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  • Catherine de’ Medici: Queen, Mother, and Power Broker

    Catherine de’ Medici: Queen, Mother, and Power Broker

    Catherine de’ Medici was born on April 13, 1519, in Florence, Italy. Wife of Henry II and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559, she was also the mother of three kings of France: Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III; as well as, among others, Elizabeth of France (1546–1568), who became Queen of Spain by marrying Philip II, Marguerite (known as “Queen Margot,” wife of the future Henry IV), and Claude of France (1547–1575), Duchess of Lorraine. After the death of her son Francis II in 1560, she assumed the regency of the kingdom for her second son, Charles IX, who was then 10 years old. From that point on, she played a predominant role in French political affairs, serving as regent of the kingdom of France until 1574.

    Starting in 1562, when the Wars of Religion broke out between Catholics and Protestants, she constantly sought to find agreements between the belligerents to bring peace to France. Catherine de’ Medici was thus behind the signing of many peace treaties but was also, paradoxically, the instigator of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. She died on January 5, 1589, in Blois, France, without having been able to end the French Wars of Religion, which bloodied France from 1562 to 1598.

    Genealogy of Catherine de’ Medici

    Daughter of Lorenzo II de’ Medici (1492–1519), Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de la Tour d’Auvergne (1495–1519), Catherine de’ Medici grew up in Italy, her father’s homeland. At the death of her parents, she became Duchess of Urbino, and later Countess of Auvergne after the death of her aunt, Anne of Auvergne, in 1524. She married the future Henry II in 1533 and through this union, became Dauphine and Duchess of Brittany from 1536 to 1547, before her husband’s accession to the throne made her Queen of France from 1547 to 1559.

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    With Henry II, she had ten children:

    • Francis II (1544–1560)
    • Elizabeth (1545–1568), married to King Philip II of Spain
    • Claude (1547–1575), married to Duke Charles III of Lorraine
    • Louis (1549)
    • Charles IX (1550–1574)
    • Henry III (1551–1589)
    • Margaret (1553–1615), married to King Henry III of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France)
    • Francis, Duke of Anjou (1554–1584); his death without issue made the Protestant Henry of Navarre the heir to the French throne
    • Jeanne and Victoire, twins (1556)

    Husband of Catherine de’ Medici

    Catherine de' Medici
    Catherine de’ Medici

    The marriage between Catherine de’ Medici and Henry II of France (Duke Henry of Orléans) took place in 1533. He was the second son of King Francis I of France and was not expected to reign. However, after the death of his older brother, the Dauphin Francis, in 1536, Henry, Duke of Orléans, became King Henry II in 1547. During her husband’s reign, Catherine de’ Medici had to step aside for Diane de Poitiers, the king’s mistress. King Henry II died in 1559.

    Regency of Catherine de’ Medici

    Born on April 13, 1519, in Florence as Caterina Maria Romola di Lorenzo de’ Medici, Catherine de’ Medici lost both her parents at a very young age. She spent her early years in Rome and later married Duke Henry of Orléans. This marked her first steps at the French court. However, the young Italian was quickly overshadowed by her husband’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Once in the background, Catherine de’ Medici increasingly took on political roles after the deaths of her husband, Henry II, and her son, Francis II. When her other son, Charles IX, ascended the throne, she became regent of the country and quickly had to deal with religious dissensions.

    Advocating conciliation and supported by Minister Michel de l’Hospital, she initially favored tolerance and sought to establish peace between Protestants and Catholics (Edict of Amboise, 1563, and Peace of Saint-Germain, 1570). A devout Catholic, Catherine de’ Medici still supported the marriage of her daughter, Marguerite of Valois, to the Protestant Henry of Navarre, the future Henry IV, in 1572. However, she remained distrustful of the Huguenots and Admiral Coligny, which contributed to her involvement in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572.

