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40 Facts About the Borgias, One of History’s More Scandalous Dynasties

Tim Flight October 27, 2019 26 min

Jeremy Irons - The Borgias — Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI in the TV series, The Borgias. The Hollywood Review

22. On his wedding night, Cesare allegedly took a laxative rather than an aphrodisiac by accident

16th-century tomb of Charlotte of Albret, Cesare’s wife, at La Motte-Feuilly. Archives36

The bride promised by the King of France was Charlotte of Albret (1480-1514), the King of Navarre’s French sister. The wedding was glorious as fitting such an alliance, but things otherwise didn’t get off to a good start. Court gossips reported that on their wedding night, Cesare asked an apothecary for an aphrodisiac to consummate his marriage. Somehow or other, Cesare was given a powerful laxative, and ‘never ceased going to the privy the whole night’. This was a sign of things to come, for the couple only managed to produce one daughter, Louise Borgia.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk