Birth of Marie de’ Médici
Born at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy, on the 26th April 1575, Marie was the sixth daughter of Francesco I de’ Médici Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Archduchess Joanna of Austria.
Maria and her only surviving sister Eleonora, spent their childhood at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence under the care of a governess.
The wealth of the Medici family attracted many suitors, in particular the prestigious King Henry IV of France….
The marriage of Henry IV with Marie represented a solution to some financial concerns.
It was said that the French king owed the bride’s father, a whopping 1,174,000 écus
The marriage was the only means Henry could find to pay back his debt.
Marie and King Henry were married in October 1600.
Marie gave birth to their first child, a son and heir, on 27th September 1601.
The boy, named Louis, was automatically the Dauphin of France.
Marie went on to give birth to five more children, three daughters and two more sons.
Although the marriage succeeded in producing children, it was not a happy one.
Marie was of a very jealous temperament, and she refused to accept her husband’s numerous infidelities.
Although the King could have easily banished his mistresses, and support his wife, he never did.
Marie was forced to rub shoulders with his many conquests.
The queen often feuded with Henry’s mistresses, in language that shocked the French courtiers.
In 1610, King Henry was about to depart to fight in the War of Succession.
Marie was given the opportunity of a possible regency for her son Louis XIII, in the absence of the King.
On 14th May, Henry IV was assassinated by François Ravaillac.
Within hours, Marie was confirmed as Regent – which immediately raised suspicions of a conspiracy.
Marie’s first job as Regent of France, was to immediately banish all her late husband’s mistresses. She decided to impose strict protocols from the court of Spain.
The Queen-Regent’s policy caused discontent.
Protestants were worried about the ties of Marie with Catholic Spain, and Marie’s attempts to strengthen her power deeply displeased part of the French nobility.
They saw Marie as responsible for all the wrongs of the kingdom.
Marie, not very bright, stubborn and growing obese, faced a revolt by the princes of the blood and the great nobles of the kingdom.
The queen, too weak to assert her authority, instead consented to ‘pay off’ the discontented princes and nobles.
Despite being legally an adult for more than two years, Louis XIII had little power while his mother controlled everything.
Finally, he asserted his authority, after feeling humiliated by the conduct of his mother.
The young King organised a coup, and had his mother exiled to the Château de Blois, in the Loire Valley.
After two years of virtual imprisonment “in the wilderness” as she put it, on the night of 21–22nd February 1619, the 43-year-old Queen Mother escaped from her prison in Blois.
She used a rope ladder, scaling a wall of 40 m.
She took refuge in the Château d’Angoulême, and provoked an uprising against her son the King.
Aware that he could not avoid the plots against him as long as his mother remained in exile, the King reluctantly accepted her return to court.
Marie continued to attend Royal council meetings, and took against Cardinal Richelieu, who seemed to have a hold over her son.
Over the years, she did not notice the rising power of the Cardinal.
When she was finally aware of the powerful man he had become, she turned on the Cardinal, and sought to obtain his dismissal.
However, the wily Richelieu managed to remain as principal minister, and Marie was forced to reconcile with him.
Angry at the Cardinals triumph over her, Marie ultimately decided to withdraw from court completely.
Marie was in Cologne in June 1642, when she fell ill.
She passed away after a bout of pleurisy on 3rd July 1642, aged 67.
She was still scheming against Richelieu to the end.
It was not until 8th March 1643, that her body was finally laid to rest in France, in the Basilica of St, Denis.
The burial was held without much ceremony, and her heart was sent to La Flèche, in accordance with the wish of Henry IV, who wanted their two hearts to be reunited.
Marie’s son Louis XIII died on 14th May 1643, two months after his mother’s funeral.