Children of Catherine de Medici and Heinrich Valois. Lady of the old days

In the history of Europe, the time of Catherine de Medici was one of the most brutal. Throughout Europe, the fires of the Inquisition burned, famine and plague raged, endless wars broke out. The Church split into Catholics and Protestants at war with each other. In Italy, invasions by foreigners were added to civil unrest. In Florence, the rule of the Medici family fell.

With the support of Rome, Lorenzo Medici returned to power in 1513. After 1.5 years, Giovanni Medici was elected Pope, who in 1518 married 26-year-old Lorenzo to 16-year-old Madeleine de la Tour, niece of Francis I of France. Madeleine gave birth to a girl, who was named Catherine, and she herself died of fever 15 days later. A week later, Lorenzo went to the other world.

Catherine was brought up by her aunt, Clarissa Strozzi. In 1527, Italy was captured by the German emperor Charles. Ekaterina was taken hostage at the age of 9. With great difficulty, Catherine was taken out of the city, she was hidden in a monastery, then sent to Rome, where Pope Clement VII took the girl under his care.

In October 1533, Clement married 14-year-old Catherine to the 14-year-old heir to the French throne, Prince Henry, giving a generous dowry for the bride. In Paris, Henry spent considerable time with Diane de Poitiers, who from the age of 12 was engaged in the education of the prince and won him over with her extraordinary mastery of the art of love.

In order not to be bored alone, Catherine, on a par with men, entertained herself by hunting wild boars and deer. After 9 years of marriage, Catherine became pregnant, and has given birth to children every year since then. But only 4 sons and 3 daughters survived. All this time, Catherine had to endure her husband's mistress, Diane de Poitiers.

In 1547, Francis I died and Henry II took his place on the throne. Catherine was proclaimed queen, but this did not add power to her. Heinrich spent a lot of money on endless wars and his mistress. In 1559, the war between France and Spain ended. 14-year-old Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Catherine, was married to the Spanish king Philip II. On this occasion, a knightly tournament was held in Paris, in which Heinrich took part. On July 9, in a duel with the captain of the Scottish Guards, Gabriel de Montgomery, the king was wounded by a Scotsman's spear, the tip of which pierced Henry's left eye. The king passed away a few days later. 15-year-old Francis, the son of Catherine, was declared monarch, who died a year later, and the throne went to the young Charles IX. But France was ruled by Catherine, who was appointed regent. Religious schism threatened to tear the country apart.

At this time, Catherine appeared in the form of a strict but fair ruler before her subjects. She sent Diana de Poitiers into exile, the fires of the Inquisition were extinguished by her order. But she preferred to deal with enemies with the help of poison. Catherine listened to the advice of astrologers and believed in omens, loved to have fun and eat deliciously. After the death of her husband, she began to wear black clothes, for which she was popularly called the "Black Queen".

In 1565, Catherine, accompanied by King Charles and courtiers, set off to travel across France. A new war was brewing, and in order to prevent it, Catherine decided to marry her 19-year-old daughter Margarita to the Protestant Henry of Navarre. The wedding took place in August 1572 in Paris. Conflicts between the Huguenots and Catholics immediately began. On the day of St. Bartholomew, a 3-day massacre began, which claimed 2500 lives. There was complete discord in the royal family; by 1576, of the children of Catherine, only Henry and the depraved Margarita remained alive, whom their mother imprisoned in the castle of Ussel.

In 1588, the royal family fled the city to Blois. De Guise actually threatened their throne, but was killed, and his supporters announced the non-recognition of the Valois dynasty. But Catherine could no longer do anything - on January 5, 1589, Catherine de Medici died.

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EKATERINA MEDICHI

"EKATERINA MEDICHI"

French queen since 1547, wife of Henry II. To a large extent, she determined state policy during the reign of her sons: Francis II (1559-1560), Charles IX (1560-1574), Henry III (1574-1589). One of the organizers of St. Bartholomew's Night.

Whole volumes have been written about the history of the Medici family, but perhaps the most famous representative of this family was the daughter of the Duke of Urbino Lorenzo II - Catherine, who was destined to climb the ladder of social success above all in her family. For almost thirty years she ruled the most influential country in Europe in the 16th century, major events in history are associated with her name, but her female personal fate turned out to be extremely gloomy and meaningless.

From the very birth, Catherine was unlucky, she was left a complete orphan, and the Medici family used the baby as a hostage in the struggle for power in Florence. At the age of nine, she ended up in a monastery, and the republicans besieged in the city offered to put the girl on the fortress wall under the continuous fire of her relatives' cannons. Fortunately for the girl, her dad intervened and demanded not to touch the innocent child. However, the defeated townspeople finally gave little Catherine to the soldiers so that they could have fun with the heiress of the great family.

Her grandfather, who at that time occupied the papal throne in Rome, Clement VII, undertook to heal the consequences of mental trauma. This was probably the happiest and most carefree time for Catherine. Finally, she got a real home, lived in peace, took care of her and even loved her in her own way. For Clement VII, the granddaughter represented a major trump card in the political game. A lively, sociable girl, with bright expressive eyes, short, thin, with beautiful miniature legs, from a wealthy and noble family, Catherine became the most noticeable bride in Europe, and dad also tried, as they say, to arrange a "PR" for his granddaughter.

"EKATERINA MEDICHI"

She rarely appeared in the world, her beauty was already legendary in secular circles. Dad, however, thoughtfully played solitaire from suitable suitors.

The Medici herself, apparently, early began to understand that they wanted to sell her more profitably, and was hardly against such a deal. A difficult childhood taught her a cold calculation, distrust of others and secrecy. Many who knew Catherine in the papal palace noted in the girl's eyes a sharp, painful mind and metallic coldness. Many years later, upon learning of the death of Catherine, the famous French historian Jacques Augustin de Tu exclaimed: "No, it was not a woman who died, the royal power died."