    Catherine de’ Medici and Nostradamus

    Catherine de’ Medici brought Nostradamus to court and appointed him as the king’s physician and advisor in 1564. In the 16th century, astrologers were regarded as highly respected scholars. Since her marriage to Henry, the second son of Francis I, at the age of 14, Catherine de’ Medici had consulted astrologers. Highly superstitious, she also regularly summoned Cosimo Ruggieri, a Florentine astrologer, to France. The famous Nostradamus is said to have predicted for Catherine, among other things, the circumstances of her husband’s death and that her three sons would succeed each other on the French throne before being replaced by Henry of Navarre.

    Charles IX: Son of Catherine de’ Medici

    Born on June 27, 1550, and died on May 30, 1574, Charles IX was the fifth of Catherine de’ Medici’s ten children. After the death of his brother Louis, who died on October 24, 1550, at the age of 1 year and 8 months, Charles became Duke of Orléans. He ascended to the throne after the death of his older brother Francis II in 1560. In 1570, he married Elizabeth of Austria, with whom he had one daughter. He reigned until his death in 1574 at the age of 24.

    Death of Catherine de’ Medici

    Still regent at the ascension of her third son, Henry III, in 1574, Catherine de’ Medici’s influence began to wane. She died on January 5, 1589, at the age of 70, a few months before the death of her last son, Henry III. He ultimately ceded the throne to the Bourbons and Henry IV, his brother-in-law. A patron of the arts, Catherine de’ Medici contributed to the construction of parts of the Louvre and the Tuileries Palace.

