page_title: Catherine de' Medici
section_title: Dauphine
hierarchical_section_title: Catherine de' Medici / Marriage / Dauphine
caption_attribution_description: Henry, Duke of Orléans, the future King Henry II. of France, son of King Francis I of France and Queen Claude of France, husband of Catherine de' Medici, father of King Francis II of France, King Charles IX of France, King Henry III of France, Elizabeth de Valois (third wife of King Philip II of Spain) and Marguerite de Valois.
context_page_description: Catherine de' Medici, was an Italian noblewoman who was queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, by marriage to King Henry II, and Queen mother of kings Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III from 1559 to 1589. The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" as she had extensive, if at times varying, influence in the political life of France.
  She was born in Florence to Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne. In 1533, at the age of fourteen, Catherine married Henry, second son of King Francis I and Queen Claude of France. Catherine's marriage was arranged by her uncle Pope Clement VII. Henry excluded Catherine from participating in state affairs and instead showered favors on his chief mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who wielded much influence over him. Henry's death thrust Catherine into the political arena as mother of the frail 15-year-old King Francis II. When Francis II died in 1560, she became regent on behalf of her 10-year-old son King Charles IX and was granted sweeping powers. From 1560 to 1563, she ruled France as regent for her son Charles IX, King of France.
context_section_description: In 1536, Henry's older brother, Francis, caught a chill after a game of tennis, contracted a fever and died shortly after, leaving Henry the heir. Suspicions of poison abounded, from Catherine to Emperor Charles V. Sebastiano de Montecuccoli confessed under torture to poisoning the Dauphin.
  As dauphine, Catherine was expected to provide a future heir to the throne. According to the court chronicler Brantôme, "many people advised the king and the Dauphin to repudiate her, since it was necessary to continue the line of France". Divorce was discussed. In desperation, Catherine tried every known trick for getting pregnant, such as placing cow dung and ground stags' antlers on her "source of life", and drinking mule's urine. On 19 January 1544, she at last gave birth to a son, named after King Francis.
  After becoming pregnant once, Catherine had no trouble doing so again. She may have owed her change of fortune to the physician Jean Fernel, who had noticed slight abnormalities in the couple's sexual organs and advised them how to solve the problem. Catherine quickly conceived again and on 2 April 1545 she bore a daughter, Elisabeth. She went on to bear Henry a further eight children, six of whom survived infancy, including the future Charles IX (born 27 June 1550); the future Henry III (born 19 September 1551); and Francis, Duke of Anjou (born 18 March 1555). The long-term future of the Valois dynasty, which had ruled France since the 14th century, seemed assured.
  Catherine's ability to bear children, however, failed to improve her marriage. About 1538, at the age of 19, Henry had taken as his mistress the 38-year-old Diane de Poitiers, whom he adored for the rest of his life. Even so, he respected Catherine's status as his consort. When King Francis I died on 31 March 1547, Catherine became queen consort of France. She was crowned in the basilica of Saint-Denis on 10 June 1549.
caption: Henry, Duke of Orléans, by Corneille de Lyon. During his childhood, Henry spent almost four and a half years as a hostage in Spain, an ordeal that marked him for life, leaving him introverted and gloomy.
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