Christina of Lorraine

Christina of Lorraine
Grand Duchess consort of Tuscany
Reign	3 May 1589 – 17 February 1609
Born	(1565-08-16)16 August 1565 Ducal Palace of Nancy, Lorraine
Died	19 December 1637(1637-12-19) (aged 72) Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Tuscany
Burial	Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence
Spouse	Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Issue	Cosimo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Maria Maddalena de' Medici Catherine, Governor of Siena Carlo de' Medici Claudia, Archduchess of Austria
House	House of Lorraine (by birth) House of Medici (by marriage)
Father	Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
Mother	Claude of Valois

Christina of Lorraine or Christine de Lorraine (16 August 1565 – 19 December 1637) was a member of the House of Lorraine and was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany by marriage. She served as Regent of Tuscany jointly with her daughter-in-law during the minority of her grandson from 1621.

Princess of Lorraine

Born Christine de Lorraine in Nancy, she was the daughter of Charles III of Lorraine and his wife Claude of Valois, and granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Christina of Denmark.

Marriage

In 1587 Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany died without a legitimate male heir; his brother Ferdinando immediately declared himself the third Grand Duke of Tuscany. Seeking a marriage that would preserve his political independence, Ferdinando chose his distant cousin, Christine of Lorraine, the favorite granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France. Catherine had influenced her towards this marriage, to re-align the Medici with France, not Spain.

The sumptuous and well-documented wedding festivities, celebrated in Florence in 1589, were designed to impress the royal houses of Europe. The wedding ceremony in Florence Cathedral was followed by outdoor events for the public, as well as banquets and balls, comedies and musical interludes, and a mock sea battle in the flooded courtyard of Palazzo Pitti for the aristocratic guests. Altogether the wedding spectacles cost approximately fourteen million pounds in today’s currency. These lavish and innovative forms of entertainment proved to be more than showmanship. They greatly influenced theatrical practices in European courts throughout the 17th century.

Galileo wrote his Letter to Grand Duchess Christina, expounding on the relationship between science and revelation, in 1615.

Regent of Tuscany

Her son Cosimo II died in 1621, leaving his ten-year-old son Ferdinando as grand duke. Christina and her daughter-in-law, Maria Maddalena of Austria, acted as regents until the boy came of age. Their collective regency is known as the Tutrici. Christina's temperament was analogous to Maria Maddalena's. Together, they aligned Tuscany with the Papacy and re-doubled the Tuscan clergy.^[1] Upon the death of the last Duke of Urbino, instead of claiming the duchy for Ferdinando, who was married his granddaughter, and heiress, Vittoria della Rovere, they permitted it to be annexed by Pope Urban VIII.

In 1626, they banned any Tuscan subject from being educated outside the Grand Duchy, a law later resurrected by Christina's great grandson, Cosimo III.^[2] Harold Acton ascribes the decline of Tuscany to their regency.^[2] The Dowager Grand Duchesses sent Ferdinando on a tour of Europe in 1627.^[3] Maria Maddalena died in 1631, one year before her son took over the reins of government. Christina of Lorraine died in Florence at the age of 72.

Issue

• Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1590–1621) married Maria Maddalena of Austria and had issue.
• Eleonora de' Medici (1591–1617) died unmarried.
• Caterina de' Medici (1593–1629) married Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, later Governor of Siena;
• Francesco de' Medici (1594–1614) died unmarried.
• Carlo de' Medici (1595–1666) died unmarried.
• Filippino de' Medici (1598–1602) died unmarried.
• Lorenzo de' Medici (1599–1648) died unmarried.
• Maria Maddalena de' Medici (1600–1633) died unmarried.
• Claudia de' Medici (1604–1648) married (1) Federico della Rovere and had issue (2) Leopold V, Archduke of Austria and had issue.

Ancestry

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and Styles

• 16 August 1565 – 3 May 1589 Her Highness Christine of Lorraine
• 3 May 1589 – 17 February 1609 Her Highness The Grand Duchess of Tuscany
• 17 February 1609 – 9 December 1637 Her Highness The Dowager Grand Duchess of Tuscany

Notes

External links

Media related to Christina of Lorraine at Wikimedia Commons

See also

Princesses of Lorraine The generations start from the children of Réné II 1st Generation Princess Anne* Princess Isabelle* Princess Claude* Princess Catherine* 2nd Generation Anne, Princess of Orange Princess Élisabeth 3rd Generation Reneta, Duchess of Bavaria Dorothea, Duchess of Calenberg* Princess Marguerite Princess Catherine Princess Marguerite Princess Christine Princess Louise Marie, Queen of Scotland Princess Louise Renée, Abbess of St. Pierre Antoinette, Abbess of Faremoutier Louise, Queen of France* 4th Generation Christine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany Antoinette, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.* Princess Anne* Catherine, Duchess of Nevers Élisabeth, Electress Palatine Princess Claude* Françoise, Duchess of Vendôme Catherine, Abbess of Remiremont* Princess Catherine* Princess Marie* Princess Christine* Princess Renée* Princess Jeanne* Louise Marguerite, Princess of Conti* 5th Generation Nicole, Duchess of Lorraine* Claude Françoise, Duchess of Lorraine Henriette, Princess of Lixheim* Marguerite, Duchess of Orléans* Princess Christine* Marie, Duchess of Guise* Françoise Renée, Abbess of Montmartre* 6th Generation Princess Marie Anne* Princess Anne Eléonore* Anne Marie Thérèse, Abbess of Remiremont* Princess Anne Marie* Princess Catherine Henriette* Béatrice Hiéronyme, Abbess of Remiremont* Élisabeth, Princess of Epinoy* Marie, Princess of Monaco Charlotte, Mademoiselle d'Armagnac Marguerite, Duchess of Cadaval Anne Élisabeth, Princess of Vaudémont Marie Eléonore, Abbess of Saint Jacques Marie Françoise, Abbess of Saint Germaine Suzanne Henriette, Duchess of Mantua Louise Anne, Princess of Navailles 7th Generation Princess Eléonore* 8th Generation Élisabeth Charlotte, Abbess of Remiremont* Princess Louise Christine* Princess Marie Gabrièle* Princess Joséphine Gabrièle* Princess Gabrièle Louise* Princess Eléonore* Élisabeth Thérèse, Queen of Sardinia* Anne Charlotte, Abbess of Remiremont* Louise Henriette Françoise, Duchess of Bouillon Élisabeth Sophie, Duchess of Richelieu Louise, Duchess of Bouillon 9th Generation Joséphine, Princess of Carignan Anne Charlotte, Abbess of Remiremont* *died without issue