The Game of Queens. Women Who Changed the History of Europe

“In the summer of 1513, a girl appeared at the court of Margaret of Austria - the daughter of a courtier, trained to understand the dangerous courtly dance. She knew that a girl’s best protection is her intellect, that the... family’s fortune can change at the king’s whim, and that a great chess game is being played on the European political stage, in which even she could play a certain role. No one, of course, realized how significant that role would be.” (Sarah Griswold) Anne Boleyn and Margaret of Austria, at whose court she served and was educated. Louise of Savoy and her daughter, one of the first French writers, Margaret of Navarre. Christina of Denmark and Catherine de’ Medici, rumored to have a passion for poisons. These are just some of the famous women who participated in European politics of the 16th century, often directing it entirely. These remarkable rulers consciously used their status to conduct affairs differently, acknowledged sisterly bonds, found themselves pawns in someone else's game, and used other people — in their own. In the chess game of European politics, the queen became the key figure. The history of the 16th century is the gambit of queens.