The children of Henri II and Catherine de Medici

[Clelia]

Henry II and Catherine de Medici were strong & healthy persons for 16th century conditions...

Catherine even survived the birth of the twins, that was a terrible ordeal... One of the babies had to be dismembered in order to take her out of the womb. 
I wonder myself why Henry and Catherine's children were so weak, that only Margot lived to see the next century.
Interesting people...

[Mari]

Henri III and his spouse Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont (30 April 1553 – 29 January 1601 really were an interesting couple. According to some sources he married her because She resembled the Princess de Conde Marie de Clèves, whom he had a great infatuation for but  died. Although the Princess de Conde was married some sources claim he planned to have her divorced the year he took the throne!!   Louise greatly resembled her... was supposed to have been Blonde, beautiful and sweet natured! In her painting She looks like a redhead!! Maybe She was a titian blonde? He apparently treated her like a Doll and although the only pregnancy had ended in miscarriage ...if he had not been stabbed to death I wonder if they might have produced any children? The pressure on Louise to bear a child was so great that apparently it drove her to fits of depression! But his death ended any chance if there ever was one!
He was his Mother's favorite

in 1564 his name became Henri. He was his mother's favorite; she called him chers yeux ("Precious Eyes") and lavished her fondness and affection upon him for most of his life. His elder brother Charles grew to detest him, resenting Henry's greater health and activity.

when he died he was 38.

Leonie Frieda in Catherine de Medici mentions that story Kimberly told us "The wedding took place on 13 February 1575, two days after Henry's coronation. It was marked, typically for her husband, by a strong element of farce; the King not only designing her dresses and costumes himself, but delaying the wedding – scheduled for the morning – until the evening because he had spent several hours personally dressing her hair. The couple were finally married at the Cathedral of Reims by Cardinal Charles de Bourbon that evening."

portrait of Louise http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Louise_Lorraine.jpg




http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.royaltyguide.nl/images-families/lothringen/lothringen3/1553%2520Louise.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.royaltyguide.nl/families/valois/valois.htm&usg=___3NxilnBRLQbbDnTFz_uWvVxLRI=&h=423&w=346&sz=43&hl=en&start=20&um=1&tbnid=YR9BrbpvAqWZeM:&tbnh=126&tbnw=103&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHenri%2BIII%2Bof%2BFrance%2B1551-1589%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

[Romanov_fan]

I have always found Catharine de Medici very interesting. She has often been described as a very manipulative woman, and this reputation has made her seen to be a villain of history quite a bit. She had little power in her husband's reign because he was dominated by his mistress Diane de Poitiers. But she certainly was never far from power during the reigns of her sons. She and Henri had a hard time producing children at first interestingly enough, and I think there was even talk of having him divorce Catharine and get a more fertile wife. They ended up having many children, but no descendents on the French throne, which is what would have happened anyway had Catharine had no children, so the Valois were doomed either way. Do the two daughters Claude and Elisabeth had descendents down to the present day, and who are some of them?

[Mari]

Through the turns and twists of Claude descendants I found this and this is just one line

Starting with Claude of Valois
Henry II Duke of Lorraine
Claude de Lorraine 1612-1648
Charles V Duke of Lorraine 1643-1690
Leopold Duke of Lorraine 1679-1729
Francis I Holy Roman Emperor 1708-1765
Maria Carolina of Austria 1752-1814 Queen Consort of Naples and
Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily (6 June 1772 – 13 April 1807) Empress of Austria
Archduke Franz Karl Joseph of Austria (17 December 1802 – 8 March 1878)
Franz Joseph I Emperor of Austria, reigned from 1848 until 1916 and King of Hungary from 1867 until 1916
Gisela Louise Marie, Princess Imperial and Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Hungary and Bohemia, Princess of Bavaria (12 July 1856 - 27 July 1932)
Princess Augusta of Bavaria (German: Auguste Maria Luise Prinzessin von Bayern) (April 28, 1875 - June 25, 1964) was a member of the Bavarian Royal House of Wittelsbach and the spouse of Archduke Joseph August of Austria.
Archduke Joseph Francis of Austria 1895-1957 Archduke of Austria
and then
Geza von Habsburg, born 1940 who is the above son of Archduke Joseph Francis of Austria (1895-1957) and his wife Princess Anna of Saxony (1903-1976) thus he is a grandson of King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and great-great grandson (on his father's mother's side) of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sissi). He is a Fabergé expert and has published many books and articles on the jewellers Peter Carl Fabergé and Victor Mayer. He is the curator of several mayor international Fabergé exhibitions.
His first marriage, in 1965, was to Monika Decker (Born 1939) produced three sons:

