ChrisNuttall
Well-known member
From the death of her husband, Francis II of France, Catherine de' Medici effectively ruled France as regent for her son Charles and maintained a sizable power base until, nearing the end of her life, she was effectively fired by her third son Henry III. She wasn’t a formal queen in the sense Queen Elizabeth I was (they lived and ruled at the same time) and could never rest easy, even though she was vastly more capable than most of the men around her. She frequently had to resort to double-dealing and suchlike to get things done and, while she was capable of being ruthless, she couldn’t always carry it through as she lacked formal authority. She attempted to decapitate the Huguenot leadership, for example, but the result was the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.
What if she hadn’t been able to take control as her son’s regent?
What if she hadn’t been able to take control as her son’s regent?