At twelve she married a boy of ten who was not even in the room. On the same day, his sister married her brother. Each family would gain a daughter-in-law. Each would send a daughter away.
She had lost every child born to her before him. As a little boy, her son was painted by Velázquez on a rearing horse, a command baton in his hand, to hang between the portraits of his parents. The family's future had been given a place on the wall.
She governed France in the name of a boy who needed to put both hands to his crown to keep it steady. Marie de' Medici was his mother and his regent. The difficulty would come when he wanted to govern for himself.