From Cleopatra to Sissi, here are the women who, in every age and in every place, have exercised or influenced power. “ Queens and Rebels ” women who have marked history. In a world of privilege, wealth and power, women have not had an easy time. They carried the heavy burden of kingdoms and empires on their shoulders, and have always been judged for it.
Very often they have also been accused of being passionate or judged for their desire for freedom; to feel sad or deeply unhappy; to desire to love and be loved; for having fought for their people and our own destiny. Read down below and find out who are the most famous and rebel queens in the world.
Famous and rebel Queens
Cleopatra
An ambitious queen, who seduced the two most powerful men in Rome to keep her throne. Pharaoh, educated and strategist, protected Egypt from the advance of Rome, extended its borders and restored its splendor.
Caterina Sforza
A devilish, violent and evil who, against nature, exercised power with the energetic virility of a man. She defended her lineage with responsibility and a sense of duty without giving up being a refined courtesan.
Lucrezia Borgia
Incestuous daughter of the Pope and cruel poisoner, she was the living example of lust and perversion in the Vatican. She freed herself from the influences of her family and was reborn as the Duchess of Ferrara, where she ruled with prudence and promoted the arts.
Anna Bolena
An ambitious woman, she seduced Henry VIII to take the place of Catherine of Aragon as queen and rise to power. Intelligent and tenacious, she played her cards not to be a mere concubine and pushed with her ideas of her the birth of the Anglican church.
Catherine de Medici
Machiavellian and sanguinary, her superstitions dragged thousands of Protestants to their deaths. She ruled France with cunning and determination. Never falling into despair she defended the interests of her lineage.
Elizabeth I of England
Eccentric and obsessed with virginity and beauty, she wielded power in a Machiavellian way. She reigned alone for 44 years. She did not want a husband who would limit her power but only lovers of her. Thus she led England towards a political and cultural renaissance.
Catherine the Great
She was famous for her insatiable hunger for men and for the great vanity that made her an unscrupulous tsarina. She enlightened tsarina, she loved and ruled freely. She modernized the Russian empire, expanded its borders and brought it to great splendor.
Maria Antonietta
Libertine, wasteful and insensitive to the sufferings of the people, she was the cause of all the ills of France. Cultured and free-spirited, Marie Antoinette sought her place at court in a hostile country that blamed her for the sins of her kings.
Queen Victoria
Puritan queen with rigid morals, in politics she limited herself to following the decisions of her husband and his ministers. She transgressive and passionate in private, she transformed the British Empire into one of the largest in history.
Sissi
More interested in her physical appearance than her role at court, her weakness and naivety made her a harmless empress. Rebellious, cultured and lucid, her love for Hungary facilitated the birth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
