Greg Jenner is joined in 16th-Century France by Dr Estelle Paranque and comedian Shaparak Khorsandi to learn all about controversial queen Catherine de’ Medici.Catherine’s life was dramatic from the moment she was born: orphaned when she was just a few weeks old, she was brought up by her uncle the Pope, and her childhood was shaped by the tumultuous politics of Renaissance Florence. At fourteen, she was married to the son of the king of France and shipped off to the French court, only to find herself involved in a literal ménage à trois with her teenage husband’s older mistress. But after her husband became king – and even more so after he died and her sons ruled France – Catherine came into her power as queen and later queen mother. And through her children and the marriages she organised for them, Catherine’s influence was even felt beyond the borders of France. She even corresponded with Tudor queen Elizabeth I!This episode traces Catherine’s tumultuous personal and political life from orphaned child to grandmother of Europe, exploring along the way the terror of the French Wars of Religion, and asking whether the dark legend of Catherine 'the serpent queen' is deserved, or whether she has been misunderstood by history.This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed.Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Hannah Cusworth Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: James Cook
Who is Catherine de’ Medici?
Yeah.
And they had two daughters.
And Spain is a superpower at this time, isn't it? Absolutely. France and Spain are superpowers.
And then she has people in Lorraine and Tuscany. She is the grandmother of Europe.
And what about her final years, Catherine? I mean, she's quite old by this point, not like elderly, but she's lived a life by this point. So what's life like for her in the mid-1850s or so?
Well, for her, it's very hard because in 1585, there's the eighth religious civil war that is triggered, obviously, by the death of her son, her last son. Also, you have to realize that now, you know, she's counting her kids. Oh, my God. And there's still Henry.
But Henry and herself, so her favorite son, are going to drift apart because Henry III is going to make a secret alliance with Elizabeth I because he understands now that the Protestants don't want his crown, but the Guises and Mary Stuart want much power in Europe. Right.
So he's going to make a secret alliance, and Catherine is going to get closer to the Guises, wanting to preserve the Catholic faith, ultimately, in France. And Henry III is going to commit a very horrible thing. He's going to order the murder of the Guises, and Catherine de' Medici is going to know that's the end. I think she really gets very ill. Mm-hmm.
At that time, so it's December 1588, she gets very ill and she has nowhere to recover because the country is in, honestly, it's hell. France is hell at that point. And she dies on the 5th January 1589. And I'm so glad she didn't see her favorite son, the beautiful Henry, murdered. He's murdered a few months later, in August 1589.
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