In 1533, the wedding of the Medici and Henry of Orleans, son of the French king, took place at last. The young were fourteen years old. As soon as the wedding fanfare died down, the windy husband was carried away in earnest by his wife's cousin, Diana de Poitiers, who was twenty years older than him. All twenty years, while Henry reigned, at the French court, the unchanging Diana remained the favorite, and for twenty years Catherine was forced to endure the intrigues of her rival and be silent. The first years of marriage were especially hard for the queen. The couple had no children for ten years. And the absence of heirs made Catherine to some extent the semi-legal wife of the king, because the threat of divorce constantly hung over her.

The official version in history is known: allegedly Heinrich had some pathology, then agreed to the operation, and after almost eleven years of tense expectation, the children fell as if from a cornucopia. Catherine gave birth, not a lot, not a little, ten sons and daughters. Some historians in Henry's "miraculous healing" see a common female deception and even try to provide evidence. But as it really was, we probably will never know.

At first glance, the meek, affable Catherine did little to interfere in the life of the court.

"EKATERINA MEDICHI"

However, in the head of this pretty woman the most ambitious plans were crowded. She understood that Henry, completely devoid of ambition, absorbed in love for Diana, would not fight for the throne, while the eldest son Francis was in excellent health and was going to live a long time.

The historical annals of the French court, of course, are silent about the real culprits of subsequent events, but the facts are such that on a hot August day, the prince drank a glass of ice water and died immediately. Nobody denied the poisoning, but it was not possible to establish the true culprits of the murder. It is clear that most of all the death of Francis was beneficial to the Medici family, and this family knew a lot about poisons. However, Catherine's behavior at court did not give the slightest cause for suspicion.

By the time of the coronation of Henry, Catherine was about forty. She was already a mature lady who understood a lot about the intrigues of the court, but the throne did not increase her power. The omnipotent Diana still ruled her husband's heart. Occasionally, Catherine won small victories over her rival: she tried to compromise her in the eyes of the king, looked for her replacement - after all, the favorite was already sixty years old, but Medici still remained on the margins of the main political struggle. She could only observe, and she did not have the strength to interfere.

I must say that Catherine's active nature was manifested in the fact that the queen gathered at the court all the color of European art. She willingly patronized talents and favored beginners. She was also fond of astrology. It was Catherine who invited the famous Nostradamus to the palace, who, according to legend, predicted the accidental death of the king:

The young lion will defeat the old

In a strange duel in the battlefield

He will pierce his eye through a golden cage.

One becomes two, then it dies

Painful death.

Henry's death was indeed ridiculous.

"EKATERINA MEDICHI"

In a knightly duel with the Earl of Montgomery, an infuriated young rival struck Henry a strong blow to the head. The king defended himself with a spear, the shaft could not stand it, split into several splinters, and one of them flew into the right eye hole of the helmet. On the tenth day, in terrible suffering, Henry died. So, thanks to a tragic accident, Catherine received the coveted power.

Formally, her son, sixteen-year-old Francis II, ascended the throne, but in fact, Catherine was faced with the fact that everything in the kingdom was ruled by the Giz family, who, thanks to Diana, seized all the key posts. With her grief-stricken rival, Catherine acted graciously - again, it was not an offended woman who spoke in the queen, but a prudent sovereign. Why fight an old woman no longer needed? But the Gizams had to fight.

She found herself an ally in the person of her faithful friend Francois Vandome, whom she sincerely fell in love with, but the honest, independent Wandome lost the war with Guise. On pain of death, Catherine was forced to first send an ally to the Bastille, and then to the next world. For her, there was a special code of honor - only the winner is right, and for the sake of power, she was always ready to sacrifice anyone and anything.

The queen's position was further complicated by the fact that her reign coincided with the aggravation of the religious confrontation between Protestants and Catholics. On the one hand, Catherine, who grew up in the papal palace, favored, of course, Catholics, but the influence of the Gues could be reduced only by supporting the Protestants. She immediately adopted the tactics of maneuvering and pitting one against the other. In an atmosphere of fierce bickering, she gradually strengthened her power.

In the meantime, Francis II died, but the queen did not threaten his death - she sufficiently gave birth to sons to the French throne. The throne was occupied by the ten-year-old Charles IX. Catherine forced the newly-made king to write a letter to parliament, in which he asked his mother to take over the affairs of the kingdom.

"EKATERINA MEDICHI"

So she became the sole ruler of France.

The name of Catherine de Medici is closely related to the bloody event - the massacre of the Huguenots, known in history as St. Bartholomew's Night. Catherine's ambivalent policy led to the fact that she began to lose the threads of control over what was happening. Deciding to marry her daughter Margaret for the Protestant King of Navarre, Catherine thought that in this way she was undermining the strength of her worst opponents, the Gizov. However, weaving intrigues, she herself fell into a trap, not noticing how the heart of young Karl was captured by an ardent Huguenot Coligny. With the persistence of a maniac, he persuaded the boy to declare war on Spain, and most importantly, he was not afraid to openly threaten the queen. This Catherine could not tolerate.

She summoned the Guesses and allowed them to turn their swords against the Huguenots, which the Catholics had been striving for for a long time. A few days after the wedding of Margaret of Valois and Henry of Navarre on the night of St. Bartholomew, the famous bloody massacre took place. Apparently, in the depths of her soul, Catherine, as a cunning and cunning politician, hoped that the leaders of both camps would cut each other, but the Catholics turned out to be more energetic, more united. On the night of 23-24 August 1572, 2,000 Huguenots died in Paris alone. Admiral Coligny was mortally wounded and soon died.

St. Bartholomew's Night brought Catherine unexpected political dividends. She was greeted by the Spanish king, and Pope Gregory XIII ordered to illuminate Rome, knocked out a medal in honor of the great event and sent congratulations to the "most Christian king and his mother" in Paris.

