Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (Italian: Caterina de Medici, pronounced [kateˈriːna de ˈmɛːditʃi]; French: Catherine de Médicis, pronounced: [katʁin də medisis]; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589), was the wife of Henry II of France.
| Catherine de' Medici | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portrait attributed to François Clouet, c. 1555 | |||||
| Queen consort of France | |||||
| 31 March 1547 – 10 July 1559 | |||||
| 10 June 1549 | |||||
| Born | 13 April 1519 Florence, Republic of Florence | ||||
| Died | 5 January 1589 (aged 69) Château de Blois, Kingdom of France | ||||
| Burial | Saint-Sauveur, Blois. Reburied at Saint-Denis in 1610. | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
| |||||
| House | Medici | ||||
| Father | Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino | ||||
| Mother | Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne | ||||
Catherine was the daughter of Lorenzo II de' Medici. She was born in Florence, Italy. She was born Caterina Maria Romula de' Medici.
Catherine was married to Henry II of France when she was 14 years old. Their children were:
- Francis II of France
- Elizabeth of Valois
- Charles IX of France
- Henry III of France
- Margaret of Valois
Catherine is buried in the Saint Denis Basilica.
Catherine De' Medici Media
Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, Pope Clement VII, by Sebastiano del Piombo, c.1531. Clement called Catherine's betrothal to Henry of Orléans "the greatest match in the world".
Catherine and Henry's marriage, painted seventeen years after the event
Henry, Duke of Orléans, by Corneille de Lyon. During his childhood, Henry spent almost four and a half years as a hostage in Spain, an ordeal that marked him for life, leaving him introverted and gloomy.
Catherine de' Medici (age 30s), as Queen consort of France (1550s). Portrait at the Uffizi Gallery. As Catherine approached 40 years of age, a Venetian envoy essayed his impression: "Her mouth is too large and her eyes too prominent and colourless for beauty [...] but a very distinguished-looking woman, with a shapely figure, a beautiful skin and exquisitely shaped hands."
Brazilian ball for Henry II in Rouen October 1 1550
Francis II of France, by François Clouet, 1560. Francis found the crown so heavy at his coronation that four nobles had to hold it in place as he walked up the steps to his throne.
Charles IX of France, after François Clouet, c. 1565. The Venetian ambassador Giovanni Michiel described Charles as "an admirable child, with fine eyes, gracious movements, though he is not robust. He favours physical exercise that is too violent for his health, for he suffers from shortness of breath".
Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, by François Clouet, 1570. She wrote to her son, Henry, in 1572: "All she [Catherine] does is mock me, and afterwards tells others exactly the opposite of what I have said ... she denies everything, laughing in my face ... she treats me so shamefully that the patience I manage to maintain surpasses that of Griselda".
Henry, Duke of Anjou, by Jean de Court, c. 1573. As Henry III, he often showed more interest in pious devotions than in government.