    Catherine de’ Medici: Key Dates

    Catherine and Henry's marriage, painted seventeen years after the event
    Catherine and Henry’s marriage, painted seventeen years after the event
    • April 13, 1519: Birth of Catherine de’ Medici in Florence, Italy.
    • October 28, 1533: Marriage of the Henry II of France
      (Duke of Orléans) and Catherine de Medici
      Pope Clement VII officiates the marriage of Henry of Orléans and his niece, Catherine de Medici, in Marseille. When the Duke of Orléans becomes Henry II in 1547, Catherine de Medici will become the Queen of France. Together, they will have ten children.
    • January 19, 1544: Birth of Francis II
      After 11 years of marriage to Dauphin Henry II (son of Francis I), Catherine de Medici gives birth to a son, Francis, the future Francis II. Married to Mary Stuart of Scotland, he will become King of France at 15 in 1559. However, his reign, dominated by the Guise family, will last only a year and a half. Francis II dies on December 5, 1560, from an ear infection.
    • June 27, 1550: Birth of Charles IX
      Charles IX will succeed his elder brother Francis II at the age of 10.
    • September 19, 1551: Birth of Henry III
      The third son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici is baptized Alexander-Edward at birth. He will take the name Henry upon confirmation. His mother will have him elected King of Poland in 1573 at the age of 22. However, he will not have time to exercise this role as he is abruptly called to succeed his brother Charles IX on the French throne. Henry III will often be criticized for his complex personality and fondness for his favorites, the “mignons.”
    • December 5, 1560: Charles IX succeeds Francis II
      After the death of Francis II from an ear infection, his brother Charles IX, aged 10, succeeds him but cannot govern alone. Queen mother Catherine de Medici takes over as regent and will rule behind the scenes until her son’s death in 1574.
    • September 9, 1561: Start of the Colloquy of Poissy, which attempts to reconcile Catholics and Protestants
      The Colloquy of Poissy takes place from September 9 to October 14, 1561. Convened at the initiative of Catherine de Medici, it aims to achieve reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants. However, the inability to agree on the presence or absence of Christ during the Eucharist leads to a breakdown. Catherine de Medici abandons hopes for religious unity.
    • January 17, 1562: Signing of the January Edict
      Pressured by his mother, Catherine de Medici, and Chancellor Michel de l’Hôpital, King Charles IX signs the January Edict in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. It grants Protestants freedom of worship outside city walls, in exchange for their relinquishment of churches they had seized. However, this edict only intensifies Catholic anger, especially from the Duke of Guise, who will soon organize the Massacre of Wassy, sparking the first War of Religion.
    • September 28, 1567: Attempted abduction of Charles IX
      Fearing the consequences of Catherine de Medici’ negotiations with Catholic Spain, Prince of Condé organizes the abduction of King Charles IX. The plot fails, leading to the second War of Religion. In November, the Protestants suffer a devastating defeat by the Duke of Montmorency at Saint-Denis, leading them to sign the Peace of Longjumeau.
    • March 23, 1568: Peace of Longjumeau
      Signed between Charles IX and Prince of Condé, this peace ends the second War of Religion. The conflict between Protestants and Catholics had resumed in September 1567. Both sides, financially ruined, are forced to negotiate again. The treaty reaffirms the rights granted to Protestants by the Peace of Amboise, signed on March 19, 1563. However, the truce will be short-lived as the third War of Religion begins five months later.
    • March 13, 1569: Protestants defeated at Jarnac
      The third War of Religion erupts following King Charles IX’s decision, influenced by Catherine de Medici, to order the arrest of Prince of Condé. Forced to take up arms again, the Protestants face the Catholics once more. The Battle of Jarnac ends with a Protestant defeat and the death of Condé.
    • August 18, 1572: Marriage of Henry of Navarre and Queen Margot
      To attempt reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics, Jeanne d’Albret and Catherine de Medici arrange the marriage of their children, Henry of Navarre and Marguerite de Valois. The Catholics take advantage of the gathering of Protestants for the wedding in Paris to order the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (night of August 23-24, 1572). Henry of Navarre, who becomes King of France as Henry IV in 1589, will have the marriage annulled in 1599 and marry Marie de Medici in 1600.
    • August 22, 1572: Coligny escapes assassination
      Gaspard de Coligny, increasingly influential with King Charles IX, arouses suspicion in Catherine de Medici and revives Catholic hatred. The Protestant leader tries to convince the king to intervene in the Netherlands against Spain. This likely motivates the Guise family, staunch defenders of Catholicism, to attempt his assassination.
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      Though Coligny escapes, the event triggers the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre two days later.
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      Coligny is one of the first Protestants to be killed.
    • August 24, 1572: St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
      On the night of August 23-24, 1572, Protestants gathered in Paris for the wedding of their leader Henry of Navarre to Marguerite de Valois are massacred. Two days earlier, the assassination attempt on Coligny, likely orchestrated by the Guise family, had created dangerous tensions. Fearing a coup by the Guise family, Catherine de Medici, wary of Coligny’s influence over her son Charles IX, convinced him to order the massacre of Protestant leaders. When the bells of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois ring, Parisians unleash violence on Protestants, men, women, and children.
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      The massacre claims 3,000 victims and continues in the provinces until October. Henry of Navarre is forced to convert.
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      This is one of the bloodiest episodes of the Wars of Religion that ravaged the kingdom from 1562 to 1598.
    • February 13, 1575: Coronation of Henry III
      The fourth son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici is crowned King of France in Reims. Henry III is in Kraków, on the Polish throne, when he learns of the death of his brother King Charles IX (May 30, 1574). His return journey to France takes five months, during which his mother serves as regent. Two days after his coronation, Henry III marries Louise of Lorraine-Vaudémont.
    • January 5, 1589: Death of Catherine de Medici
      Queen mother Catherine de Medici dies at the age of 70 at the Château de Blois.
  • Henry III of France: The Tragic Monarch of the Valois Dynasty

    Henry III of France: The Tragic Monarch of the Valois Dynasty

    Henry III, King of France from 1574 to 1589, was the last ruler of the Valois dynasty. The fourth son of Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici, he was not initially destined to reign.


    A skilled legislator, he exhibited a strong desire for national unity in a France then torn apart by the French Wars of Religion. Intelligent and cultured, this monarch left behind a mixed legacy, at times overshadowed by a “black legend” that includes homophobia and accusations of inconsistency, even tyranny. Beyond these perceptions, his political actions allowed his successor, Henry of Navarre, to end the civil war. Henry III was assassinated on August 1, 1589, by the fanatical Dominican monk Jacques Clément.

    Key Achievements and Events

    • Last Valois King: Henry III was the last monarch of the Valois dynasty, which had ruled France for over two centuries.
    • Religious Conflict: His reign was dominated by the French Wars of Religion, which saw ongoing conflict between Catholics and Protestants.
    • The War of the Three Henrys: A complex three-way power struggle between Henry III, Henry of Navarre, and Henry, Duke of Guise.

