Historical Notes

THE SUDDEN DEATH of her husband put into Catherine’s hands the power to rule her adopted country and to control her own life. Catherine was forty years old when her son, the fifteen-year-old dauphin, François, was crowned king. His wife, Mary, Queen of Scots, became the new queen of France. Catherine, then known as Queen Mother, devoted the rest of her long life to the success of her children.

A fascinating story has been told about Catherine, a devoted student of astrology since her girlhood. Soon after her husband’s death, the Queen Mother summoned her astrologer and asked him to predict her future. The astrologer took her into a darkened chamber and showed her a mirror that supposedly had magical powers, explaining that each of her sons would appear, one by one, in the mirror. The number of times the image of each son circled the mirror would indicate the number of years he would reign.

The first to appear was young King François II, whose face was barely visible; the image circled just once. Next came Charles-Maximilien, who circled fourteen times, followed by Édouard-Alexandre, with fifteen turns. Other, threatening faces also appeared, including the face of the heir to the throne if Henri and Catherine’s line were to die out. It was surely not the future she hoped for.

In fact, King François II reigned just sixteen months. He died in 1560 at the age of sixteen, and was succeeded by his younger brother, ten-year-old Charles-Maximilien. Catherine, proclaimed Governor of the Kingdom, ruled as his regent. King Charles IX, as he was known when he was old enough to rule in his own right, died in 1574, having been king for fourteen years. He was succeeded by his brother, Édouard-Alexandre, who ruled as Henri III for fifteen years—just as the mirror had foretold. Until the end of her life, the power behind the throne was the Queen Mother, Catherine.

BUT HISTORY HAS never been kind to Catherine de Médicis, as she was known in France.

Detractors remember her dark side, the cruel and manipulative Madame Serpent rumored to resort to black magic as well as daggers and poison to dispense with her enemies. She has been blamed for one of France’s bloodiest events, the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, in which Catholic mobs attacked and murdered French Protestants over a period of months. Thousands died.

Nevertheless, admirers of strong, independent women regard Catherine de’ Medici as a fascinating study of intelligence, strength of purpose, and dedication to her children. Perhaps her greatest fault was her blind devotion to three sons, sickly, weak, and corrupt, and her determination to keep them in power.

But it’s the human side of Duchessina, the Little Duchess who became the queen of France, that captivates: the “poor little rich girl” who learned to use her cleverness and charm to make the best of a bad situation. Although her name produces involuntary shudders among those familiar with her later years, it’s hard not to be enchanted by stories (no one knows the degree of accuracy) of how she brought Italian influences to the French court—everything from painting and poetry, to cuisine and eating customs, to sidesaddles and high-heeled shoes. It was Caterina/Catherine, it seems, who took French culture and made it shine.

Catherine, queen of France, died on the fifth of January 1589, at the age of sixty-nine.