Maria Di Medici Jeton

MARIA. D. GR. FRANC. AND. NAVA. REG, 16 NB 08 in exergue.
Coat of arms half of France and quartered of Medici, and of Austria, surrounded by a crown half of laurel and half of palm

SERVAT DATAM 1608 in exergue
Two intertwined hands as a sign of trust between a palm and an olive branch. Above, the name JEHOVAH in Hebrew (YHWH) , whose rays penetrate dense clouds.

5.24g, 28mm

"Mary of God's Grace Queen of France and Navarre"

"He protects those who trust him."

Maria was born at the Palazzo Pitti of Florence, Italy, the sixth daughter of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Archduchess Joanna of Austria. Marie was one of seven children, but only she and her sister Eleonora survived to adulthood.

Maria is not a male-line descendant of Lorenzo the Magnificent but from Lorenzo the Elder, a branch of the Medici family referred to as the 'cadet' branch. She does descend from Lorenzo in the female-line however, through his daughter Lucrezia de' Medici. Nonetheless this 'cadet' branch produced every Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1537 to 1737, and the kings of France from Louis XIII in 1601 to Louis XVI in 1793.

She married Henry IV of France in October 1600 following the annulment of his marriage to Margaret of Valois. The wedding ceremony in Florence, Italy (to which Henry did not turn up, marrying her by proxy) was celebrated with 4,000 guests and lavish entertainments. She brought as part of her dowry 600,000 crowns. Her eldest son, the future King Louis XIII, was born at Fontainebleau the following year.

Maria was crowned Queen of France on 13 May 1610, a day before her husband's death. Hours after Henry's assassination, she was confirmed as regent by the Parliament of Paris. She immediately banished his mistress, Catherine Henriette de Balzac, from the court.

Her daughter, Henrietta Maria was queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I. Henrietta Maria, in turn, was mother of two immediate successors, Charles II and James II.