History Now

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I started by telling you about one of the strongest rulers ever who just happened to be female, and now I will tell you about one of the weakest rulers ever, also female.

Marie de Medici was the second wife to Henry IV of
France and mother to Louis XIII. Her marriage with Henry IV was unhappy and tedious—she was conniving and Henry refused to play her Medici mind games.

Marie’s weak nature caused her to grow fat and lazy—so lazy that all her political decisions would eventually be made by a man named Concino Concini because Concini’s wife, Leonara, whom was Marie’s maid, was able to manipulate the queen into being she and her husband’s puppet. When Henry IV died, the throne passed to Marie’s son, who became known as Louis XIII, but because Louis was underage, Marie de Medici ruled in his place as regent.

Regent Marie, knowing very little of anything other than palace politics, quickly brought the kingdom to a state of conflict. When the noble class of France revolted, instead of asserting her (and the crown’s) authority, Marie folded quickly, she let herself be pushed around for fear of going against what she believed to be the public opinion, and successfully bought off the nobles with titles and policies—effectively weakening not only the crown in the eyes of the people, but causing unrest throughout the kingdom.

Lucky for France, a cardinal by the name of Richelieu stepped in and in 1617, Louis XIII took the power of the French crown into his own hands. Louis XIII first acts of business, at the urging of Richelieu, his new , to re-strengthen the crown were to have Concini assassinated and Marie de Medici exiled.

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