How Agnes Sorel, the most beautiful woman in history, died
Agnès Sorel went down in history not only as the mistress of the French King Charles VII, but also as a woman whose beauty became legendary. She was called "The Most Beautiful of the Beautiful," and this nickname was no exaggeration. But the beauty's fate proved tragic: at the age of just 28, Agnès died suddenly under mysterious circumstances that still spark debate among historians.
Agnès Sorel, mistress of the French King Charles VII, went down in history as one of the most beautiful women of her time. The very king who failed to save Joan of Arc from the stake was madly in love with this girl. Her contemporaries admired her beauty, but for centuries, their words had to be taken at face value.
Everything changed in 2005. The remains of the royal mistress were removed from the tomb and sent for examination. A forensic lab undertook a facial reconstruction based on the skull, and the results exceeded all expectations. It turned out that the marble statue on Agnes's sarcophagus was an exact replica of her real face. And the medieval beauty herself was truly dazzlingly beautiful. But the examination also revealed another secret: the cause of death was mercury poisoning.
Agnes Sorel was born around 1422 (although modern research shifts the date to 1425–1426). She came to court as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabella of Lorraine, mother of King Charles VII.
Legend has it that the king saw her at a reception and was struck by her unearthly beauty. In 1444, Agnes became the official mistress of King Charles VII, an unheard-of event at the time. The couple had three daughters from this relationship, whom their father legitimized and granted them the title of princess. When the girls grew up, he married them to noblemen.
Charles made no secret of his relationship with Agnes and openly appeared with her in public. This was unheard of insolence in the presence of the living queen! This behavior made the young woman many enemies, especially among the clergy.
The clergy were outraged by Agnes's attire, considering it indecent and provocative. And there was indeed cause for outrage.
Agnès Sorel introduced the fashion for plunging necklines. Moreover, she wasn't shy about appearing topless in public, bare-chested—an unthinkable audacity for the Middle Ages! The trains of her dresses, trimmed with sable, reached eight meters in length. The king showered his mistress with pearls and diamonds, which she wore with relish.
Agnes carefully preserved her beauty. Every morning, she applied anti-wrinkle cream and went to bed with a honey mask on her face. She waxed her eyebrows and forehead, visually raising her forehead. She felt her eyes were disproportionately large, and she sought to balance her features with a raised forehead.
Charles's son, Louis, the future King Louis XI of France, hated and openly despised his father's mistress. He believed that because of her, his father mistreated his mother, Marie of Anjou, literally relegating her to the background.
One day, in a fit of rage, Louis nearly killed Agnes. The enraged heir chased her with a sword, threatening to kill her. She escaped, taking refuge in the king's chambers. Following this incident, Charles, enraged, sent his son into exile.
Agnes Sorel died on February 9, 1450, under strange circumstances. Five days before her death, as a result of premature labor, she gave birth to a fourth child, a girl, who died immediately afterward.
On the day of her death, Agnes was visited by the king. After his departure, she felt ill almost immediately. The king's mistress suffered severe stomach pain, then diarrhea. She suffered excruciating pain and died a few hours later.
The official cause of death was listed as puerperal fever—postpartum sepsis, which claimed a huge number of women until the late 19th century. But there was a problem: the symptoms were atypical for this disease. There was no high temperature, no tachycardia, and no other typical signs.
Rumors of poisoning immediately began to circulate. Jacques Coeur, the king's adviser and Agnès's personal executor, was named as the killer, but he had no motive to eliminate the royal favorite. On the contrary, they were on good, even friendly, terms.
Charles VII's son, Louis, was also suspected. Allegedly, he was seeking revenge for the dishonor of his mother, whom Charles had stopped touching after meeting Agnes.
Agnes's sister, Antoinette, was also named as a possible murderer. Three months after her sister's death, she replaced her in the king's bed. A remarkable story, reminiscent of the fate of the Boleyn sisters at the English court.
A toxicology analysis revealed a shocking result: mercury levels in the royal mistress's bones exceeded safe levels by a hundred thousand times! Therefore, poisoning can be considered a proven fact.
The examination revealed that Agnes was infected with roundworms, intestinal worms. Traces of male fern, which has been used as an anthelmintic since ancient times, were found on her body. A cocktail of male fern and mercury salts was used in the Middle Ages to treat helminth infestations. It is likely that Agnes took this medication. Incidentally, such a drug could have triggered premature labor.
Based on the results of the examination, there are three possible versions of the death of the royal favorite.
The first theory is that the pharmacist or doctor made a mistake, prescribing too much medicine. This was not uncommon in the Middle Ages.
The second theory is premeditated murder. Someone deliberately gave Agnes a lethal dose of poison.
The third theory is suicide. The latter, incidentally, is quite likely, given the circumstances of Agnes's life at the time. Her child had just died. She herself was beginning to fall out of favor—the king was gradually losing interest in her. There was a risk that her royal lover would banish her altogether. It's entirely possible that the woman, unable to cope with postpartum depression, decided to end her life.
Experts also uncovered some interesting details about Agnès Sorel's personal life. She had a slightly deviated septum, suggesting she snored. Her skin retained traces of hair removal, confirming that she had plucked her eyebrows and hair.
The remaining tiny particles of skin contain very little melanin. This means Agnes had a light, milky white complexion.
A dental examination confirmed the young age of the beloved at the time of her death. One decayed tooth and the absence of plaque indicate good oral hygiene. A tartar analysis revealed that her diet included both animal and plant foods.
It has been established that Sorel gave birth to three children at the ages of 18, 19, and 20. She died at the age of 25-26, which corrects her date of birth from 1422 to 1425-1426.
For the burial of his beloved, Charles VII commissioned two magnificent marble tombs with sculpted tombstones. The face on the tombstone is an exact replica of Agnès Sorel's death mask. The king outlived Agnès by eleven years, dying in July 1461.
The fate of one of Charles and Agnes's daughters, Charlotte de Valois, was tragic. She died at the hands of her own husband, Jacques de Brézé, who caught her in the arms of his squire and cut her down with his sword.
What do you think really happened to Agnès Sorel—an accident, murder, or suicide? Share your thoughts in the comments!