Category Archives: French Royals

Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France – source: Wikipedia

Marie de’ Medici was the second wife and consort of King Henri IV of France. She was born on April 26, 1575, at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, now in Italy, the sixth of seven children of Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Archduchess Joanna of Austria. Of her siblings, only one lived to adulthood:

The House of Medici came to prominence in the 15th century, as founders of the Medici Bank, the largest bank in Europe, and later as Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Along with Marie, other prominent family members included Catherine de’ Medici, consort to King Henri II of France, and Popes Leo X, Clement VII, and Leo XI.

When Marie was five years old, her mother died and seven years later her father died. Marie was raised by her uncle Ferdinando, who succeeded her father as Grand Duke of Tuscany, and ensured that his niece received a proper education. Marie showed great talent in the arts and science and became very devout in her religious beliefs.

After numerous suitors, Marie became engaged to King Henri IV of France (also King Henri III of Navarre). For Henri, marriage to Marie would help bring legitimate royal descent to France as Marie was descended from the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. It would also bring significant financial benefits from the very wealthy de’ Medici family. For Marie, it would mean becoming Queen of both France and Navarre. The couple was married by proxy in Florence on October 5, 1600. Marie and Henri were married in person in a religious ceremony in Lyon, France on December 17, 1600.

They had six children:

Marie with her husband and family. source: Wikipedia

While the couple had a large family, the marriage was far from happy. Henri had numerous mistresses, with whom Marie was often feuding. Henri typically sided with his mistresses. Marie later fought back against her husband, showing support and sympathy for his first wife, Marguerite of Valois, who he had banished from France after their marriage was annulled. Marie’s support prompted Henri to allow Marguerite to return to the country.

The Coronation of Queen Marie, painted by Rubens. source: Wikipedia

Marie was formally crowned on May 13, 1610, at the Basilica of St. Denis near Paris, France. The following day, her husband King Henri IV was assassinated and Queen Marie was appointed Regent for their eldest son, eight-year-old King Louis XIII. One of her first acts as Regent was to banish her late husband’s mistress from the French court. When Marie came to the French court from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, she brought Leonora Dori Galigai, her long-time maid, who was appointed Marie’s lady-in-waiting and wardrobe attendant. Leonora married another Tuscan, Concino Concini, who also accompanied Marie to France. As Regent of France, Marie brought Concino Concini to the forefront of her court, and he became the Queen’s most trusted advisor.

Marie was influenced by Concini and her other Italian advisors, and many of her policies were in sharp contrast to those of her late husband. She promoted a strong alliance with the Spanish monarchy and favored Catholicism over Protestantism. To strengthen this bond, she arranged the marriages of her son, King Louis XIII, to Infanta Anna of Spain (known primarily as Anne of Austria), and her eldest daughter, Elisabeth, to the future King Felipe IV of Spain.

But Marie’s policies and plans did not meet with much support amongst the nobility and the princes of the blood who began to oppose her Regency. Unable to overcome the challenges to her position, Marie was forced into convoking the Estates-General in 1614. Along with Concini, Marie counted the Duke of Richelieu (later Cardinal) among her closest advisors. Richelieu had risen to power during the Estates-General and by 1616 had been appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs.

By 1617, Marie’s policies had become greatly unpopular with the people of France. Her son – now three years into his majority – finally stepped in and asserted his position as King. He ordered that Concini be assassinated. Concini’s wife Leonora Dori Galigai, Marie’s long-time confidante, was accused of bewitching Marie and executed. Richelieu was dismissed from his position and exiled to Avignon. Queen Marie was also sent into exile at the Château de Blois in the Loire Valley.

Marie escaped two years later and began a movement to return to the French court. Marie’s younger son Gaston led a revolt that Gaston’s brother King Louis XIII quickly squashed. However, King Louis XIII knew that he needed to do something to appease his mother and her supporters. He brought Richelieu back to the French court to help mediate the situation with Marie. This led to the Treaty of Angoulême in August 1619, which formally ended the battles between the supporters of Marie and those of King Louis XIII. It also established a reconciliation between Marie and her son. By 1621, Marie again assumed her position on the Royal Council. But by 1630, her political machinations caused her to be banished from court again. Exiled to Compiègne, she escaped the following year and traveled to Brussels and later to Amsterdam where she received a grand royal welcome. After visiting her daughter, Henrietta Maria, in England in 1638, she traveled to Cologne, Germany.

Independently wealthy, Marie used her fortune to finance numerous projects in France. One of the most prominent was the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris. In 1612, Marie purchased what was then called the Hôtel de Luxembourg and its large grounds, and commissioned a much larger palace, modeled after the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, where she was born. Often referred to as Palais Médicis, the new Palais du Luxembourg became her primary residence during her regency. Today, it is the home of the French Senate. The original building became known as the Petit Luxembourg and now serves as the residence of the President of the French Senate. Marie commissioned famed painter Peter Paul Rubens to create a series of paintings that would adorn the new Palais du Luxembourg. These 24 paintings became known as the Marie de’ Medici Cycle, and now hang in The Louvre in Paris, France

Queen Marie, painted by Rubens, 1622. source: Wikipedia

Queen Marie died in the Free Imperial City of Cologne, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia; on July 3, 1642. Her heart is buried at Cologne Cathedral, but despite the strained relationship with her son, her other remains were returned to France and buried in the Basilica of St. Denis near Paris, France.

