Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589), 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 he 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.
After Charles died in 1574, Catherine played a key role in the reign of her third son, Henry III.
He dispensed with her advice only in the last months of her life (he would outlive her by seven months).
Catherine's three sons reigned in an age of almost constant civil and religious war in France.
The problems facing the monarchy were complex and daunting but Catherine was able to keep the monarchy and the state institutions functioning even at a minimum level.
At first, Catherine compromised and made concessions to the rebelling Calvinist Protestants, or Huguenots, as they became known.
She failed, however, to grasp the theological issues that drove their movement.
Later she resorted, in frustration and anger, to hard-line policies against them.
In return, she came to be blamed for the excessive persecutions carried out under her sons' rule, in particular for the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572, in which thousands of Huguenots were killed in Paris and throughout France.
Some historians have excused Catherine from blame for the worst decisions of the crown, though evidence for her ruthlessness can be found in her letters.
In practice, her authority was always limited by the effects of the civil wars.
Her policies, therefore, may be seen as desperate measures to keep the Valois monarchy on the throne at all costs, and her patronage of the arts as an attempt to glorify a monarchy whose prestige was in steep decline.
Without Catherine, it is unlikely that her sons would have remained in power.
According to Mark Strage, one of her biographers, Catherine was the most powerful woman in 16th-century Europe.
Marie of Valois, Duchess of Calabria
Marie of Valois( 1309 – 23 October 1331), was the eldest daughter of Charles of Valois by his third wife Mahaut of Châtillon.
She was a member of the House of Valois.
One of her five children was Queen Joanna I of Naples.
Minamoto no Chikako
She was the mother of Prince Morinaga.
Joan of Valois, Countess of Beaumont
Joan of Valois (1304–1363) was the daughter of Charles of Valois and his second wife Catherine I of Courtenay, titular empress of Constantinople.
Half sister to Philip VI of Valois, in around 1320 she married Robert III of Artois, Count of Beaumont-le-Roger and seigneur of Conches.
They had five known children:
Robert III of Artois had attempted to recover the title of count of Artois, which had been taken from him by his aunt Mahaut of Artois, but was condemned and exiled in 1331 for making and presenting forged documents in the process of filing against her.
Joan of Valois and their children were therefore imprisoned by order of her half-brother Philip VI.
Victoria of France
Victoria of France (24 June 1556 – 17 August 1556) and her twin sister Joan
were the last children born to King Henry II of France and his wife, Catherine de' Medici.
Their mother's confinement came on June 24, 1556.
Although Joan died in the womb, Princess Victoria survived the birth—only to die a little more than a month later.
Because their birth very nearly cost their mother her life, the king's physician advised the king that there should be no more children; therefore, Henry II stopped visiting his wife's bedroom and spent all his time with his longtime mistress, Diane de Poitiers.
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Princess Victoria of Saxe- Coburg- Saalfeld( 17 August 1786 – 16 March 1861), later Duchess of Kent and Strathearn, was a German princess and the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
As the widow of Charles, Prince of Leiningen( 1763 – 1814), from 1814 she served as regent of the Principality during the minority of her son from her first marriage, Carl, until her second wedding in 1818 to Prince Edward, son of King George III of the United Kingdom.
Elizabeth Curtain
Elizabeth Helen Curtain is a retired judge, serving successively on the benches of the County Court of Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria, in the Australian state of Victoria, and currently Chair of the Adult Parole Board of Victoria.
Joan of Valois, Countess of Hainaut
Joan of Valois( c. 1294 – 7 March 1342) was a Countess consort of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland.
She was the second eldest daughter of the French prince Charles, Count of Valois, and his first wife, Margaret, Countess of Anjou.
As the sister of King Philip VI of France and the mother- in- law of Edward III, she was ideally placed to act as mediator between them.
Charles, Count of Valois
Charles of Valois( 12 March 1270 – 16 December 1325), the third son of Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon, was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, whose rule over France would start in 1328.
Charles ruled several principalities.
He held in appanage the counties of Valois, Alençon and Perche.
Through his marriage to Margaret of Anjou, he became Count of Anjou and Maine.
Through his marriage to Catherine I, titular empress of the Latin Empire, he was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1301 – 1307, although he ruled from exile and only had authority over Crusader States in Greece.
The grandson of Louis IX of France, Charles of Valois was a son, brother, brother- in- law and son-in- law of kings or queens( of France, Navarre, England and Naples).
His descendants, the House of Valois, would become the royal house of France three years after his death, beginning with his son Philip VI of France.
Trinidad Tecson
Trinidad Perez Tecson (November 18, 1848 – January 28, 1928), known as the "Mother of Biak-na-Bato" and "Mother of Mercy", fought to gain Philippines independence.
She was given the title "Mother of Biak-na-Bato" by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.
She was also cited as the "Mother of the Philippine National Red Cross" for her service to her fellow Katipuneros.

Question: Where was the mother of Victoria Of France born?
Answer: Florence