    • Assassination of the Duke of Guise: In 1588, Henry III ordered the assassination of his rival, Henry of Guise, leading to his excommunication and alienation from Catholic factions.
    • Alliance with Henry of Navarre: His alliance with Henry of Navarre marked a pragmatic, albeit controversial, attempt to restore order to France.
    • Assassination in 1589: Henry III was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic, marking the end of the Valois dynasty.

    The Duke of Anjou: The Future Henry III

    Born on September 19, 1551, Henry of France was the fourth son of King Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici. Initially, he was baptized with the name Alexandre-Édouard. The choice of the name Édouard was no accident and encapsulated the political and religious contradictions that troubled France at the time. He received the title of Duke of Anjou.

    Édouard, an unusual name among the Valois, was a tribute to the child’s godfather, the adolescent King Edward VI of England, a country leaning towards Calvinist reform. Although King Henry II was at the forefront of Protestant repression, he still maintained a strong sense of political pragmatism. England could be a valuable ally in the struggle against the Habsburgs, and this gesture might also appeal to the increasingly influential Huguenot nobility.

    Alexandre-Édouard, who became Henry in 1565, spent his childhood, like his siblings, away from his parents in Blois. Nevertheless, his mother, Catherine de’ Medici, a true Florentine, ensured that her son received a refined education typical of the Renaissance. His tutor (also the tutor of his elder brother, the future Charles IX) was Jacques Amyot. A true fountain of knowledge, Amyot, a Plutarch specialist, recognized in the young Valois the qualities that would make him a cultured and eloquent ruler: “one of the best speakers of his century.”

    The young prince was quickly involved in royal power, attending his first Estates General at the age of seven (in 1560). As Catherine’s favorite child, an accomplished swordsman, and endowed with a striking presence, it was only natural that he was appointed Lieutenant General of the kingdom at the age of sixteen, thus beginning his political career.

    In the Turmoil of the Wars of Religion

    Henry III in preparation to besiege Paris in 1589
    Henry III in preparation to besiege Paris in 1589. Credit: HAL, Public Domain

    As the second most powerful military leader in France after his brother, King Charles IX, Henry made an enemy of the leader of the Protestant party, the formidable Prince of Condé, who coveted the same position. Their rift led to Condé’s departure from court and the start of the second war of religion in 1567.

    Concerned with protecting royal authority, Henry proved himself a competent general, notably winning the Battle of Jarnac, which resulted in the tragic death of Prince of Condé. His rising influence began to overshadow King Charles IX, leading to discord between the brothers and pushing Henry towards the camp of the Duke of Guise (a family of Lorraine origin that was then essential), the champion of ultra-Catholicism.

    While Charles advocated for reconciliation with the reformers (likely due to the influence of his Protestant friend Admiral de Coligny), Henry favored a firmer stance. In his mind, it was already clear that royal authority could not tolerate any dissidence, whether religious or otherwise.

    Henry’s involvement in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (the last days of August 1572) remains controversial. Caught between the extremism of the Catholic League and the Guise supporters, and his duty to maintain order (in a rebellious Paris overwhelmed by religious fanaticism), he was also preoccupied with more distant events. Henry was no longer content to be second in the kingdom, and a crown now seemed within his reach.

    On July 7, 1572, Sigismund Augustus Jagiellon, King of Poland-Lithuania, died. The state he governed was quite unique within Christendom. This nobility-led republic, ethnically and religiously diverse, elected its kings. A significant portion of the Polish nobility was Protestant, and Henry sought to secure their support in the upcoming election.

    Thus, it seems unlikely that he would have incited the populace to massacre the reformers on August 24, 1572. After further battles against the Protestant party (as the Wars of Religion resumed their bloody course), including a failed siege of La Rochelle, the prince, while in the midst of a romance with Marie de Clèves, was elected King of Poland. On August 19, 1573, a Polish delegation came to meet the future king and present him with the laws of his future realm.