    * Franz Ferdinand (Born 1967)
    * Ferdinand Leopold (Born 1969) He is currently working for UNDP in Southern Sudan
    * Maximilian Philip (Born 1974)

They were divorced in 1991.

His second marriage, in 1991, was to Elizabeth Jane Kunstadter (Born 1957) produced a daughter:

    * Isabella Maria Luisa (Born 1996)
 

[Romanov_fan]

Did the French Royal Family end up being descended from Catharine de Medici before the French Revolution through intermarriage with other dynasties? I'm not sure.

[Terence]

Did the French Royal Family end up being descended from Catharine de Medici before the French Revolution through intermarriage with other dynasties? I'm not sure.

Interesting question.  Besides the above example there are many around currently descended from Catharine De Medici, including Dr. Otto von Habsburg, the current Luxembourg royal family and the Savoys.

But to your question, here's one line of descent, there may be others but it took me a while to figure out this one.  I'd be interested if someone can find a closer link between Catherine and the later Bourbon kings...

Henri II & Catherine de Medici>Elizabeth de Valois>Catalina Michaella of Spain>Vittorio Amandeo of Savoy>Adelaide Henrietta of Savoy>Maria Anna of Bavaria>Louis, duc de Bourgogne>Louis XV

It's amazing how all these people are related.  I just discovered that thru Jean de Bourbon, Comte de Vendome...Catherine de Medici, Henri IV of France and Mary of Guise (mother of Mary, Queen of Scots) were all second cousins.

Regards,
T

[Romanov_fan]

Thanks. Yes, they were all related to each other through all the intermarriage.Marie Antoinette was of course related to Catharine de Medici through Catharine's daughter Claude with the Lorraine line, since MA was the daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis, Duke of Lorraine.

[An Ard Rí]

Anything to do with Catherine captivates my mind,I'm also very interested in the lives of her children

[Marc]

Thanks. Yes, they were all related to each other through all the intermarriage.Marie Antoinette was of course related to Catharine de Medici through Catharine's daughter Claude with the Lorraine line, since MA was the daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis, Duke of Lorraine.

Of course,MA was in fact descendant of Catherine d'Medici through daughter Claude of Lorraine...

[An Ard Rí]

Christina of Lorraine was a favourite grandchild of Queen Catherine de Medici

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_of_Lorraine

[LenelorMiksi]

The eldest of Catherine and Henri II's surviving children, King Francis II of France and his wife Mary Queen of Scots.


Their eldest daughter, Elisabeth, who became queen of Spain and Phillip II's third wife at age 13.


Claude de Valois, who married Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, and had several children. 


The second son to become king, Charles IX and his wife Elisabeth Archduchess of Austria.  Charles looks much older than twenty-four, perhaps as a result of the ravages of tuberculosis.


Catherine de Medici's favorite son, Henri III King of France, born Alexandre Edouard.  He was elected King of Poland. 

[LenelorMiksi]

Marguerite, called Margot, who married Henry IV King of Navarre and then France. She resembles her sister Claude.



The youngest son, Francis Duke of Anjou and Alençon, born Hercule François.

[Alexandrina-Sofia]

Marie Elisabeth of Valois (27 October 1572 – 9 April 1578) was the only child of Charles IX of France and Elisabeth of Austria.