Catherine de' Medici

Catherine de' Medici

Catherine de' Medici (Italian: Caterina de' Medici, pronounced [kateˈriːna de ˈmɛːditʃi]; French: Catherine de Médicis, pronounced [katʁin də medisis]; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian (Florentine) noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II and the mother of French kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" since she had extensive, if at times varying, influence on the political life of France.Catherine was born in Florence to Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne. In 1533, at the age of 14, Catherine married Henry, the second son of King Francis I and Queen Claude of France, who would become Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder brother Francis in 1536. Catherine's marriage was arranged by her uncle Pope Clement VII. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Catherine de' Medici has received more than 11,277,446 page views. Her biography is available in 76 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 75 in 2019). Catherine de' Medici is the 11th most popular companion (down from 5th in 2019), the 80th most popular biography from Italy (down from 49th in 2019) and the most popular Italian Companion.

Catherine de' Medici was a powerful Italian noblewoman who became queen consort of France in 1547 by marrying King Henry II. She was the mother of three kings of France, including Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. Catherine was also the last direct descendent of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of Florence.