Lucrezia de' Medici (1470–1553)

Lucrezia Maria Romola de' Medici (4 August 1470 - between 10 and November 15, 1553) was an Italian noblewoman, the eldest daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici and Clarice Orsini and mother of Maria Salviati and Giovanni Salviati, who was a cardinal from 1517 until his death. Her portrait was considered (as a newborn) as the baby Jesus in Our Lady of the Magnificat of Sandro Botticelli

Life, marriage and issue

She married on the 10 September 1486 to Jacopo Salviati. By Salviati, she had 10 children, some of who were of great importance for the history of Renaissance Europe:

• Cardinal Giovanni Salviati (Florence, 1490 - Ravenna, 1553)
• Lorenzo Salviati (Florence, 1492 - Ferrara, 1539), senator and patron
• Piero Salviati, patrician
• Elena Salviati (Florence, 1495 circa - Genoa, 1552), married the Marquis Pallavicino Pallavicino and second marriage to the Prince Iacopo V Appiani in Appiano
• Baptist Salviati (1498–1524)
• Maria Salviati (1499–1543), married to Giovanni dalle Bande Nere. This marriage united the main branch and Popolano branch of the Medici family. His son, Cosimo, was named to lead Florence after the death of Duke Alessandro de' Medici
• Luisa Salviati, married Sigismund de Luna and Peralta
• Francesca Salviati, married first to Piero Gualterotti and second, in 1533, to Ottaviano de' Medici and was the mother of Pope Leo XI
• Bernardo Salviati (Florence, 1505/1508 - Rome, 1568) knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem; served Catherine de' Medici in France; 1561 Cardinal
• Alamanno (1510–1571), patrician

Later life

Jacopo died in 1533, Lucrezia outlived him by twenty years.

Lucrezia was a proud great grandmother to ten great grandchildren, through her daughter Maria, who would look after all of them. However, Lucrezia never really got to see them and Maria died in 1543, aged 44. Lucrezia was very upset by the loss of her daughter and she herself died 10 years later. Lucrezia's exact death date is unknown but it is known that she died between 10th and 15 November 1553.

Her age at the time of her death was 83 years old, which was very old for women in the 16th century and she had outlived three great grandchildren.

Descendants

Through her daughter Maria, Lucrezia is an ancestor of the ducal branch of the Medici family, an ancestor of the Kings of France (House of Bourbon) and also the Kings of England (House of Stuart). Her grandson was Cosimo I de' Medici, who became Grand Duke of Tuscany. His son, Francesco I de' Medici who succeeded his father in 1574, had two daughters who married into important families and changed the course of history - Eleonora de' Medici and Marie de' Medici. Eleonora married Vincenzo I Gonzaga, their son was Francesco IV Gonzaga and through Eleonora, Lucrezia is an ancestor of the Dukes of Mantua and also of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Through Marie, Lucrezia is ancestor of Kings of France, through Marie's marriage to Henry IV of France. Marie's grandson was Louis XIV of France. Louis's grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou, became king of Spain and is a direct ancestor of Juan Carlos, current king of Spain.

Marie also had a daughter called Henrietta Maria who married Charles I of England. Henrietta Maria and Charles were the parents of Charles II of England and James II of England. James was the father of Mary II of England, Anne of Great Britain and James Francis Edward Stuart-'the Old pretender'. Charles, on the other hand, is an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sarah, Duchess of York. The 'Old Pretender' had two sons, Henry Benedict Stuart and Bonnie Prince Charlie-'the Young Pretender'. Henry Benedict was a cardinal, who died childless, while the 'Young Pretender' had an illegitimate daughter, Charlotte, Duchess of Albany. The claimant, through Charlotte, to this branch of the House of Stuart is Peter Pininski.

Henrietta Maria also had a daughter, Henrietta 'Minette' Anne Stuart, who married Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and had issue. Her descent ultimately culminated in Franz, Duke of Bavaria, who is the current Heir General of the House of Stuart and embodies the still continuing Jacobite claim to the thrones of England, Scotland, Ireland and France

Ancestry