    Henry, who, like all Valois, was in favor of strong royal authority, had to adjust to the realities of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The new king was thus forced to sign the Henrician Articles, a set of laws that required him to cease persecuting Protestants in France and to respect religious tolerance. Aware that his royal powers would be severely limited, Henry took his time departing for Krakow, only arriving in February 1574…

    From King of Poland to King of France

    Escape of Henry III from Poland, by Artur Grottger, 1860
    Escape of Henry III from Poland, by Artur Grottger, 1860. Credit: Wikimedia

    The young king, well aware of the necessity of religious tolerance within his new states, could not tolerate the independence of the Diet and the nobility. He tried by all means to strengthen his authority, without fully succeeding, despite his deep involvement in his new duties. Henry had to admit that he “reigned but did not govern.”

    On June 14, 1574, he learned of the death of his brother, Charles IX, of whom he was the heir. On the 18th, he secretly left Poland for the kingdom of France, where he intended to rule in the manner of his model: Francis I. After a dramatic escape (which would earn him a dark legend in Poland) and a journey filled with celebrations fit for his status, Henry arrived in France in September 1574.

    He was crowned king on February 13, 1575, marrying two days later Louise de Vaudémont-Nomény, a beautiful princess from Lorraine, but most importantly, close to the Guise faction. Henry III knew the magnitude of the task ahead: restoring peace and harmony within the kingdom, a necessary prerequisite for consolidating royal power, meant he had to win the favor of both the ultra-Catholics and their Huguenot enemies.

    Unfortunately for the king, his younger brother, the Duke of Alençon, tipped the balance in favor of the Protestant party when he allied with Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV), who had entered armed rebellion. The resulting war turned into a disaster for the king, and he was forced by the Edict of Beaulieu (May 1576) to grant a very favorable peace to the Protestants. In response, the ultra-Catholic League emerged as a militant force.

    With the Peace of Beaulieu, the king seemed worn out before he had even begun to reign. His brother, the guarantor of the alliance between moderate Catholics and Protestants, became the strongman of the kingdom, and the treasury was nearly empty. Nevertheless, Henry was not without options.


    Capitalizing on the humiliation of the Catholics, the king positioned himself as their defender and protector, which allowed him to once again align with the Guises.

    To obtain the financial means for his revenge, Henry convened the Estates General at Blois (1577), where he displayed great tactical skill. Faced with deputies who were already considering reforming the kingdom in a parliamentary direction, “When the Estates write, it is France itself that writes,” he exploited divisions and rivalries to bury any constitutional ambitions and reaffirmed himself as the undisputed leader of the Catholics. Despite his tenacity, he did not secure the financial resources he sought, a lesson his successors would remember in their relations with the parliamentarians.

    Nevertheless, the war resumed shortly afterward (the sixth religious war, 1577), leading to a modest but real victory for the royal camp. The monarch had received support from his brother, who had temporarily shelved his ambitions.

    With the Edict of Poitiers (1577), which ended the conflict, the Protestant camp was forced to make various concessions. It was time for Henry to consolidate his position through diplomacy. With the mediation of his ever-present mother Catherine, he initiated a rapprochement with Henry of Navarre while supporting his brother’s efforts in the Netherlands. These efforts had the advantage of uniting Catholics and Protestants in a common struggle against their hereditary enemy: the Habsburgs, something Henry IV would remember!

    The War of the Three Henrys

    1584: seven years of relative peace, seven years of consolidating royal authority, seven years of intense legislative work, and yet Henry knew his throne was in danger. After almost ten years of marriage to Louise of Lorraine, he still had no heir, and his brother, who had presented himself as a valuable successor, had died of tuberculosis.

    The Valois dynasty seemed destined to extinguish. According to Salic Law, the crown would pass upon Henry III’s death to Henry of Navarre, the leader of the Protestant party. This was, of course, unacceptable to Catholic opinion, which exerted constant pressure on the king to appoint a Catholic successor. The city of Paris, entirely in the hands of the League, was dangerously restless.

    The hour had come for the triumph of Duke Henry of Guise. Ultra-Catholic passions condemned Henry III to another war, as confirmed by the Treaty of Nemours (July 1585), where he committed to “driving the heretics out of the kingdom.”

