Richard Delacroix (died 1557) was a French nobleman who was executed on the orders of King Henry II of France in 1557 after his infidelity with Queen Catherine de Medici was revealed.
Biography[]
Richard Delacroix was a close friend of King Henry II of France during his childhood, and he became a nobleman of the Kingdom of France and one of King Henry's courtiers. After Henry's marriage to Catherine de Medici, Delacroix began an affair with her, producing a child, Clarissa Delacroix. He was later banished from court by Catherine after he was alleged to have called her an "Italian mule", but his banishment was secretly done in order to ensure that Henry would not suspect him of his infidelity. In 1557, he returned to court after discovering that King Henry intended to have Catherine executed for foiling his plans to legitimize his eldest son, Sebastian de Poitiers, and he feigned support for the adultery charges against Catherine (who was accused of sleeping with Nostradamus) so that he could help her regain her freedom. However, King Henry discovered that the child produced during Catherine's infidelity shared the same birthmark on her lip as Richard, and Richard was forced to shave his beard, revealing that they had identical birthmarks. Richard was then sentenced to death for infidelity and was beheaded.