Catherine de Medici: Who Was the Real ‘Serpent Queen’?

The Medici family was one of the most powerful Italian families during the Renaissance era, particularly when Catherine de Medici married King Henry II and became the Queen of France. Now known as the Serpent Queen, she had three sons who would rule much of France. But who was the real Catherine de Medici, and how did she become known as the ‘Serpent Queen’?

Catherine de Medici was born an Italian noblewoman on April 13, 1519 in Florence to father Lorenzo de’ Medici, the Duke of Urbino and mother Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne, who had connections to French royalty. She was raised from a month old by her father’s mother after her parents both died of illness. As a Medici, she was part of a powerful family who drew wealth from banking.

At an early age Catherine spent time living in convents. It would have been a way to give her life stability, education, and protection due to her family falling from favor in 1527. At the time many women were given an education in convents if their families could afford it, even if they did not plan to take a vow. In 1530 around the age of 11 she went to meet with her uncle, Pope Clement VII in Rome (formerly Giulio de Medici) who planned to arrange a marriage for her.

Who Did Catherine de Medici Marry?

Catherine de Medici would be the inspiration of many trends in France. She was the first woman to wear heels in the French court a fashion choice more often seen by men at that time. 

However, her marriage was a sad one. When the Pope died, her prearranged dowry was no longer given to the king, which did little to make him happy with his queen. He took numerous public mistresses and it was years before they had their first child. The pressure after the death of Henry II’s older brother to produce an heir for the throne drove her to desperate measures.

While this nickname conjures the image of a queen dressed and draped in snakes, the moniker came about for a different reason. Like Marie Antoinette, who would later be an unwelcome addition to the French court, the French people were not happy with Catherine de Medici’s Italian background.

Her interests that strayed towards “magic” and “occult” topics such as astronomers and Nostradamus also did little to gain their trust. Nostradamus was an alleged seer, whose book Les Propheties, published in 1555, contained 942 pieces that seemed to predict parts of the future. 

These unconventional interests, coupled with rumors that she had lied, plotted and schemed for her place on the throne made many consider her evil and sneaky like a snake. Today, the nickname continues to be used in reference to the former French queen, most notably with the Starz series that used the nickname as the title of a show following Catherine de Medici’s troubled marriage.

How Many of Catherine’s Sons Became Kings?

Together, Henry II and Catherine de Medici had ten children. She had three sons and one daughter. First born was Francis II, who was born in 1544, then came Charles IX was born in 1550 and Henry III was born in 1551. Her daughter Margaret of Valois lived from 1553 to 1615.

All of her sons were King of France at different points in history, because they died without children (or at least legitimate sons) at fairly young ages. Francis II became the king after his father died in 1559. When he died only one year after taking the throne and Charles IX became king when he was only ten years old, requiring his mother Catherine de Medici to act as Regent.

Charles IX ruled for 14 years, and he was the one who arranged his sister’s marriage to Henry of Navarre, who would eventually become Henry IV of France after the death of the youngest son. He was also king during the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre, although it is unknown how much he was involved with the actual event.

Henry III took over the throne on May 30, 1574 when his brother died from complications of tuberculosis, until August 2, 1589 when he was assassinated by Jacques Clement. His brother-in-law became king from the House of Bourbon.

Often our perception of history is shaped by documentaries or even pop culture where subjects or events are the feature of movies and television shows. Such is the case of de Medici. She was the subject of Starz The Serpent Queen, which follows her coming to the French court and is based on a book by Leonie Frieda. The other major show she was on was the less realistic portrayal, Reign, which follows Mary, Queen of Scots through her time at the French court and marriage to her own death by execution. In this show the two are shown to have a contentious relationship at best. But how much of that is actually true?

According to records “Catherine de Medici resented Mary as she was a Queen [of Scotland, although at that time at five years old she had a Regent] giving her precedence over Catherine’s daughters in the royal nursery.” She was much younger at the French court than was presented in the show. She and Charles were married when she was around 15 for only a short time before he died. Since he did not leave an heir, the next in line was his younger brother Charles IX. De Medici wanted Queen Mary gone so she would once again have control of France. 

What Became of Catherine de Medici?

Catherine de Medici died before her third son was murdered. Although he did not officially need a Regent being older when he took over the throne de Medici tried to do her best by her son and give him advice. He chose to ignore her, which led to him gaining more enemies and this would eventually lead to his downfall and assassination. 

Catherine de Medici died on January 5, 1589, having survived her family’s original fall from grace. She also survived her philandering husband, the deaths of some of her children, political unrest and upheavals, as well as wars of religion between the Catholics and Protestants. Another important part of her legacy is as a patron of the arts; she commissioned many important projects during her prime, leaving behind an impact across much of French society, even if she was not well liked during her lifetime.