But Catherine's joy was short-lived. Suddenly, the king revolted against her policy. He openly accused his mother and brother of the massacre, and in his words, albeit clumsily, there was a threat. Catherine tried to influence Karl with affection, coercion, persuasion, but everything was in vain. Karl's dislike for the cruel mother grew every day.

Catherine began to understand that she was no longer needed, and this strong, imperious woman could not allow. She gritted her teeth in pain and made a decision. A week later, Karl felt unwell, went to bed, and had to call a priest.

The French crown passed to Catherine's third son, Henry of Anjou. The Medici queen was still holding the reins tightly in her hands. However, the new monarch brought only grief to the mother. Contrary to the wishes of Catherine, he decisively refused to marry the English Queen Elizabeth and married Louise of Lorraine, daughter of Count Vaudemont from the house of the hated Guise. But the wedding was only a cover for Henry, he did not need female affection, which means he could not give birth to heirs. The aged Catherine was seriously frightened by this circumstance.

A new stage of the struggle between Protestants and Catholics was brewing in the kingdom. Overcoming illness and fatigue, Catherine was preparing for a new battle when news came that the youngest son of the Valois family, Francis, Duke of Alencon and Brabant, had died. It was a terrible and final blow to the queen. Margarita lived separately from her husband and had no children from the hated Henry of Navarre.

Fate treated Catherine de Medici cruelly, as if in revenge for her insatiable lust for power. She gave birth to ten children, but despite this, the dynasty of the French kings of Valois ended on her. She seemed to have become a curse of this kind, having brought ambition to Moloch both her life and the life of her children.

Henry III did not even bother to bury his mother with dignity. Her body was thrown into a common grave with beggars and vagrants. Heinrich himself died a few months later.

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Catherine and Heinrich had 10 children, of which 4 boys and 3 girls survived. Of all Catherine's 10 children, only Margarita lived a long enough life - 62 years. Henry did not live up to 40, and the rest of the children did not even live up to 30.

Francis II (January 19, 1544 - December 5, 1560)
Elizabeth of Valois (April 2, 1545 - October 3, 1568)
Claude Valois (12 November 1547 - 21 February 1575)
Louis III of Orleans (February 3, 1549 - October 24, 1550)
Charles IX (June 27, 1550 - May 30, 1574)
Henry III (September 19, 1551 - August 2, 1589)
Marguerite de Valois (May 14, 1553 - March 27, 1615)
Hercule François de Valois (18 March 1555 - 10 June 1584)
Victoria de Valois (24 June 1556 - August 1556)
Jeanne de Valois (24 June 1556)

But the Valois dynasty ended, as the children of Catherine left no heirs behind.

3 sons of Henry II and Catherine de Medici were kings of France

Francis II - King Consort of Scotland since April 24, 1558, King of France since 1559.

Charles IX - King of France since 1560. His mother was regent with him until 17 August 1563.

Henry III - King of Poland from 1573-1574 and King of France from 1574. The last king of France from the Valois dynasty.

One of her daughters Elizabeth, became the third wife of the Spanish king Philip II, and after the death of Charles IX, another son of Catherine, Henry III, the former Polish king, ascended the French throne. The children of Catherine, who did not leave behind their legal heirs, were the last French kings from the Valois dynasty.

Jeanne de Valouxa and Victoria de Valois- French princesses - twins, were the last children of King Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici. Jeanne de Valois died without being born and lying in the womb dead for several hours. The surgeons had to break the girl's legs to get her out of the womb. Victoria de Valois outlived her sister by a little more than a month. In connection with these childbirth, which was very difficult and almost caused the death of Catherine de Medici, the doctors advised the royal couple to no longer think about the birth of new children; after this advice, Henry stopped visiting his wife's bedroom, spending all his free time with his favorite Diane de Poitiers.

Catherine de Medici, future queen of France. Born in Florence, April 13, 1519. The parent, Duke of Urbino, Catherine was a nobleman of relatively low birth. However, the connections of the mother, Countess of Auvernsky, contributed to the future marriage to the king. Soon after the birth of their daughter, the parents die six days apart. King Francis I of France tried to take the girl to him, but the Pope had his own far-reaching plans. The girl remained in the care of her grandmother, Alfonsina Orsin. In 1520, after the death of her grandmother, the girl is taken by her aunt, Clarissa Strozzi. The girl grew up in the same family, with her aunt's daughters and sons. The relationship between the children was good, Catherine did not feel any deprivation. After the death of Leo X in 1521, political events made Catherine a hostage. She spent eight whole years in this status. In 1529, after the surrender of Florence to King Charles V, the girl gained freedom. The new Pope Clement was expecting his niece in Rome. After her arrival, the search for a suitable party began. A large number of candidates were considered. After the proposal of King Francis I, the choice was made. This marriage suited everyone.
The 14-year-old girl became the future companion of Prince Henry. Catherine did not stand out for her beauty, the usual appearance of an ordinary girl at the age of 14. Seeking help from one of the most famous craftsmen, she acquired high-heeled shoes and managed to impress the French court. The wedding celebrations, which began on October 28 in 1533 in Marseille, lasted 34 days. After the death of Clement VII, Catherine's position deteriorated sharply. The new pope refused to pay the dowry. Florentine education was not versatile. The language that was not native to the girl also brought a lot of grief. Catherine was left alone, the courtiers showed her all sorts of hostility.
Suddenly, the heir to the French throne, Dauphin Francis, dies, and Catherine's husband becomes heir apparent. The future queen has new concerns. With this event, conjectures about "Catherine the Poisoner" begin.
The appearance of an illegitimate son of the king proved Catherine's sterility. The future queen underwent all kinds of treatment, wishing to become pregnant. In 1544, a son was born into the family. The child was given the name Francis, in honor of the grandfather, the king on the throne. The first pregnancy completely solved the problem of infertility. Several more children appeared in the family. Catherine's position at court became stronger. After an unsuccessful birth in 1556, doctors recommended that the couple stop. Heinrich lost interest in his wife and spent all his time with his favorite.
On March 31, 1547, in connection with the death of his father, King Francis I, royal power passes to his son, Henry II. Henry's wife turns into a queen. The king limited his wife's ability to participate in government and her influence was minimal.
In the summer of 1559, the king has an accident at a knightly tournament. A sliver from a broken spear pierced the eye socket through the viewing slit in the helmet and damaged the brain tissue. Doctors tried to save the king, Catherine did not leave the room where the king was. Soon the king stopped seeing and talking. In 1559, on July 19, Henry died. From that time until her death, Catherine wore black clothes as a sign of mourning.
Her son, Francis II, ascended the throne of France at the age of 15. Catherine had to delve into the affairs of the state. Lack of experience often led Catherine to the wrong decisions. Because of her naivety, she could not appreciate the depth of the problems.
The reign of the new king lasted for about two years. Francis II died of an infectious disease. The position of king passed to his 10-year-old brother, Charles IX. This child, even reaching adulthood, was unable to govern the state, and did not show any desire. The tuberculosis disease drove him to the grave. On the conscience of Catherine lies the bloodiest event of those times - St. Bartholomew's Night. There is no doubt that, by her decision, Charles IX gave the order to kill the Huguenots. Catherine de Medici died in 1589, January 5. The diagnosis is lung disease. Buried in Blois, Paris was captured by the enemies.

