Since the project for the series about Catarina de Medici was announced in 2021, I have been following every step of the way. This week, in addition to House of the Dragon, EW Magazine shared the first official photos of the series that is due to premiere soon, after the conclusion of Becoming Elizabeth.

The photos are amazing and reveal many details of the production. The main and most exciting thing was knowing that they shot in the castle of Chenonceau, which has a unique importance in the plot.

Samantha Morton will be the eldest Catherine, but the story will show in flashbacks the arrival of an inexperienced and despised Catherine as a young woman, when she married the future King of France and had only the support of her uncle, Pope Clement (lived by the wonderful Charles Dance, from Game of Thrones).

Just like the ‘other queens’ came out of the books, The Serpent Queen is also based on a biography. In this case, the one written by Leonie Frieda, in 2003. The name refers to the nickname that Catarina gained after she was older, when she aroused fear and respect among her family and subjects, especially for her notorious preference for using poisons to deal with enemies.

As I have already mentioned here on the blog, Catherine went to the French court when she was only 16 years old, with a dowry that interested her father-in-law, King François I, and with the mission of having many heirs. The problem is that the traumatized Henry II was in love with another, Diana of Poitiers (Ludivine Sagnier) and soon developed a dislike for his wife. Catarina lived with humiliation until her husband’s death, when her revenge was unforgettable. She ruled France, directly and indirectly, for 30 years.

In the series, the narrative will use flashbacks to show the early years of Catarina (in this phase, played by Liv Hill), with the support of the new servant, Rahima (Sennia Nanua).

Let’s go back several times to trivia about the character and the series. She has a double bond with the English Queens, as Catherine had an aversion to Guises and her eldest son was the first husband of Mary Stuart, the Scottish Queen and cousin of Elizabeth I. Catherine lived in the years of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, she certainly knew Anne Boleyn when she lived at the French Court and, as a fervent Catholic, went beyond Mary I and was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Protestants in the Saint Bartholomew Massacre. Queen Margot was Catherine’s daughter and one of her sons courted Elizabeth I for many years.

It’s good to know that we’ll be exploring other European monarchies in similar periods, history buffs love the subject!

What did you think of the looks?