The Wawel manor was rather traditional. Of course, Polish kings had lovers and did all sorts of indecency, but it all didn't matter when he entered the scene - in pantyhose, with full make-up and an earring in his ear. To make matters worse, the man who was to rule the Commonwealth from now on, was surrounded by a garland of men ... disguised as women. But was it really a sign of his preferences in bed?
When in 1572 Sigismund II Augustus died, leaving no heir, the game of thrones began on the Vistula River. The stakes were high - in the mid-16th century, Poland was the most powerful country in eastern Europe. The Austrian Habsburgs and the French Valois who had been fighting for decades to dominate the rest of the continent were in the competition.
The last ruler of the Jagiellonian dynasty made efforts to ensure that the crown passed into the hands of the French while he was still alive. Three years before his death, the Polish envoy even managed to establish direct negotiations in Rome with the French court. This option was also supported by ... the prophecy of Nostradamus who told Catherine de Medici (the mother of Henry de Valois) that all her children would wear crowns and that France would build a power in the east. In the end, however, the election would decide who would take power.
Henry in 1570
The nobility conducted a vote and on May 11, 1573, the primate of Poland, Jakub Uchański, proclaimed Henryk Walesa king. The choice turned out to be not quite right. And certainly - extremely controversial.
Does the dress make a man?
The monarch's move to Krakow in January 1574 turned out to be a collision of two - completely different - worlds. The enlightened Frenchman was unable to find himself in a culturally alien Sarmatian reality. To make matters worse, he did not know the Polish language, so his political activity was very limited. In fact, it is hardly surprising that in order to shirk his royal duties, he happened to ... simulate an illness.
The royal interest in fashion aroused a lot of controversy among the Polish nobility
However, this was not the salt in the eye of our nobility. What tasted the mustachioed gentlemen from the Vistula River the most was Waleze's passionate love for fashion novelties. The king attached great importance to his appearance - he carefully curled his hair, selected outfits and - horrifyingly - jewelry for hours! In addition, he brought real painted birds to the court. Prof. Maciej Serwański says:
Walezy brought to Wawel French courtiers, those famous mignons [fr. les mignons], men dressed like women, royal favorites, though a better word would be "royal beauties".
Rumors of Valois' homosexual tendencies appeared immediately after the king's arrival at the court. And it was impossible to silence them, even in spite of Henry's not very well-hidden romance with Maria de Cleves, for whom he reportedly cried after his hasty "evacuation from Poland" in June 1574.
Sodom and Gomorrah on the Polish throne
The outraged noblemen did not pay attention to the fact that Valse's "beauties" are in fact perfectly trained "bodyguards" who wield great weapons and are able to defend their ruler against potential assassins. Somehow this fact escaped them in the face of controversial habits of newcomers from distant France. Prof. Maciej Serwański comments:
Let's imagine a ball in the gardens of Zwierzyniec near Wawel and mignons dancing voltas with their ladies, because apart from boys, Henryk also brought a group of girls from Paris. La volta, which originated in Italy, relied on, inter alia, on the fact that the dancers shot quick pirouettes, tightly hugging ladies in very flared dresses.
And when they whirled, they went up, even flew. (...) At that time, the panties had not spread yet, so when Princess Anna Jagiellon was looking at it, then ... Sodom and Gomorrah!
Henryk Walezy and Ludwika Lotaryńska
Besides, it was not only the sixteenth-century Sarmatians who were fooled. In the following centuries, many researchers hypothesized that Henryk Walezy preferred male companionship over a woman's womb in the bedroom. Not quite right. As emphasized by prof. Serwański:"It is known that he enjoyed dressing up in women's clothes, so French historians often refer to Henry as" heterosexual with transvestism ".
It is also possible that the ruler was simply bisexual. He was certainly not immune to women's charms - already in France, his mignons became famous for their forays into the streets of Paris, during which they kidnapped prostitutes and took them to their master. The sources also mention beautiful ladies at his side (and in the king's bed).
Henryk, however, was not able to prove to the Poles that - firstly - he was not a homosexual, and secondly - that he was fit to be king. He lasted only six months in the "position", then he folded his bags (including a set of cutlery) and secretly returned to his homeland. Paradoxically, in France he is considered one of the greatest monarchs in history. Well, as you can see, everything is relative…
Source:
The text is based on the book by Mirosław Maciorowski and Beata Maciejewski, Ruler of Poland. A story told anew, Agora 2018.