Ambitious, cunning and superstitious, like all Italians, Catherine de Medici, the wife of the French king Henry II, for twenty-eight years ruled the fate of her second fatherland with the help of all sorts of intrigues and intrigues that, in her opinion, should raise the prestige of the House of Valois, at the end of her life she was forced to be convinced of the futility of her efforts and the complete destruction of hopes.

Narrow egoism, cruelty and indiscriminate choice of means in order to get rid of their political opponents, constant hesitation in matters of religion, shaken by the Reformation, which entailed the terrible "St. Bartholomew's Night", betrayed her name to eternal shame.

Catherine, the daughter of Pope Leo X's nephew Lorenzo II Medici, Duke of Urban and Florentine, and Madlaina de la Tour, Countess of Boulogne, was born in Florence on April 15, 1519. A few days after her birth, first the mother and then the father departed to a better world. Catherine's childhood, which coincided with the turbulent years of the political life of Florence, was surrounded by all kinds of dangers. Having ascended the papal throne in 1523 after the death of Hadrian VI, Cardinal Giulio Medici, who took the name of Clement VII, wished to rule unrestrictedly from Rome the republican Florence, resorting to means opposite to those that once created the popularity of the Medici house. The indignation of Florence, caused by this course of action, ended all the same with the triumph of the pope, destroying its political freedom and independence. During the troubled years, Catherine remained in her homeland without a break, imprisoned by the decree of the provisional government in the monastery of Santa Lucia. The Florentines looked at her as a hostage, certainly wanting to keep her within the walls of the city. They strictly watched her, not allowing her to take a single free step outside the walls of the monastery, and once they even suggested putting her under the enemy's cannons or placing them at the disposal of rude soldiers. At that time, Catherine was only 9 years old. Thus, from a young age she was accustomed to seeing around her the struggle of political parties, and fear of them became a constant feeling in her.

But then Florence fell, and by order of Clement VII, the young Duchess of Urbino and Florentine was transported to Rome, where, after the supervision of a suspicious democracy, she fell into the hands of her uncle, who looked at her only as a tool for expanding his political ties. To this end, he started looking for a decent party for her. Soon, at his request, she was engaged to the young prince of Orange, Philibert of Chalons, as a reward for her loyalty to the Medici house, but his death in one of the battles prevented the implementation of the papal project. Then John Stuart, Duke d'Albani, Catherine's maternal uncle, who enjoyed the favors of King Francis I of France, offered his niece's hand to his second son, Duke Henry of Orléans. With this combination, Pope Clement VII promised Francis I his support for the conquest of the Duchy of Milan. The marriage was immediately resolved, and Catherine set off for France, accompanied by the duke d'Albani and a large retinue. A brilliant flotilla awaited them in Porto Venere. The galley, intended for the future Duchess of Orleans, sparkled with precious ornaments; the sails were woven of silk; the coats of arms of the Medici with the motto "Light and Peace" were visible on the draperies, furniture, and carpets that covered the deck; the whole crew was luxuriously dressed. It seemed that Cleopatra was in a hurry to meet with Antony again! In Livorno, Clement VII joined the flotilla, occupying the galley of the Duke d'Albani, all draped with golden cloth lined with purple satin.The squadron entered the harbor of Marseille on the morning of October 11, 1535. All French ships flaunted with flags, port and fortress cannons saluting from the port the roar of church bells greeted the bride of the royal son.Francis I arrived in Marseille the next day with a brilliant retinue that overshadowed the papal luxury, followed by his second wife, Queen Eleanor of Austria, surrounded by a flower garden of young maids of honor.

The wedding ceremony took place on October 27. The newlyweds were still so young - Catherine was 14 years old, Henry was several months older - that the king and queen decided to place them in different rooms, but the pope protested and united the spouses on one bed. As a dowry to her husband, Catherine brought 100,000 gold ducats, for the same amount of outfits and the counties of Auverne and Loraguet. The festivities lasted 34 days and were distinguished by their extraordinary splendor. Heinrich of Orleans, a little dark, although this suited him very much, slender and amiable, attracted all eyes, like Catherine, who had a charming figure, lively eyes and a somewhat pale complexion, which, however, did not deprive him of his pleasantness. Although she often changed outfits and cuffs, they all went to her so much that I find it difficult to determine which suits her best. In addition to all this, she had surprisingly miniature legs, and she liked to flaunt them at every opportunity. Contemporaries unanimously admired the brilliant education of the young Duchess of Orleans, who brought to her new homeland a lot of enlightened love for the arts and educated taste, which for a long time had been, as it were, the hereditary qualities of the Medici house. Besides them, Catherine inherited all the other virtues and vices of her ancestors. She adored gold, like old Cosimo I, and lavished it like Pietro I and Cosimo II, her great-grandfathers; she was magnificent, like her great-grandfather Lorenzo I, and just like him, she knew a lot about politics, although she lacked neither his generosity nor generosity; her ambition was in no way inferior to the ambition of her grandfather, Pietro II, and if she wanted to rule, she, like him, did not distinguish between legal and illegal means to achieve certain goals; following the example of her father, Lorenzo II, she loved entertainment, but appreciated them only in accordance with the size of the expenses. Catherine expressed the dominant thought of her entire life in a few words: "Come what may, I want to reign!" Two turns later, Louis XV repeated this famous aphorism, slightly changing the edition: "After us - even a deluge!"

