The final episode of the Serpent Queen on Starz was just plain wrong, in so many ways.
A lot of the events did happen in history but the sequence was skewed as well as who
exactly did what to whom and when.
Let's get right into everything wrong with the Serpent Queen final episode with the warning
that there may be spoilers ahead.
1.
The Queen Mother Catherine did not poison Francis to ease his pain, or otherwise.
Francis II died of an ear infection that turned into an abscess in his ear and that is what
killed him.
2.
Mary Queen of Scots did not order the death of protestant civilians and have them hanging
from trees to insight fear among the masses and force Protestents out of France.
That was more at the hand of her relations the Guise brothers.
History writes that upon the death of Francis II, Charles Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine set
about persecuting the Protestants with zeal and that his brother François, Duke of Guise
executed more than 1,200 Protestants (many hanging from the castle and from every tree
in the vicinity) as retaliation for the botched Amboise Conspiracy (more about that coming
up next).
3.
Catherine did not devise the Amboise Conspiracy.
The Amboise conspiracy is the name of the attempt storylined in the show, by the Queen
mother to separate her son Francis from the influence of his wife Mary Queen of Scots
and the Guise brothers.
Except that Catherine was not the one who devised or organized this attempt (and really,
a whole lot of the scenes about this event were inaccurately portrayed).
For example, the protestants hanging from trees came after the attempt to kidnap the
young King Francis II, not before and not at the hand of Mary.
Plus, Catherine did not stab Montmorency, at all, ever.
In fact, Montmorency did not even convert to Protestantism and was a staunch Catholic
who continued to fight for the Catholic hold on the French court throughout his lifetime.
And, I don't believe there is any record of Catherine de' Medici ever stabbing anyone
(although if I am wrong, you can certainly let me know in the comments of any such historical
account).
The show runners must have put in that scene purely for dramatic effect.
As for the Bourbon brothers, they may or may not have been directly involved in the failed
plot.
Some reports state that the conspiracy was devised and led by a man named Jean du Barry,
a French landholder of La Renaudie.
It is said that du Barry held a grudge against the Guise' when they had his brother-in-law
executed a year before and that is why he took the lead.
Another source said that the plot was fostered by the Bourbon brother named Louis, who held
the dubious right as a minor prince of the blood (meaning he was a distant relative of
the king).
In actuality, the event did not take place on the road in a carriage carrying Francis,
Mary and Catherine.
Rather, the plan provided for a march on the castle of Amboise where the young king and
queen were holed up for their safety.
The plan was to abduct King Francis II, and arrest of François Guise, and his brother
Charles.
On March 19, 1560, du Barry and the rest of the conspirators openly attacked the château
of Amboise.
They were repelled, du Barry was killed, and a large number were taken prisoners that where
either killed or interrogated.
Louis Bourbon was suspected of involvement, fled south and it was only after some months
that the Guises' were able to put him on trial.
He escaped going to trial when Francis II died; and no, he was not almost beheaded as
shown in episode 8.
As for Antoine Bourbon, the organizers of the Amboise conspiracy tried to recruit him
as a figurehead for their efforts against the Guise government, but he wasn't interested
and had nothing to do with the plot.
Still he was implicated because of his brother but it was nothing like what went on in episode
8 where he was holed up at a farmhouse awaiting Catherine's rescue.
And while it is true that Antoine was in line for regent when Francis died and his brother
Charles IX became king, and while it is true that Antoine gave up the regency to Catherine,
it is not true that he did so when he saw his brother's severed finger (that just didn't
happen).
Rather, Catherine used the capture of his brother for treason against the crown, as
leverage over him and struck a deal where Antoine would become Lieutenant General of
the kingdom, Louis would be brought back into favor for the transfer of regency to Catherine.
4.
There was no forged letter to Mary Queen of Scots from her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I that
caused Mary to return to Scotland under the false pretense that Elizabeth would support
her in an effort to remove Catherine as Queen Regent in France.
Mary left France and returned to Scotland nine months after the death of Francis as
a political move to bring her closer to England in an attempt to assert her rightful place
as the heir to the English crown (which did not end well for her).
You can check out my video on the grisly fate of Mary Queen of Scots in the serpent queen
playlist on my channel for more on this subject.
5.
Diane de Poitiers did not return to court.
Once Henry II died of a jousting accident, Diane was removed from the French court by
Catherine, relinquishing to the Queen Mother the Château de Chenonceau in exchange for
the less attractive Château de Chaumont.
(For more about this, see my video on the rivalry between Catherine de Medici and Diane
de Pwatier .
Diane lived out her remaining years in her château in Anetin northern France where she
lived in comfortable obscurity as a virtual exile and died at the age of 64, from a fall
from her horse during a ride from which she never fully recovered.
6.
It is unlikely that Catherine herself, crowned her son Charles IX since history records that
Charles Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine did that just as he did Henry II, Francis II as well.
It was his job.
7.
And for good measure, the character Rahima is total fiction.
The Serpent did rally her female spies around her but they were of noble birth.
As you might have guessed by now, I also did a video covering that topic
entitled, Catherine De Medici's BIZARRE Troupe Of Female Spies
Again, you can find it in my playlist on Catherine de Medici, The Serpent Queen.
Regarding the invention of the character Rahima, the show's creator, Justin Haythe, said in
an interview for IndieWire, “Anything is fair game if the character is right.
All those people exist in history, the kings and the queens, the people who serve them,
the people who brought them their horses, or share their lives most intimately, are
nonexistent in history, so you can invent those people.”
“If you start inventing those people who got written out of history, everybody’s
invited.”
You'll be happy to know that the Serpent Queen has been renewed for Season 2.
Thanks for watching and be sure to check out that playlist of the many videos I have done
covering the historical background of The Serpent Queen.