Catherine de’ Medicis the other Florentine queen that would leave her mark on France. Catherine and Marie de’ Medicis are often mixed up and we hope we can help you tell the two apart like a pro in no time.
Catherine was born in Florence to Laurent II de Medicis and Madeline de la Tour d’Auvergne on April 15, 1519. Her mother, Madeline would die after giving birth to her and her father died just days later. The newborn Catherine was now the sole heir of the Medicis grand banking fortune. Raised and educated by her aunt, Pope Leo X and Pope Clement VII while many suitors looked to align themselves with the Medicis.
At 14 years old it was decided she would marry the son of French king Francois I, Henri II. Second in line to the throne, the marriage would wipe out the debt France had with the Medicis and provide a large dowry. Francois also had a fascination with all things Italian, including of course Leonardo da Vinci and bringing the Renaissance to France.
On September 1 with Pope Clement she headed to France where they had a grand wedding in Marseilles at the Eglise Saint-Ferréol des Augustins on October 28, 1533. After the lavish party the young 14 year old couple were taken to their royal chambers by his father and remained until the marriage was consummated. Henri even at the age of 14 was in love with another, the older Diane de Poitiers. It would take ten years before the first royal heir was born.
In 1536, the Dauphin and Henri’s older brother Francis died and suddenly Henri was next in line to the throne. Catherine and king Francois I were very close. He loved to talk with her about art, architecture and appreciated her guidance. Henri didn’t share the same relationship with his wife. On March 31, 1547 Francois I died and now Catherine was the queen of France. Henri II kept her out of any state business giving her time to hatch plans against Diane and other members of the court that she didn’t care for.
Henri II and Catherine finally had a child and heir, Francis in 1544 and then quickly more children came. In fifteen years she had ten children. Three would become kings and two queens adding to her power over time that Henri II wouldn’t give her.
Catherine was known to have a long fascination with the dark arts, psychics and astrologers and more than a few people met their end from her hand. She couldn’t get rid of her main rival Diane de Poitiers until June 30, 1559. In a jousting tournament on the Rue Saint Antoine, Henri II was injured in the eye by a splinter from his opponent's lance. While he lay dying of sepsis he called out for Diane, but Catherine would have none of it. She banished Diane from his bedside, court and his funeral. We will have another episode all about the fascinating Diane.
On July 10, 1559 the widowed mother helped her oldest son Francis, now king of France and his bride Mary Queen of Scots by controlling many of the ministers of his court. Five months later Francis would die and her son Charles IX took the throne but at ten years old, Catherine needed to serve as regent, now she finally had the power she thought she so richly deserved.
It was under the reign of Charles IX that one of the bloodiest episodes in Paris occurred, the St Bartholomew Day massacre on 23 August 1572. Just days after the marriage of her daughter Margaret to the Protestant Prince Henri III of Navarre on the 18 August 1572 at Notre-Dame de Paris a horrible choice would be made. Henri, was the son of the Huguenot Jeanne d'Albret and would become King Henri IV of France, first Bourbon king and later marry her distant cousin Marie. Following the assassination of Admiral and Huguenot leader Gaspard Coligny, Catherine and her son King Charles IX was worried that there would be a Huguenot uprising as many of the most prominent leaders were in town still for the royal wedding. During the dark of night just outside the Palais du Louvre, on the 23rd of August Charles IX with the urging of his mother ordered "Kill them, kill them all". It would last weeks and thousands would die in what was one of the worst moments in the French Wars on Religion.
Following the untimely death of her husband King Henri II at the Hotel des Tournelles in 1559 wanting to distance herself from the bad memory she left the palace and had a new one built, just outside the Palais du Louvre, the Palais du Tuileries. Catherine was a big believer in astrology and counted Nostradamus as one of her closest friends. One of her advisors, Como Ruggeri, told her she would die near Saint-Germain. In the midst of building the Palais du Tuileries, near the Eglise Saint Germain l’Auxerrois, she abruptly moved to the Hôtel de Saissons on the right back near Eglise Saint-Eustache.
On the 5th of January 1589 on her deathbed she called for a priest. In the last hours of her life she asked him his name, he whispered, Julien Saint-Germain. She is laid to rest alongside her husband Henri II in not one but two monuments built to them inside the Basilique Saint-Denis, where most of the Royal history of France can be found.
The first tomb depicts Henri II & Catherine in their coronation robes laying on a bed made of bronze with their royal symbols and initials created by French sculptor Germain Pilon. As you stand looking at these amazing marble effigies look straight up and see the very large second tomb.
The day after her husband's death she ordered the large rectangle temple to be built by Francesco Primaticcio. With the help of Germain Pilon the temple would include nude full sculptures of the king and queen laying on a bed. On each corner are bronze allegories guarding them as they lay in their final slumber and on the top are two large bronze statues of the king and queen knelt in prayer. It's stunning to see in person, the entire Basilique Saint-Denis is. Just a short metro ride out of Paris, it’s not to be missed.
After his death Catherine did everything she could to rewrite the story of her marriage. Trying to erase the influence of Diane de Poitiers, but Henri II would leave his own marks behind, those of he and Diane.
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