When Catherine de Medici became Regent of France, few realised just how well suited and well prepared she was for the role. Her earlier years had forced her to develop many of the skills necessary to become a capable ruler. She would need every one of these skills, as France was about to enter one of its most deadly periods - the Wars of Religion. The turmoil was more than one leader could ever manage or control, but Catherine remained optimistic that peace and compromise could prevail.
Sources/Further Reading
Frieda, Leonie: Catherine De Medici, The Renaissance Queen of France
Goldstone, Nancy: The Rival Queens
Hollingsworth, Mary: Catherine de Medici - The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen
History Extra: Catherine De Medici The ‘Serpent Queen” Who Became One of France’s Most Powerful 16th Century Rulers
Tulchin, Allan Massacres During the French Wars of Religion https://www.academia.edu/219979Massacres_During_the_French_Wars_of_Religion
Wikipedia: Catherine de Medici https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de%27_Medici
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