Taking this opportunity, after Catherine, a long line of her countrymen followed: artists, architects, doctors, alchemists, comedians, and finally, just adventurers, whom France received very cordially and who soon, feeling at home in her, settled a considerable number of misunderstandings, serving and obeying only one Medici daughter. At the first sign of her, all kinds of Rene and Ruggieri prepared poisonous drinks, food, gloves, flowers, and so on. Superstitious Catherine never did anything without consulting astrologers, and the famous Nostradamus - later the physician of Charles IX - who predicted with amazing accuracy, among many other things, the death of Henry II and the horrors of St. Bartholomew's Night, was her greatest power of attorney.

From the first appearance at the French court, Catherine showed extraordinary resourcefulness in her ability to get along among all kinds of parties and to ingratiate herself with persons who were clearly hostile to her interests. First of all, of course, it was necessary to please your father-in-law. Surrounded by the most beautiful ladies of the court, hunting deer with them, he did not pay the slightest attention to his pretty daughter-in-law. The self-esteem of the Florentine suffered greatly. Oh, she will make him take notice! Francis I imagined that he was an unusually skillful politician and diplomat - although it is difficult to find a second sovereign who made so many gross mistakes - and the cunning Catherine deftly took advantage of his vanity. She began to admire his genius, approved of all his projects that came into his head, and the old king, succumbing to the bait, from then on almost never parted with his daughter-in-law, giving her first place at holidays and hunting, to the envy of others. Getting along with her husband was much more difficult, but even here Catherine was not lost. Henry of Orleans, a brave soldier and an excellent rider, but devoid of any independence, distinguished by an amazing laziness and sluggishness of mind, took little care of his wife.

In this era, the French court was divided into two parties: the Duchess d'Etampes, the king's favorite, and the mistress of Catherine's wife, who was suitable for his mother, Diane de Poitiers. The first party was not dangerous, but the second had to be reckoned with for two reasons. Diana was the only woman to whom everyone yielded, before whom all doors were opened, who dared to order Catherine to leave her alone with Henry, and she had to obey. when the Duchess of Orleans wanted to be with her husband, she had to ask Diana's permission, and she just had to say: “Today you must go to your wife,” so that Henry would meekly obey her orders. ”In addition, too influential nobles were grouped around this favorite: Giza, constable of Montmorency, and others, who dreamed of becoming the head of the government of France with the accession of the frail and weak-willed Dauphin ... But Catherine herself wanted to reign, and in her they acquired a hidden enemy, although outwardly she seemed to be their well-wisher. Henry's passion for a faded mistress in the eyes of his wife was an insult that women never forgive, but the young Florentine, instead of bursting into reproaches, suppressed her feelings of jealousy and doubled her courtesy with her rival, soon becoming her closest friend, at the same while behaving so cunningly with her husband that he frankly admitted that nowhere did he feel so good as in his wife's bed. Thus, the wolves were fed and the sheep were safe.

Of all those surrounding the young Duchess of Orleans in this era, the greatest influence on her was Gonto Gondi, the future tutor of Charles IX, later granted by Catherine to the marshal with the title de Retz, and the Cardinal of Lorraine, Duke of Guise. The latter at first even enjoyed her exceptional location, as evidenced by Catherine's note to the Constable of Montmorency. “He will come to me again today,” she writes, “but tomorrow we will part. Ah, I would so much like business to allow him to postpone his departure and he could stay with me longer.” However, the cardinal is the only stain on her wife's reputation.

Being of a cheerful disposition, Catherine laughed willingly, sincerely or insincerely - this is another question, and she loved to speak out in the circle of the ladies of the court, diligently doing embroidery, mastering the needle perfectly. Among the festivities, balls, carousels and all kinds of amusements, the Duchess of Orleans seemed to devote her whole soul to entertainment. No one imagined that at this time she was already considering the means to achieve the throne. The only obstacle was the Dauphin. And now, after three years of hypocrisy and intrigue, she finally overcame him, without arousing any suspicions: in 1536 the Dauphin suddenly died, and Henry of Orleans unexpectedly became the heir to the throne. It goes without saying that the crime conceived by Catherine was carried out by her loyal Florentines, whom she generously rewarded, and sometimes even appointed to important government posts, without arousing sympathy from the French.

Francis I is dead, long live Henry II! It seemed that all of Catherine's ambitious dreams had come true, but meanwhile she felt far from calm. 10 years have passed since the wedding, and the queen remained childless. At the court, which was at the feet of Diane de Poitiers, there was no joke about divorce, considering Catherine to be the culprit of infertility. The House of Valois needs an heir. The bright future, which the Medici daughter once dreamed of, was now drawn to her in the darkest colors. Finally, in 1544, the queen breathed freely: France solemnly celebrated the birth of Dauphin Francis, and Catherine was saved. A year later, she presented her husband with her daughter Elizabeth (Isabella), later the wife of the Spanish king Philip II, and then five more children: Claudia (1547), who married Karl Giza and died in childbirth, Charles of Orleans (1550), Henry of Anjou (1551) , Margaret (1552), the future wife of Henry of Navarre, and Francis of Alencon (1554). Some attributed the late fertility of the queen to the heredity inherent in all women of the Medici house, others - to the advice of the royal physician and at the same time the astrologer Fernel. The birth of the Dauphin breathed new life and inspired Catherine's hopes. Now she considered herself entitled to interfere in the affairs of the government, from which she was removed.

