Few queens have left their mark on French history like Catherine de Médicis, whose presence at court and in government was of exceptional longevity, beginning in 1533 under the “beau XVIe siècle” and ending in Blois in 1589, at the heart of the 8th religious war.
Chosen by François I to marry his son Henri, she became dauphine, queen, regent and queen mother. Alongside five successive kings of France, she was both a witness to and a major player in her era in France and Europe. Her exceptional destiny continues to fuel the judgments of historians, as well as the famous “black legend” and the imagination of novels and films.