Life of Catherine de' Medici

Birth of Catherine de' Medici

Apr 13, 1519

Born in Florence

Catherine de' Medici Gets Married

Oct 28, 1533

Married Henry, Duke of Orléans in Marseille

Catherine de' Medici Gave Birth to a Son

Jan 19, 1544

She gave birth to a son whom she named after King Francis

Catherine de' Medici became Queen Consort of France

Jun 15, 1549

King Francis I died in 1547 Catherine became queen consort of France.

Catherine de' Medici gave birth to Charles IX

Jun 27, 1550

After having her first son she no longer had trouble with bearing children.

Catherine de' Medici gives birth to Henry III

Sep 19, 1551

Catherine gave birth to yet another son.

Catherine de' Medici gives birth to Francis, Duke of Anjou

Mar 18, 1555

Catherine gave birth to another son.

King Henry died from Jousting, from that day on Catherine took a broken lance as her emblem.

Jul 10, 1559

Catherine took a broken lance as her emblem, inscribed with the words "lacrymae hinc, hinc dolor" ("from this come my tears and my pain"), and wore black mourning in memory of Henry.

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

Aug 23, 1572

On 23 August Charles IX ordered, "Then kill them all! Kill them all!".[96] The thinking was clear. Catherine and her advisers expected a Huguenot uprising to revenge the attack on Coligny. They chose therefore to strike first and wipe out the Huguenot leaders while they were still in Paris after the wedding.

Death of Catherine de' Medici

Jan 5, 1589

Died in Château de Blois, France