And there were a lot of things to do. The reformation proceeded with rapid strides, drawing with it a huge number of people. Part of the French population, having joined the Protestants, or, as they were then called, the Huguenots, threatened the security of the state, demanding exceptional measures. The adherents of the old religion of Don de Poitiers, Giza and the constable of Montmorency rebuilt Henry II against the Huguenots, and he decided to give a good lesson to the heretics. To this end, in 1552, the king, at the head of a huge army, set off on a punitive expedition, confirming Catherine during his absence as regent of the state. It was then that the Florentine showed herself in her real form, resorting to tricks and tricks inherent in her nature. Hardly had a party formed, hostile to the regent, when it almost instantly dispersed it, attracting some with favors, others intimidating with threats. Her statesmanship boiled down only to worries about balancing the forces of various political parties, so that none of them would take over and become dangerous to herself. Intrigue was the main spring of Catherine's policy. With spies everywhere, she kept a keen eye on all prominent figures and intercepted private correspondence. It is not for nothing that the queen called Machiavelli's "And Principe" her Bible. With the Catholic party, she behaved as a zealous adherent of the Pope, with the Huguenots she turned into an ardent admirer of Calvin, in essence, not recognizing any religion except her own boundless ambition. Considering the passion for passion in others one of the most reliable means of maintaining her influence, for this purpose she was constantly surrounded by a crowd of beauties of maids of honor, wittily called by Brant "the Queen's flying squadron." Keeping her own virtue, Catherine encouraged debauchery even in her own children. Her hypocrisy had no limits. Those whom she called "my friend" considered themselves lost.

- Sovereign, - Madame Bois-Fézier once begged, whom the queen had just named, - do a special favor, call me "your enemy" better.

The punitive expedition, which ended happily, made the name of Gizov even more popular to the detriment of Henry II, who became, as it were, a nominal king. Of course, Catherine did not like this turn of affairs. She hated the Gizov and retained this feeling for them until her death. Having conceived to strengthen her prestige with beneficial ties, she married her second daughter, Claudia, to Karl Guise, the main leader and mentor of the young, weak in body and spirit, Dauphin Francis (1558), who hastened to marry the pupil to his own niece, the young Scottish queen Mary Stuart, with childhood, who lived in France under the patronage of her aunt Mary of Lorraine, and the eldest, Elizabeth, spilled her portrait, married to the newly widowed Spanish king Philip II, a fierce persecutor of Protestants. The last wedding took place on June 30, 1559. The luxurious festivities, unfortunately, were overshadowed by a sad ending. Knightly polite Henry II wished at the end of the holiday to "break the spear" in honor of the ladies present, choosing the brave gentleman Mongomri as his opponents. At the very first battle, the Mongomri spear, hitting the visor of the golden royal helmet, really broke and pierced Henry II's eye. The wound turned out to be fatal, the doctors were expecting a fatal outcome from minute to minute.

Less concerned about her husband’s hopeless situation than her own interests, Catherine sent a stern order to “her close friend,” Diane de Poitiers: to immediately return the crown diamonds with which the dying king of France once loved to adorn the graying curls of his favorite, and immediately deliver to yard.

- Has the king already died? Diana asked calmly.

“No, madam,” the messenger replied, “but he is unlikely to live until evening.

“In that case, I refuse to obey. Let my enemies know that as long as the king lives, I am not afraid of them! If, unfortunately, I am destined to survive him, my heart is too overwhelmed with grief to feel the insults that they want to inflict on him!

The favorite until the very end did not betray herself, remaining the same proud and arrogant. What did the queen do when Henry II died? She tried to play the touching role of an inconsolable widow, locked herself in her apartment, decorated with a very impressive black cloth. In all prominent places adorned the motto: "Her passion will survive the very flame." This Jesuit inscription surrounded the image of a mountain of quicklime, watered by a heavy rain. How simple the lover's speeches were and how much theatricality shone through the feigned sadness of his wife! From the day of her husband's death, Catherine constantly wore deep mourning, but she did not deceive anyone with this: clothes do not make a monk, and the queen quite personified a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The Huguenots, never so much in need of a brave leader as they do now, urged King Antoine of Navarre, who was elected their head, to hurry to Paris to take custody of the young King Francis II. To this they had all the legal rights, but Giza and the Queen Mother decided to do without him. The king of Navarre received an official order from the court to come to the burial of Henry II. The Huguenots were triumphant, misled by this order, and they waited impatiently for Antoine. Obviously, they did not know well those with whom they were dealing. No matter how the king of Navarre was in a hurry, however, he still arrived too late, meeting a lot of obstacles along his way, prudently placed by Catherine - Henry II was already buried, and the new king, 16-year-old Francis II, lived in Saint-Germain. In order to detain Antoine and his brother, Prince Louis Conde, longer in Paris and not allow them to enter the royal residence, the Florentine, knowing their penchant for the fair sex, entrusted this delicate task to two representatives of her "Flying Squadron", the girls de Limaille and de Rouet, found themselves at the height of their calling. The custody of the king slipped out of the hands of the Huguenots.