    This War of the Three Henrys (Henry III of Valois, Henry of Guise, and Henry of Navarre) involved three camps, not two. Although seemingly aligned with the ultra-Catholics, Henry III did not sever all ties with the Protestants. The king, eager to maintain the independence of his states, knew that the Duke of Guise was strongly supported by the Habsburgs. On the other hand, a total defeat of Navarre would overly benefit the ambitious Duke of Lorraine, whom the king did not like. Thus, Henry waged war with allies he despised (the Leaguers) against an enemy (Henry of Navarre) whom he respected.

    The result was a confusing situation, with the king attempting to maintain a precarious balance between the belligerents. Any misstep could prove fatal.

    Henry’s maneuvers eventually exasperated the Duke of Guise, who in May 1588 defied the king’s authority by entering Paris, where he was hailed by the Leaguers. Fearing a coup, the king sent his troops to Paris, sparking an insurrection, the famous Day of the Barricades on May 13, 1588.

    Although he bought time by initiating negotiations with the Leaguers, the last of the Valois had made his decision. Henry of Guise had to disappear. Overwhelmed by the excesses of the Parisian Leaguers (whose practices and demands echoed those of Étienne Marcel’s supporters two centuries earlier), the duke posed a great danger to royal authority. Henry III feared above all that a victory for the League would bring an end to the centralizing efforts of France’s kings.

    In 1588, Henry of Guise’s position weakened. With the reduction of generous Spanish subsidies (following, among other things, the defeat of the Invincible Armada), the duke lost his prestige. Fearing that the king might make peace with his rival, the King of Navarre, he resigned himself to negotiating with Henry III at the Estates General of Blois.

    On December 23, 1588, during a royal council, the king ordered the assassination of the Duke of Guise by the “Forty-five,” his personal guard. This assassination ended the ambiguity of the royal position but also provoked the uprising of the League’s France. The king was condemned by the ultra-Catholics, who now called for the murder of the man they considered a “tyrant.”

    Logically, Henry III saw no hope except in a complete reconciliation with Henry of Navarre, who emerged as his successor (under the tacit condition that he once again renounce Protestantism). The two Henrys would go on to besiege Paris together, which was controlled by the Leaguers, whose militias were equipped with Habsburg funds.

    The king, stationed in Saint-Cloud, would not live to see the destruction of the League. On August 1, 1589, a fanatical monk named Jacques Clément, an agent of the Leaguers, assassinated Henry III with a knife. Thus ended the Valois dynasty…

    Henry III: The Last of the Valois

    As evidenced by his actions, Henry III always aimed to maintain and strengthen royal authority, despite an extremely unfavorable context. His complex personality and his shifts in stance (often dictated by circumstances) earned him an unenviable reputation. However, much of this reputation stems from the hateful propaganda spread during his time by his enemies.

    He was said to be weak. He did, indeed, yield many times to pressures from the nobles, but he never failed to regain control afterward. He was said to be cowardly and effeminate. Fond of beauty, often surrounded by elegant young men (the famous “mignons”), he was certainly not a rugged medieval sovereign thirsty for glory. Yet, this is to forget too quickly his warrior youth and personal courage, amply demonstrated at Jarnac and Moncontour. As for the rumors about his sexuality (the notorious “pink legend”), they hardly hold up in light of his numerous female conquests.

    He was said to be frivolous and immoral. While he certainly never denied his extravagant taste for festivities and the arts, he was also a devout king, concerned for the salvation of his soul, with remarkable displays of faith.

    King Henry III, despite the challenges he faced, managed to govern and left behind a significant legislative legacy (the Code Henri III). He had a lofty view of royal authority and a modern conception of the state. He avoided the collapse of the French monarchy, leaving it to his successors to once again elevate it to a great power.

