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Article: Catherine De Médicis (1519-1589)
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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CATHERINE DE M
É
DICIS (1519-1589)
CATHERINE DE M
É
DICIS
(1519-1589), queen of France. Wife of King Henry II, mother of Kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III, Catherine de M
é
dicis, the power behind the throne in France for three decades, has generated passionate opinions among contemporaries and historians alike. She was born in 1519 into one of the greatest Italian princely families: her father, Lorenzo de' Medici, was duke of Urbino, and her uncle was Pope Clement VII. Her mother, Madeleine de La Tour, was daughter of Jean, comte d'Auvergne, and Jeanne de Bourbon-Vend
ô
me, both related to the French royal family.
Her marriage in 1533 to Henry, the younger son ...