Marie de' Medici. Marie de' Medici was Queen of France as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon.
She was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici. Following the assassination of her husband in 1610, which occurred the day after her coronation, she acted as regent for her son, King Louis XIII of France, until 1617, when he came of age.
She was noted for her ceaseless political intrigues at the French court and extensive artistic patronage. She was born as Maria at the Palazzo Pitti of Florence, Italy, the sixth daughter of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Archduchess Joanna of Austria.
Marie was not a male-line descendant of Lorenzo the Magnificent but from Lorenzo the Elder, a branch of the Medici family sometimes referred to as the 'cadet' branch. She did descend from Lorenzo in the female-line however, through his daughter Lucrezia de' Medici.
She was also a Habsburg through her mother, who was a direct descendant of Joanna of Castile and Philip I of Castile. Marie was one of seven children, but only she and her sister Eleonora survived to adulthood. A portrait of Marie as a young girl shows her with regular features and a high forehead. Her wavy hair was light brown in colour, and she had honey-brown eyes and fair skin. The painter was from the school of Santi di Tito. She married Henry IV of France in October 1600 following the annu
She was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici. Following the assassination of her husband in 1610, which occurred the day after her coronation, she acted as regent for her son, King Louis XIII of France, until 1617, when he came of age.
She was noted for her ceaseless political intrigues at the French court and extensive artistic patronage. She was born as Maria at the Palazzo Pitti of Florence, Italy, the sixth daughter of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Archduchess Joanna of Austria.
Marie was not a male-line descendant of Lorenzo the Magnificent but from Lorenzo the Elder, a branch of the Medici family sometimes referred to as the 'cadet' branch. She did descend from Lorenzo in the female-line however, through his daughter Lucrezia de' Medici.
She was also a Habsburg through her mother, who was a direct descendant of Joanna of Castile and Philip I of Castile. Marie was one of seven children, but only she and her sister Eleonora survived to adulthood. A portrait of Marie as a young girl shows her with regular features and a high forehead. Her wavy hair was light brown in colour, and she had honey-brown eyes and fair skin. The painter was from the school of Santi di Tito. She married Henry IV of France in October 1600 following the annu
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