Quick Facts
Biography
Filippa Duci (French - Philippa Desducs; 1520, Moncalieri, Piedmont - before October 1586, near Tours), dame de Couy, was a French (originally Italian) courtesan. She was the mother of Diane de France.
Life
Her father was Gian Antonio Duci. During the Italian Wars in 1537, the French dauphin Henry (later Henry II of France) stayed with a squire, Filippa's brother, Gian Antonio Duci.Henry was seduced by Filippa on first sight, and she became his mistress. When Henri heard Duci was pregnant, he arranged for her to be maintained until she gave birth.Duci gave birth to their daughter, Diane de France, in Paris in 1538. This proved that Henry was not sterile; he had been married to Catherine de Médicis, yet had still not produced an heir due to urological problems. The baby was named Diane after Henry's love, his mistress Diane de Poitiers, who raised the child along with her own two children.
Francis I of France granted Duci 400 'livres tournois' a year for life in an Ordinaire de Touraine in 1541, and allowed to retire to a convert. She married the Italian gentleman and privy councillor Jean Bernardin de Saint-Severin in 1546. After Diane was legitimized, Filippa was known as dame de Bléré en Touraine. In 1582, she became a lady in waiting to queen dowager Catherine de Médicis.