Young Queens: The gripping, intertwined story of Catherine de' Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots

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While they were sometimes unexpected heirs, Britain’s young queens have transcended challenging accessions to become historically significant sovereigns. Mary II’s short reign saw an important shift in the balance of power between monarchy and parliament, marking the beginning of the constitutional monarchy we still retain today. The Queen’s reign has not been without tragedy, most recently the death of her husband of 73 years Prince Philip in 2021. However, one of the most tragic losses the Queen, the royal family and the country had to endure was the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in the garden of their wartime country residence (Windsor) in January 1941 Credit: PA Lord of The Rings: Rings of Power – a guide to the expanded world of Middle-earth in J.R.R Tolkein’s other books Princess Elizabeth - daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York - waves from the carriage in 1928. Credit: PAIt is the nature of hereditary monarchy that the suitability of royal children as rulers or consorts is a lottery. Elizabeth I went her own determined way as the Virgin Queen, with remarkable success. In the 17th century, Queen Christina of Sweden abdicated and exiled herself to Rome where she became a patron of the arts and enjoyed multiple affairs. In the 18th, going one better, Queen Caroline didn’t abdicate, swanned off to the Med, hooked up with the low-born Milanese Bartolomeo Pergami, and still retained such popularity in England that George IV could not remove her title. These three young queens, however, are not the sort to tear up the rule book. Catherine, consort and regent of France, her daughter Elisabeth and daughter-in-law Mary dutifully marry and try their best (in trying circumstances) to bear the necessary children. As Chang admits, neither Elisabeth nor Mary had Elizabeth Tudor’s brilliance. Nor did they match Marguerite of Navarre’s literary accomplishments or Renée de France’s important patronage of Calvin. That does, however, give us a chance to find out what it was like to be a rather average woman thrust into a role for which you had to develop the aptitude swiftly or face trouble. Well-written, detailed . . . [ Young Queens] brings these women to life with insight and empathy, skillfully revealing ‘patterns about women and power’ . . . By centering these queens’ reigns and their relationships with one another, Chang gives readers new insight into their lives and legacies." — Rebecca Hopman, Booklist As it turned out, death came for the pope first. Leo X expired suddenly on December 1, 1521, just weeks after endorsing Charles V’s claim to Milan. The new pope, Hadrian VI, was a Dutchman with no interest in Medici affairs or their infant children. Slipping the Ring of the Fisherman on his finger, Hadrian left Catherine nestled in the bosom of the Strozzi household. For a brief but blissful few years, she was mostly forgotten. A] thorough historical excavation . . . By using intimate, personal accounts gleaned from her extensive research, Chang transports readers directly into their world. . . A delightful historical study of women coming to the forefront in a world dominated by men.” — Kirkus (starred review) The boldly original, dramatic intertwined story of Catherine de’ Medici, Elisabeth de Valois, and Mary, Queen of Scots—three queens exercising power in a world dominated by men.

The Strozzi household was a bustling place. Caterina lived surrounded by women and children, bound by the rules of the nursery, governed by the daily rhythms of eating, playing, sleeping, and, in a Catholic Europe still barely touched by Protestantism, praying in a Catholic way, a Latin way—the only way, as far as the Medici and the Strozzi were concerned. She learned to walk and run along sunbaked terraces and among the sculptures and chestnut trees inspired by fashionable Medici gardens, lush designs that Clarice had brought to Rome. Sweets and smells and color from a Renaissance garden formed her senses, teaching her the flavor of melon, the scent of rosemary, the perfume of roses, the touch of billowy hydrangea. Medici and Strozzi tastes began to train her child’s eye. She learned about beauty yet didn’t even realize it was happening.8 She left behind neither mother nor father in Italy. Catherine had been an orphan almost since birth. Her father had been Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino and ruler of Florence. The scion of the Medici family’s senior branch, Lorenzo was the grandson and namesake of the great fifteenth-century Florentine banker and patron Lorenzo de’ Medici, known as Il Magnifico. A brutal and inventive fantasy that is as addictive as it is horrifying.' Marissa Meyer, NYT bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles on Three Dark Crowns Mary, Queen of Scots' story begins in Scotland and ends in England. A queen turned traitor, from the confines of her English prison she longs for the idyll of her childhood in France. The boldly original, dramatic intertwined story of Catherine de’ Medici, Elisabeth de Valois, and Mary, Queen of Scots – three queens exercising power in a world dominated by men.Baptized Caterina Maria Romula in the Medici parish church of San Lorenzo, she was the great-granddaughter of Il Magnifico. Every important event in her childhood turned on this single fact. From her earliest years, Caterina was subject to the whims of princes and the ebb and flow of Italian and European politics. Even her conception had been political, her flesh and blood plotted by ambitious relatives who anticipated her birth with both delight and greed. Queen Elizabeth II, on the throne as the bishops pay homage to her during the Coronation of 1953. Credit: PA