| Queen of France Date of Birth: 26.04.1575 Country: Italy |
Maria de' Medici, the Queen of France, is remembered in history as the wife of Henry IV and the regent queen during the minority of her son, Louis XIII. Her life was marked by both triumphs and tragedies, ultimately ending in poverty and obscurity in exile.
Maria de' Medici, the daughter of Francesco I de' Medici and Joanna of Austria, was born in Florence on April 26, 1575. She was one of seven children, but only she and her sister, Eleonora, survived to adulthood. In her youth, Maria possessed such beauty that she captivated the heart of Henry IV. He divorced his wife, Margaret of Valois, and married Maria. However, their marriage was not a happy one.
Maria was plagued by extreme jealousy and constantly picked quarrels with her husband's mistresses. Although Henry always stood by his queen, he never fully supported her. This created a rift between them and further strained their relationship. After Henry's death, Maria assumed regency over her son.
During her regency, Maria faced repeated attempts by the aristocracy to remove her from power. She had to suppress numerous noble uprisings, which took a toll on her both mentally and physically. In 1614, after her son was declared of age, Maria was banished to Blois by his orders, influenced by his advisor Luynes.
In February 1619, Maria reconciled with her son and returned to Paris, where she regained control of the state council. She persistently sought to regain her power, even trying to secure the support of Cardinal Richelieu by offering him a position in the ministry. However, Richelieu had no intention of sharing power and ultimately betrayed her, leading to her removal from politics.
For the remainder of her life, Maria lived in various countries, constantly moving to evade persecution. She died in Cologne on July 3, 1642, in poverty and obscurity. Despite her tumultuous reign, Maria de' Medici left a lasting legacy as a powerful and influential queen, whose personal struggles mirrored the turbulent times in which she lived.