Claudia de' Medici

Claudia de' Medici (4 June 1604 – 25 December 1648) was Regent of the Austrian County of Tyrol during the minority of her son from 1632 until 1646.

Claudia de' Medici
Portrait by Justus Sustermans, 1626
Archduchess consort of Further Austria
Tenure	19 April 1626 –13 September 1632
Duchess consort of Urbino
Tenure	3 November 1621 – 28 June 1623
Born	(1604-06-04)4 June 1604 Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Died	25 December 1648(1648-12-25) (aged 44) Hofburg, Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empire
Spouse	Federico della Rovere, Duke of Urbino ​ ​ (m. 1621; died 1623)​ Leopold V, Archduke of Austria ​ ​ (m. 1626; died 1632)​
Issue	Vittoria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany Archduke Ferdinand Charles Isabella Clara, Duchess of Mantua Archduke Sigismund Francis Maria Leopoldine, Holy Roman Empress
House	Medici
Father	Ferdinando I de' Medici
Mother	Christina of Lorraine

Biography

Early life

Born in Florence into the House of Medici, Claudia was the youngest daughter of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his wife, Christina of Lorraine.^[1] She was named after her grandmother Claude of Valois, herself daughter of Catherine de Medici, Queen of France , granddaughter of Claude, Duchess of Brittany, consort to King Francis I of France.

Duchess of Urbino

In 1620, she married Federico Ubaldo della Rovere, the only son of Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino.^[2] Their only child, Vittoria, went on to marry the Grand Duke of Tuscany.^[2] Federico Ubaldo della Rovere died suddenly on 29 June 1623.^[3]

Archduchess of Tyrol

After her husband's premature death, she was married, on 19 April 1626, to Leopold V, Archduke of Austria, and thus became Archduchess consort of Austria.^[4]

Regent of Tyrol

On the death of her husband in 1632, she assumed a regency in the name of her son Ferdinand Charles who was the ruler of the Princely County of Tyrol. Claudia, along with five directors, held the post until 1646. She died at Innsbruck in 1648.^[5]

Issue

She had one child by Federico Ubaldo della Rovere:

1. Vittoria della Rovere (1622–1694) married Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and had issue,^[2]

She had five children by Archduke Leopold V of Austria:

1. Maria Eleonora of Austria (1627–1629) died in infancy.
2. Ferdinand Charles of Austria (1628–1662) married Anna de' Medici^[1]
3. Isabella Clara of Austria (1629–1685), who married Charles III, Duke of Mantua and had issue.
4. Sigismund Francis of Austria (1630–1665), Count of Tyrol and Regent of Further Austria, who married Countess Palatine Maria Hedwig Auguste of Sulzbach (1650–1681) and had no issue.
5. Maria Leopoldine of Austria (1632–1649),^[6] who married Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III (1608–1657)^[7]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Claudia de' Medici

16. Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de' Medici 8. Ludovico di Giovanni de' Medici 17. Caterina Sforza 4. Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 18. Jacopo Salviati 9. Maria Salviati 19. Lucrezia de' Medici 2. Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 20. Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Guzmán 10. Pedro de Toledo y Zúñiga 21. Isabel de Zúñiga y Pimentel 5. Eleanor of Toledo 22. Luis Pimentel y Pacheco 11. María Osorio y Pimentel 23. Juana Osorio y Bazán 1. Claudia de' Medici 24. Anthony, Duke of Lorraine 12. Francis I, Duke of Lorraine 25. Renée of Bourbon 6. Charles III, Duke of Lorraine 26. Christian II of Denmark 13. Christina of Denmark 27. Isabella of Austria 3. Christina of Lorraine 28. Francis I of France 14. Henry II of France 29. Claude, Duchess of Brittany 7. Claude of Valois 30. Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino 15. Catherine de' Medici 31. Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne