Ties, Triangles and Tangles: Catherine de Medici as Philip II of Spain’s Mother-in-Law

After Catherine de Medici became the mother-in-law of Philip II of Spain in 1559, as a result of her daughter Elisabeth of Valois’ marriage to the Spanish king, she set out to augment and multiply the family ties between the Valois and the Habsburgs by negotiating further marriages. These efforts have been ridiculed by her biographers, who accuse her of a naïve faith in marital bonds. In line with more recent French historiography, this article re-evaluates Catherine’s efforts by placing them in the context of other kinship networks, especially the very dense one connecting the royal houses of Portugal and Spain. Seen in this light, it makes perfect sense for the French queen mother to weave an ever more intricate web of marriage alliances herself. It also means that most kinship relations between members of early modern ruling families were multi-layered and being ‘only’ a mother-in-law to a son-in-law was rare, complicating the conceptualisation of this particular role.