Who was Catherine de'
Medici
Catherine
de Medici (1519-1589) was born an Italian commoner but became the Queen Consort
of France's Henry II. She was a remarkable woman but vilified by many as an
evil one. She was Queen mother
of kings Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III from 1559 to 1589. Catherine
married Henry II, in 1533, at the age of fourteen.
Diane de Poitiers,
chief
mistress of King Henry II
Diane
de Poitiers was Henry II's Mistress but she was his life long companion.King
Henry II excluded Catherine from participating in state affairs and instead
showered favors on his chief mistress.
 |
King Henry II |
Diane de Poitiers was nearly 20 years older than
Henry, yet looked much younger. Some of her beauty secrets included plenty of
cold water, no late nights and light exercise. Diane was dismissed by
Catherine from court when Henry died.
Peepholes into the roof of Diane de
Poitiers’s bed chamber
By
some accounts, Catherine,
simply drilled a hole above their fuck room to pick up a few tips on how to
service her husband correctly. By others, she asked de Poitiers straight up to
help her get pregnant.
Diane
de Poitiers, totally unthreatened, was completely down to become a kind of
sexual midwife for the couple, offering tips on positions like doggy style to
better route the royal seed.
'A Stable of Whores'?: The 'Flying Squadron'
of Catherine de Medici
From
half-naked banquets to thwarting plots against the throne, Catherine and her
"Flying Squadron" knew how to use sex appeal in their favor.
It was rumored that at this time Catherine
formed a “flying squadron” of female spies, a “stable of whores” of about 80
beautiful ladies whom she would deploy to the beds of various courtiers for
sexual espionage and information networking.
She
kept a court of women entertainers. These women, about 80 in total, were called
The Flying Squadron, and were notorious for doing the bidding of the queen.
Historical records state that many
suspected the queen of asking members of the Flying Squadron seduce prominent
European political leaders to unearth their secrets.
It wasn’t easy being a woman in power
during the 16th century. Catherine de Medici learned this at a very young age
when she was brought over from her native Italy to marry the future king of
France, Henry II.
Disliked by the people as a suspicious foreigner and ignored by
her husband in favor of his French mistress, Catherine had to use any means
available to her to preserve her power as queen.
The
“flying squadron” would become as much a part of Catherine’s legend as poison
and intrigue. This band of beautiful women loyal to their queen engaged in
antics that would make Caligula blush, all with the aim of helping her retain
power.
Women
during this period had to use the few means available to them to wield power,
and the squadron found that many powerful men were defenseless against
beautiful women.Catherine may have learned the power of sex in court by
observing her husband’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers.
ladies served guests “half-naked”
The
name “flying squadron” has its roots in dance, when Catherine introduced ballet
to the French court and her own ladies gave the first performance and danced as
though they were flying.
Perhaps
the best-known and most often retold story about the squadron is the 1577
banquet Catherine organized to celebrate one of her son’s victories.
The queen was known for her elaborate
feasts and during this particular one, her ladies served guests “half-naked”
(although the original source for this saucy tale was not even present at the
party described).
Since
much of the propaganda was contemporary to Catherine’s rule, as the centuries
passed the satire became passed down as reality, and the flying squadron was
accepted as fact well into the 21st century.
Note:--This blog”Catherine De Medici:A
Stable of Whores’Her “Flying Squadron” Of Female Spies,has been edited from
various sources and photos available on net ,with thanks.
The End