Henry IV of France's wives and mistresses played a significant role in the politics of his reign. Both Henry (1553–1610) and his first wife Margaret of Valois, whom he married in 1572, were repeatedly unfaithful to each other, and the collapse of their marriage led to their estrangement and living apart. Although Henry fathered children with a series of mistresses, his lack of a legitimate heir became a cause of concern, and his marriage was not annulled until 1599. In 1600, at the age of forty-six, he married his second wife, Marie de' Medici. They had six children, including the future Louis XIII. Henry was unfaithful to his second wife as well and insisted that she raise his illegitimate children along with her own.
Margaret of Valois, by François Clouet, c. 1570. Usually remembered for her scandalous and stormy life, Margaret was above all an active politician, acting as a mediator between Catholics and Huguenots. She was also an intellectual, a protector of the arts and also a writer and poet. Her most important work was her Memoirs, the first written in a modern style by a woman.
Henry of Navarre and Margaret of Valois
Charlotte de Sauve, Henry's mistress during the early years of his marriage to Marguerite of Valois, worked as an informant for Catherine de' Medici as a member of her "Flying Squadron"
Marie de' Medici
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Marie de' Medici was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as regent legally expired in 1614, when her son reached the age of majority, but she refused to resign and continued as regent until she was removed by a coup in 1617.
Maria de' Medici as a child. Currently at the Palazzo Pitti, Florence.
Maria de' Medici as a young woman, by Santi di Tito, ca. 1590.
Marie de Médicis, by Pietro Facchetti, c. 1595, Palazzo De Torres-Lancellotti, Rome