    Agrippa d’Aubigné summarized the feelings of many French people of the time regarding the king: “Thus ends Henry the Third, a prince of pleasant conversation with his own, a lover of letters, more generous than any king, courageous in youth and then desired by all; in old age loved by few, who had many qualities of a king, wished for the throne before he had it, and worthy of the kingdom if only he had not reigned…“

  • Louise of Lorraine: Wife of Henry III

    Louise of Lorraine: Wife of Henry III

    Louise of Lorraine-Vaudémont was the last Queen of France from 1575 to 1589, during the Valois era, without offspring. Her marriage to Henry III was the only one not arranged for political reasons, but inspired by a “true and sincere inclination.” Gentle, beautiful, unpretentious, without fortune, and an ally of Catherine de’ Medici, she was an ideal queen with a sovereign’s behavior. She is the only queen to actually rest in the tomb bearing her name at Saint-Denis!

    Louise of Lorraine: A Wife for Henry III

    Upon the death of Marie of Cleves, Henry’s youthful love, the young king was prostrate, exhibiting macabre behavior (his clothes bore skull emblems), experiencing mystical crises, and following penitent processions. Catherine de’ Medici urgently needed to marry him off and proposed several candidates: Doña Juana, Philip II’s sister; Mary Stuart, widow of Francis II; his sister-in-law Elizabeth, widow of Charles IX; and the Queen of England, of whom Henry had a strong opinion: “she’s an old creature with a bad leg.”

    To cut short other proposals (a Swedish or Danish princess), the king declared his choice was made: it would be Louise of Vaudémont!

    A Discreet Lady

    Born in April 1553 to Nicolas of Mercœur, Count of Vaudémont, belonging to the cadet branch of the House of Lorraine, Louise, cousin of the Guises, was the eldest of fourteen children and only a year old when her mother, Margaret of Egmont, died. Nicolas of Mercœur’s second wife, Jeanne of Savoy-Nemours, was affectionate and introduced her to the court of Nancy when Louise was ten.

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    Catherine of Aumale, her father’s third wife, was harsh and jealous, but Louise could count on the friendship of Claude, Catherine de’ Medici and Henry II’s second daughter.

    Tall, blonde, of delicate beauty, and discreet, Henry had met her in Lorraine when he was leaving for Krakow. She had moved him with her modesty and gentleness. She may have been a young woman without rank, fortune, or pretensions, but “he wanted to take a wife of his nation who was beautiful and agreeable, saying he desired one to love well and have children with, without going to seek others from afar, as his predecessors had done.” Catherine de’ Medici loved her son so much that she approved!

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    She was won over by “the gentle and devout spirit of this princess whom she judged more suited and inclined to pray to God than to meddle in affairs.”

    As for Louise, she renounced two suitors (François of Luxembourg and the Count of Salm), and the king offered one of them his current mistress, the lady of Châteauneuf!

    A Non-Political Marriage…

    Louise of Lorraine
    Portrait of Louise de Lorraine (1553-1601) Portrait of Louise of Lorraine (1553-1601), Queen of Henry III of France

    Louise’s father gave his consent very quickly, and in a month, “everything was settled”: the king arrived in Reims on February 11, was crowned on the 13th, and the wedding took place on February 15, 1575! Louise was radiant with joy, the king’s heart melted with tenderness. They entered the capital, and she was Queen of France!

    From that day on, Louise never changed her attitude and remained dazzled and amazed. Her love for her husband would withstand time, trials, infidelities, and death! Occupying little space, she blended into the king’s entourage, always by his side at all ceremonies, all festivals, all feasts. She was associated with the creation of the Order of the Holy Spirit (the insignia bore their initials). Etiquette required the king to pay her a daily visit, but he did more: they went for walks in Paris, visited monasteries, discovered the sea in Normandy, the port of Dieppe, and stayed on the land of Ollainville (a castle the king gave her and had renovated).

    All these attentions lasted well beyond the honeymoon: in 1581, she was seen sitting on the king’s lap; in 1587, he “spent almost the whole day with her and tried with words full of affection to exhort her to keep courage” when she was seized with a tertian fever; like Francis I, the king did not officially introduce a royal mistress, as Louise meant a lot to him.