Having finished with this matter, Catherine began to do something else. The exiled favorite, who had not lost her influence, continued to gather around her people dissatisfied with the new order. Her party represented a known danger to the Queen Mother. To set herself the task of "weakening in order to strengthen", she certainly changed her tactics. Catherine approved for Diana de Poitiers all the lands presented to the favorite by the late king, and she, in turn, not wanting to remain in debt, presented the queen with part of her own estates. Moreover, the Florentine returned her former rival from exile. Having acquired an ally in her again, Catherine, with her help, distracted the constable de Montmorency from the Chatillon brothers - Admiral Coligny and Dandlo, the most zealous Huguenots who had a huge influence on the masses. This hypocrite was never shy about anything, always taking the side of the strong, and such at the moment were Giza, and, of course, she, despite all her hatred, sought support from them. Francis II and Mary reigned only nominally, the queen mother and the Catholics of Giza, who became almost the rulers of France, were in charge of all the affairs of the state, which finally angered the Huguenots. Wanting to get rid of the king's uninvited guardians, the Florentine secretly supported their enemies. And so in 1560 the so-called "Amboise conspiracy" was drawn up with the aim of exterminating the hated nobles. The Gizas, having learned about this, turned things differently, in turn deceiving Catherine with assurances that her life, like the life of Francis II, was in danger, and on this basis, in order to save the monarch of France, they snatched permission to act in accordance with the importance of the case. The conspirators were immediately arrested, and the main leaders, the King of Navarre and Admiral Coligny, were sentenced to death. Their lives hung in the balance when the sudden death of Francis II (December 5, 1560) - as they say, poisoned by Gizami if he wanted to show his independence - saved the unfortunate.

The death of the eldest son did not make much of an impression on Catherine, who had three more. Oh, the House of Valois will not perish! With the accession to the throne of a minor Charles IX, the Queen Mother was declared regent, but this time placed under the control of the so-called triumvirs: Duke Francis of Guise, Constable of Montmorency and Marshal of Saint-Andre. Lacking the courage to openly fight the triumvirate, the Queen Mother relied on fate, supported by the predictions of astrologers.

The deep enmity between Catholics and Huguenots, threatening the peace of the country, forced, however, Catherine, to prevent civil strife, to promulgate in January 1562 the Edict of Saint Germain, which canceled the previous punishments against those professing the Protestant religion. Passions seemed to have subsided when the Duke Francis of Guise, without any reason, arranged in Vassi, near Joinville, a bloody massacre of the Huguenots who were serving their divine services. The Huguenots rebelled, and the first religious war broke out with horrific brutality on both sides. Catherine dispassionately followed the course of events. To please the Guesses, she pretended to be Catholic, and to get rid of them, she was ready to turn into a Huguenot. The events that decided her fate revealed the whole secret of the Queen Mother's politics. When, in the midst of the Battle of Dres, the first courier rode up, bringing sad news of the mortal wound of the Constable of Montmorency, the death of Marshal Saint-Andre and the victory of the Huguenots, the whole court trembled, only Catherine remained calm.

- Well, well, - she said, - now we will pray to God in French! ..

The second courier announced the complete defeat of the Huguenots thanks to the insane courage of Francis of Guise, and Catherine immediately expressed the most lively joy and deep devotion to the winner. This did not oblige the queen mother to anything: the triumvirate, which stood like a thorn in her eye, no longer existed! Fate, apparently, still patronized her. During the siege of Orleans, the last of the triumvirs also died, treacherously killed by a fanatic Huguenot. Catherine was triumphant, she ruled alone! However, the consequence of this religious and political murder was the desire to give peace to the country, for which the Queen Mother entered new negotiations, and in March 1563 the Edict of Amboise was issued, repeating in its main features last year's Saint Germain. Thus, it seemed that the Florentine was taking the side of the Huguenots, who were eager to believe her sincerity, but in fact, now that the Catholic party had lost its best leaders, Catherine did not find it necessary to support the Huguenot who had retained her own, despite the defeat. This was first of all felt at court. It was announced that the queen would immediately remove all who did not fast to confession. Apparently, she aspired to become the head of the Catholic party, which was expressed with particular relief in the journey undertaken by her together with Charles IX, declared an adult (1564), and with the entire court in France: everywhere she expressed sympathy for the interests of the Catholic population and hostility to Protestants. After a meeting in Bayonne (June 1565) with their fellow countryman Philip II and daughter Elizabeth (Isabella), who insisted on vigorous action against the increasingly widespread heresy, to which Catherine agreed, the Huguenots realized that they had been deceived, and began to prepare to a new war. This second religious war broke out on September 27, 1567, engulfing all of France. The court fled to Paris, whose population held fast to the old faith. The Battle of Saint Denis ended with a new defeat for the Huguenots, but reinforcements rushing to them from Germany forced Catherine to resort to her constant trick and make peace, confirming the "Treaty of Longjum" (March 28, 1568) of the "Edict of Amboise". But such measures now could no longer help the trouble. The flame should have flared up by itself from the hot soil: the courtyard, carried away by the fanaticism of the Parisians and the successes of the Spaniards in Holland, made an irreparable mistake, replacing the "Treaty of Longjum" at the request of Pope Pius V with another, going against the harassment of the Huguenots.

The war broke out again - the third, - again the Huguenots were defeated at Jarnac and Montoncourt (1569) and again spoke of reconciliation. On August 8, 1570, a peace was signed in Saint Germain sur Lay, at the conclusion of which there was a rapprochement between Charles IX, mired in shameful debauchery, to which Catherine de Medici secretly instigated him, and the leaders of the Protestant party. The brave admiral managed to convince Charles IX of the need for war with Spain, which ran counter to Catherine's indecisive, changeable, ambivalent policy, and Gizam, horrified every day by the increasing influence of Coligny, the war with Philip II, the main defender of all the interests of Catholicism, seemed to be an attack on the very religion. Seeing that a whole series of wars could not crush the forces of the Protestants, and making sure that their political teachings - a mixture of republican and feudal theories - threatened a serious threat to royal power, Catherine, perhaps for the first time in her life, was confused. Catholics, irritated by the actions of the Protestants, under the influence of the passionate appeals made daily by the clergy, expected only a signal to rush to their enemies. Behind this the case did not become.

Seeing their leader held in high esteem at court, the Huguenots nonchalantly arrived in Paris for the marriage of Henry of Navarre, son of the late Antoine, once their chief leader, with Marguerite of Valois, the queen's youngest daughter (18 August 1572).

