in love with each other when Elisabeth was forced to break off her engagement to Carlos and marry his father Philip. In Madame de Lafayette's novella The Princesse de Cleves, Elisabeth of Valois' marriage to Philip II is the occasion for the wedding games at which her father Henri II dies; her role is brief but it substantially affects the novella's narrative arc. Elisabeth of Valois is portrayed by Caoimhe O'Malley (in the pilot) on the CW show, Reign, then later by Anastasia Phillips in the fourth season of the show. Rather than the “plain Jane” of her family the character is portrayed as beautiful and her timid and shy personality is changed to that of one more forceful, cold, insensitive and quite controlling which is driven out of her legitimate desire for her mother's affections. Her name Elisabeth is spelled with an S instead of a Z though in the fourth season she is simply called Leeza as not to be confused with Queen Elizabeth I. In the first episode, Leeza is married to King Philip of Spain, leaves for Spain with her husband without speaking any lines, and isn't physically seen until fourth season of the show. Though not seen until the fourth season, she is mentioned as a possible option for god-mother to her King Francis' (her brother's) son John in the second season. In the third season, her kingdom is chosen as a safe haven for her younger sisters and brothers after a group calling themselves "The Red Knights" threaten revenge on the Valois family. Making her physical return to the show, she is one of the four Queens (Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth I and her mother, regent Queen Catherine) to be featured during the season. During her appearance, she spends time in French court as an envoy of Spain and voice of her husband's wishes as well rival for her mother. Elisabeth of Valois is a major character in The Creation of Eve, a novel by Lynn Cullen based on the history of Sofonisba Anguissola, the first renowned female artist of the Italian Renaissance. In the novel, Sofonisba is the painting tutor and premier lady-in-waiting for young Queen Elisabeth. Notes References Sources |- People from Fontainebleau 1545 births 1568 deaths Elisabeth of Valois Spanish royal consorts Royal consorts of Naples Royal consorts of Sicily Elisabeth of Valois Deaths in childbirth Burials in the Pantheon