Catherine de' Medici. Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II and the mother of French kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. She was also the niece of Pope Clement VII. Tricky, cold, manipulative woman with no empathy. Likes to use poisons, but also manipulations to win. Never met a man, who could warm her heart. Heroine also in many historical novels by Alexander Dumas-pere, Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail etc. authors.