    Yet not everything was “rosy.” The king had a mistress, a lady advised Louise to take a lover: she was chased away! A conspiracy was led by one of the king’s favorites who entered the queen’s chamber, the favorite became Henry’s nemesis, and the affair turned into a matter of state! But this strengthened the bonds between the king and queen, as Louise had the qualities of a queen of the time: piety, discretion, obedience, love for the monarch…

    Brantôme recounted, “One can and must praise this princess for much; for in her marriage, she behaved with the king her husband as wisely, chastely, and loyally as the knot by which she was bound in conjunction with him always remained so firm and indissoluble that it was never found undone or untied, even though the king her husband loved and sometimes went to change”; “She devoted herself to nothing else but serving God, going to devotions, continually visiting hospitals, tending to the sick, burying the dead.”

    …But No Children

    She participated in a procession in penitent costume, hoping for a child! For from the beginning of their union, she wished to offer a dauphin to the king. Unfortunately, the couple was and remained childless, many thinking it was due to the king’s sterility (because of his inclinations). They had themselves examined, called upon potion “makers,” went to thermal cures, the king engaged in prayers and devotional gestures, he undertook pilgrimages from 1580 to 1586, she did not adhere to her husband’s mystical sessions, she tried to understand him, to help him, but did not approve.


    The couple remained united and supportive, but they were resigned, they would not have children: God willed it so.
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    A Precious Support

    An irreproachable Catholic, she devoted herself to the poor, orphans, and prisoners. She patronized a Charity House in the Mouffetard district. She is also credited with bringing light to crossroads, thanks to statues of the Madonna illuminated by a lamp. Her popularity increased when in 1586 she allocated an annuity to two students so that “they ensure the preaching on Sundays and annual feasts in the prisons of the Conciergerie, the grand and petit Châtelet of Paris.”

    During the troubles of the League, she supported her husband against her Lorraine family: it was an act of honor. She even went so far as to reproach him for rebelling! When the king decided to arrest the Duke of Guise, she approved; during the days of the barricades, cloistered in Paris, she faced the Duke of Guise alone; she supported her husband when he decided on the death of his enemy; she was still by his side for the meeting at Plessis-lès-Tours.

    But on August 4, 1589, she received a last letter: the king had just been the victim of an attack, and wanted to reassure her “My love, I hope I will be very well; pray to God for me and do not move from there.”

    She Mourned But Did Not Forgive!

    Louise took on white mourning, settled in Chenonceau in a room facing the river, and organized her life: walks, embroidery, reading of the Lives of Saints, Sunday service in the small church of Francueil. In her room, there were mementos of her husband everywhere: a portrait on the fireplace with the motto “saevi monumenta doloris,” flaming torches, widow’s cords, all on a black velvet background.

    She did not forgive those who had killed her husband and “desires no more life than to see punishment done to those who make it so miserable for her.” Only half satisfied when the prior of the convent to which Jacques Clément belonged was sentenced to death, and because the Guises were responsible, she appealed to Henry IV: he evaded the question and absolved the Duke of Mayenne and the Lorraine princesses in 1596!

    She would never forgive! She begged the pope for the Church to make amends for all that had been done against the king, and many years later, finally, the pope annulled the excommunication and proclaimed Henry III dead in peace with the Church.

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    Louise of Lorraine at Saint-Denis

    But Louise was tired and worn out by this struggle. She received a final blow: she had to leave Chenonceau! Catherine de’ Medici’s will presenting more liabilities than assets, Louise would have to pay her share of her mother-in-law’s debts if she wanted to keep the castle, which was impossible!

    The estate was sold at auction in December 1593; Louise’s half-brother, a Mercœur, bought back Chenonceau, left it to Louise, but charged her with donating it to the young future spouses: Mercœur’s only daughter and little César (who had just been born), son of Henry IV and Gabrielle d’Estrées. She had the usufruct, but preferred to leave these places of sorrow and settled in the Duchy of Bourbonnais, in Moulins. She died at the end of January 1601, after catching a cold in a church during a sermon the previous December.

    She is the only queen to actually rest in the tomb bearing her name at Saint-Denis: she was first installed in the Capuchin convent in the Faubourg Saint-Honoré, then in the new Capuchin church near Place Vendôme, was transported to Père Lachaise during the Revolution, and accessed Saint-Denis in 1817. While all the kings’ tombs had been violated and the remains thrown into the common grave!