Catherine de Medici & Her “Flying Squadron”

Catherine de Medici & Her “Flying Squadron”

From half-naked banquets to thwarting plots against the throne, Catherine and her “Flying Squadron” knew how to use sex appeal in their favour.

It wasn’t easy being a woman in power, during the 16th century.
Catherine de Medici learned this at a very young age, when she was brought over from her native Italy to marry the future king of France, Henry II.

Catherine was disliked by the French people.
They viewed her as a suspicious foreigner, and ignored by her husband in favour of his French mistress.

Catherine had to use any means available to her, to preserve her power as queen.
After observing the power Henri’s mistress wielded over her husband, Catherine saw firsthand the potential of using the boudoir as a battleground.

She began to recruit a powerful squadron of her own.

The “escadron volant” or “flying squadron” would become as much a part of Catherine’s legend, as poison and intrigue.

This band of beautiful women, loyal to their queen, engaged in antics that would make Caligula blush – all with the aim of helping their queen retain power.

The group of around 80 women, were hand-picked for their charms and sexual prowess, and the court delighted in sharing tales of their sordid activities.

The military connotations of the term “squadron” were particularly apt for Catherine’s court, as she employed her ladies as her ‘soldiers’ to fight her battles.

Women during this period had to use the few means available to them, to wield power.
The squadron found that many powerful men were defenseless against these beautiful women.

One famous member of the squadron was Charlotte de Sauve, who helped eliminate a major threat to Catherine’s power.

When Catherine got word of a plot to overthrow her, between Henry of Navarre and the Duke of Aleçon, she sent in Madame de Sauve to seduce both men.

Navarre and Alençon became extremely jealous of each other, to such a point that they forgot their ambitions, their duties and their plans, and thought of nothing but chasing after Charlotte de Sauve.

Thus the plot against the throne was foiled, without a single drop of blood being shed.

Perhaps the best-known and most often retold story about the squadron, is the 1577 banquet Catherine organized to celebrate one of her son’s victories.

The queen was known for her elaborate feasts, and during this particular one, her ladies served guests “half-naked”

Although stories of a cunning group of beautiful female spies, working for a devious Italian queen, make for exciting reading – historians have recently come to doubt the veracity of these tales.

Did Catherine chose her courtiers for their wit and experience, rather than recruiting “sexual Machievels.”

I tend to think these Ladies did exist, and were very good in the roles that they had to play.

Catherine has always had somewhat of a bad reputation, thanks in part to French propaganda.

As an outsider, she was disliked by the country she ruled.

As a strong, forceful woman in power, vicious rumors were thrown her way in an attempt to destroy her reputation……

Henri and Catherine de Medici with her ‘flying Squadron’ around her.

Fine Art Images/Heritage Images.