Isabelle de Limeuil

Who is Isabelle de Limeuil?

Isabelle de la Tour, Lady of Limeuil was a French noblewoman and a Maid of Honour to the Queen Mother Catherine de' Medici. She also formed part of Catherine's notorious "flying squadron", a group of beautiful female spies she used for the purpose of forming sexual liaisons with various powerful men at the French court thereby extracting information which would then be passed on to her. In about 1562 at Catherine's instigation, she became the mistress of Louis, Prince of Condé, brother of King Antoine of Navarre and one of the leading Huguenots in France. Two years later when Isabelle created a scandal by giving birth to his son whilst the court was on a royal progress, she was banished to a convent.

She later married wealthy Tuscan banker Scipion Sardini, a favoured protégé of Catherine de' Medici.