MARIE DE’ MEDICI, OBSESSED WITH POWER

Exceptional destinies

An episode from the series SECRETS OF HISTORY - PORTRAITS

Synopsis

The Palais du Luxembourg, now the seat of the Senate, has been gracing the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, in the heart of Paris, since the early 17th century. Queen Mary de’ Medici ordered its construction in memory of the Pitti Palace in Florence, where she was born in April 1575.

Coming from the sulphurous Tuscan banking family, the Medici, the young Mary will experience luxury, power, humiliation and destitution in turn.

What was the nature of her relationship with King Henry IV, her elder by 22 years? Did she play a role in her husband's murder, 24 hours after being crowned queen?