The Royal House of Valois (Valois is a region north of Paris). Its emblem, the famous fleur-de-lys, was inherited from the preceding dynasty, The Royal House of Capet.

It’s not too fanciful to say that Marguerite of Angoulème, who grew up in Château Amboise, unwittingly helped kickstart the English Reformation. Neither is it too fanciful to say that Anne Boleyn who arrived at Château Amboise when she was fourteen, was the conduit.

On 19 June 1974, Mona Lisa left the National Museum of Tokyo where she had been for seven weeks. After suffering the indignity of being sprayed with paint, was she about to return to the safety and security of her home in the Louvre Paris? No.

What does it take to winkle the Mona Lisa out of the Louvre in Paris?

In 1961, when the newly elected American President John F. Kennedy made an official visit to Paris, he didn’t impress French President Charles de Gaulle but Jackie (née Bouvier) America’s First Lady certainly impressed André Malraux, French minister of cultural affairs.

It was an honour and privilege to gaze upon you. A mini-miracle in fact. Considering this is the only painting by Leonardo the Vatican owns (the Louvre has five) it’s a wonder it was let out of sight.

Hitler’s invasion of Europe gave him, Goering, Goebbels, Ribbentrop et al Carte Blanche to plunder priceless works of art.

On 25 August 1939 the Louvre in Paris closed its doors for three days to crate up its collection. It was so secret, the government was not told.

Until 1911, when the portrait of Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in Paris, very few knew anything about it.