Is Valois really going to marry Bourbon? A Catholic with a heretic? What kind of strange idea came to Catherine, who fought for Catholicism, to give Margaret a Huguenot when she was madly in love with Heinrich Guise, nicknamed Balafre, a convinced papist, and enjoyed reciprocity? At first glance, of course, all this seemed very curious, but the Queen Mother, in whose head a hellish plan arose, which later terrified the whole world, cunningly hoped to kill two birds with one stone. Hating the Gizov, she did not want to get even closer to them; marrying her daughter to the king of Navarre, she attracted the Huguenots to her side, with whom she decided to end it once and for all.

Wedding festivities at court well disguised preparations for the massacre. At first, however, it was supposed to eliminate only one Coligny, but the failed attempt on his life (August 22) decided the fate of the Huguenots. Undoubtedly, only Catherine belongs to the shameful honor of the fact that doubts were awakened in the mind of Charles IX about the honesty and decency of the leaders of the Huguenot party and that consent to the crime that was played out on the night of 23 to 24 August 1572, on the eve of St. Bartholomew, when a massacre began in Paris and the provinces, unparalleled in history, during which about 30,000 Huguenots died. The hated Admiral Coligny was martyred like most Protestant leaders. Not many of them managed to escape by the example of Henry of Navarre, who was saved by his young wife. They say that Charles IX himself, in a frenzy of rage, fired from the Louvre window at the people, and Catherine, standing nearby, calmly watched him, encouraging the filial hunt for people. However, the terrible "St. Bartholomew's Night", otherwise called "Bloody Wedding", had such an effect on the king that the 24-year-old prematurely aged young man lost sleep and peace. Everywhere he could hear the discordant hum of voices, screams and screams, curses and sighs. The frail body could not bear such excitement, and on May 30, 1574, the insignificant Charles IX was gone.

The French crown passed to the third, most beloved son of Catherine - Henry, Duke of Anjou, who had been king of Poland for a whole year, who, having learned about his brother's death, hastily returned to his homeland. Throughout his unhappy reign, the Queen Mother constantly intervened in affairs and gave advice, which, however, he did not want to listen to. If before she pursued the interests of the state, now she cared only about the dynastic ones. France must have a legal heir. After the unsuccessful project of marrying a pet to Queen Elizabeth of England, Henry III, against the wishes of his mother, married Louise of Lorraine (1575), daughter of Count Vaudemont from the house of Guise. The wedding did not live up to anyone's hopes: the new king, surrounded by his "minions", did not need female affection ... Being entirely under the influence of his wife's relatives, Henry III continued the policy of Charles IX, deciding to try the power of his weapon on the Huguenots, who once again rallied. But this fifth - including the "Massacre of Bartholomew" - the religious war was slowed down by a meeting of state officials in Blois (in December 1576), and in general it was waged very sluggishly, ending with a new peace treaty in Poitiers, which no longer satisfied anyone, neither Catholics nor Huguenots. The matter, apparently, tended to the fact that the struggle was inevitably to resume, they began to prepare for it, when in June 1584 the news came that the fourth, youngest son of Catherine de Medici and Henry II, Francis, Duke of Alencon and Brabant, had died. This finally defeated the Florentine. The king remained childless, and therefore the house of Valois should inevitably fade away. The closest heir to the French throne was none other than Henry, King of Navarre, husband of Margaret, Bourbon, Huguenot, heretic! This is what Catherine did not foresee, passing off her daughter for him! The mourning that she constantly wore was now gaining deeper meaning.

The Poitiers peace treaty resulted in the formation of the "Holy League" pledging to support Catholicism at all costs (January 1585), headed by the Spanish king Philip II, on the one hand, and Giza, on the other. The Sixth Religious War lasted almost two years. Henry III, in the circle of his "minions" drowning in debauchery, seemed to have completely forgotten that he was wearing the French crown, why the capital of France declared Henry of Giza - Balafre its king and not jokingly threatened the rightful ruler. The dissolute and insignificant Henry III fled with the entire court to Blois. Naturally vindictive and cruel, he lured the "king of Paris" and treacherously killed him (December 24, 1588).

“This morning,” the last Valois boasted on the same day to his mother, who was lying in bed from an illness that drove her to the grave, “I became king of France again, ordering to kill“ the king of Paris! ”...

Catherine was horrified. With an effort, she got up on her bed and smiled sadly.

“May God grant, sir,” she said prophetically, “so that this death does not take away your royal title at all ... You have tailored well, my son, but will you be able to sew just as well?

The events of recent times, in which everyone blamed the Queen Mother, had such an effect on the 70-year-old woman that she became seriously ill and on January 5, 1589, died in Blois. One of the astrologers once predicted to her that "Saint Germain will be the first to know about her death." Since then, she constantly avoided the places bearing this name, but blind chance justified the prophecy: Catherine de 'Medici died in the arms of a royal preacher named Saint Germain. Henry III was indifferent to the death of his mother who adored him and did not even take care of her burial. The population of France was also not particularly upset, and the Parisians mockingly asked each other:

- Who will now conclude peace treaties?

This was the epitaph of the widow of Henry II. For twenty-eight years, three reigns swept over France - three reigns, the soul and life of which was a woman, at the beginning a spouse, and then the mother of the rulers, who with her two-faced policy and hypocrisy turned everyone away from herself. Her body was thrown, like carrion, on the barge and buried in an ordinary grave. Only in 1609, under Henry IV, the ashes of the insidious Florentine were transferred to a magnificent crypt, built by her in Saint Denis for herself, her husband and children. Paying posthumous honors to the woman who hated him, the former king of Navarre, as it were, thanked her for the crown of France. In only one respect, Catherine de Medici retained a good memory of herself: patronizing the fine arts, she contributed a lot to their prosperity in France, whose court, owing to her for her sophistication of manners, was famous throughout Europe. The construction of the Tuileries and the Soissons hotel, which now does not exist, was undertaken by her, and besides them, many other castles have survived in France, built according to the plans of the widow of Henry II.