Marie de Médicis, << MEHD ih chee or may dee SEES >> (1573-1642), was the second wife of King Henry IV and the mother of King Louis XIII of France. She was born on April 26, 1573, in Florence, Italy, into the powerful Medici family. When Henry was assassinated in 1610, 8-year-old Louis inherited the throne. Marie became queen regent (temporary ruler). She ruled until Louis seized power in 1617.
Marie granted power to Leonora Galigaï, her childhood playmate, and to Galigaï’s husband, Concino Concini. The couple had a reputation for being corrupt and for misusing power. To stem rising opposition, Marie called a meeting of the legislative assembly, the Estates-General, in 1614. But in 1617, Louis had Concini murdered and had Galigaï arrested. Galigaï was then tried and beheaded.
In 1624, Marie helped her friend Cardinal Richelieu get appointed to the royal council. Marie grew to resent Richelieu’s power, and in 1630 she demanded that Louis dismiss him. Instead, the king banished Marie from the court. She fled to the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium). Marie was a patron of the great Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. During the 1620’s, Rubens depicted Marie’s life in 21 grand pictures. Marie died on July 3, 1642.
See also Estates-General; Henry IV; Louis XIII; Medici; Richelieu, Cardinal.
