The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King

Set against the stunning backdrop of Renaissance France, The Serpent and the Moon is a true story of love, war, intrigue, betrayal, and persecution. At its heart is one of the world's greatest love stories: the lifelong devotion of King Henri II of France to Diane de Poitiers, a beautiful aristocrat who was nineteen years older than her lover.

At age fourteen, Henri was married to fourteen-year-old Catherine de' Medici, an unattractive but extremely wealthy heiress who was to bring half of Italy to France as her dowry. When Catherine met Henri on her wedding day, she fell instantly in love, but Henri could see no one but the beautiful Diane. When Henri eventually became king, he and Diane ruled France as one. Meanwhile, Catherine took as her secret motto the words "Hate and Wait" and lived for the day Diane would die and she could win Henri's love and rule by his side. Fate had another plan.

Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent, herself a descendant of both Catherine and Diane, imbues this seldom-told story with an insider's grasp of royal life. The Serpent and the Moon is a fascinating love story as well as a richly woven history of an extraordinary time.

Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent is the author of two previous books, Crowned in a Far Country: Portraits of Eight Royal Brides and Cupid and the King: Five Royal Paramours. For more than ten years, the Princess has pursued a successful career lecturing on historical topics. She lives with her husband, Prince Michael of Kent, in Kensington Palace in London and in their seventeenth-century manor house in Gloucestershire, England.

Contents

Author's Note

Map

Family Trees of Principal Characters

The Author's Descent from Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de' Medici

1. The Royal Wedding

2. The King and the Mistress

3. The Renaissance King

4. Treachery and Treason

5. Defeat and Capture at Pavia

6. Imprisonment

7. The Hostages

8. The Young Knight

9. The Widow

10. Catherine's New World

11. The Dauphin Is Dead — Long Live the Dauphin

12. Emperor of Deceit

13. Three in a Marriage

14. The Death of the Renaissance King

15. King Henri II

16. The King's Mistress

17. Anet

18. A Delicate Domestic Balance

19. Henri II at War

20. A Cruel Fate

Epilogue

Chronology

Bibliography

Index