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Marguerite of Valois, Queen of France

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Marguerite of Valois, Queen of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Marguerite of France, also known as Marguerite of Valois, was the first wife of King Henri IV of France. She was born on May 14, 1553, at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the daughter of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici. In addition to becoming Queen of France, she was also Queen of Navarre from the time of her marriage. She was named after her paternal aunt, Marguerite of France (later Duchess of Savoy), who along with Alphonse II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, served as her godparents.

Marguerite had nine siblings, three of whom became Kings of France:

Marguerite and Henri. source: Wikipedia

After several failed attempts to marry Marguerite off to the son of King Felipe II of Spain and  King Sebastião I of Portugal in the late 1560s, she became involved with Henri I, Duke of Guise. However, the relationship ended in 1570 when it was discovered by her mother, who had Henri banished from court. Two years later, on August 18, 1572, Marguerite married King Henri III of Navarre (later King Henri IV of France) at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Her husband was the son of Queen Jeanne III of Navarre and Prince Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme. The marriage, arranged by Marguerite’s brother, King Charles IX, was hoped to help bring together the Bourbon and Valois dynasties and ease the tensions between the Catholics and Huguenots. Ironically, as her husband was a Huguenot, he was not permitted in the cathedral and had to stay outside for the ceremony. The couple had no children.

Just days after the wedding, the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre took place. Marguerite is alleged to have hidden several prominent Huguenots, as well as her new husband, to keep them safe from certain death. Eventually, Henri was able to return to Navarre, although it would be some time before Marguerite was permitted to join him. The two led relatively separate lives, both having a string of affairs and rarely getting along with each other.

In 1582, Marguerite returned to France to recuperate after an illness. Before long, her brother, King Henri III, forced her to leave, scandalized by her behavior. She returned to Navarre, organizing a coup d’état to take control of the city of Agen. However, that was short-lived and soon she was forced to flee. In 1586, she was imprisoned by her brother, King Henri III of France, and later by her husband in the castle of Usson. It would be 19 years before she returned to court.

Despite this, Marguerite became Queen Consort of France on August 2, 1589. When her brother, King Henri III, died without an heir, the throne passed to Marguerite’s husband, the senior agnatic heir of King Louis IX of France. When he took the throne as King Henri IV, there would be much dissent amongst the French people as he was not Catholic. After several years of various factions trying to keep him from the throne, Henri converted to Catholicism in 1593.

By then, Henri knew he needed a male heir, and his marriage to Marguerite had produced no children. He began negotiations with Marguerite to have their marriage annulled. After several years, the marriage was formally dissolved in 1599. Marguerite retained her title as Queen of France. Henri would later marry Marie de’ Medici and have several children. It would not be long before Marguerite was back in favor with her former husband, although she remained in Usson.

Queen Marguerite, as portrayed in Rubens’ “Coronation of the Queen at the Abbey of Saint-Denis” – a painting that depicts the coronation of Marguerite’s successor, Marie de’ Medici. source: Wikipedia (click HERE for the full painting)

In 1605, largely due to the efforts of Henri’s second wife, Marie de’ Medici, Marguerite was welcomed back to Paris and the French court. She settled initially at the Hôtel de Sens while having a new home – the Hôtel Reine Marguerite – built along the Seine, directly opposite the Louvre Palace. She remained a favorite at court and maintained a remarkably close relationship with her former husband and his new wife. In 1608, they even asked her to serve as godmother to their youngest son Gaston.

Memorial to Queen Marguerite at St. Denis. source: Wikipedia

Queen Marguerite of France died on March 27, 1615, and was buried in the Valois Chapel at the Basilica of St. Denis near Paris. Today, the location of her remains is unknown. They were likely destroyed during the French Revolution or could have been moved elsewhere when work was being done on the chapel.

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King Henri IV of France

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Henri IV of France – source: Wikipedia

King Henri IV of France was the first French king of the House of Bourbon. He was born on December 13, 1553, in Pau, Kingdom of Navarre, now in France, the second of the five children and the second of the three sons of Queen Jeanne III of Navarre and Antoine de Bourbon, Duke de Vendôme. Although he was baptized in the Catholic Church, he was raised as a Protestant.

Henri had four siblings:

Henri and Marguerite of Valois. source: Wikipedia

Upon his mother’s death on June 9, 1572, Henri took the throne as King Henri III of Navarre. Just months later, on August 18, 1572, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Henri married Marguerite of Valois, the daughter of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici. As Henri was a Protestant Huguenot, he was not permitted inside the Cathedral so the ceremony was held just outside of the building. Days later, the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre took place, in which thousands of Protestant Huguenots were killed. Henri narrowly escaped death, mostly thanks to his new Catholic wife, and his promise to convert to Catholicism. Despite this, he was forced to remain at the French court for several years before escaping in 1576 and returning to Navarre. Upon his return, he renounced his conversion and once again joined with the Protestants.

In 1584, Henri became the heir-presumptive to the French throne, as the last heir to King Henri III of France had died. Henri was the most senior agnatic descendant of King Louis IX of France, and therefore the rightful heir. This led to what was known as the War of the Three Henries – Henri of Navarre, Henri III, King of France, and Henri I, Duke of Guise. The Duke of Guise was a staunch opponent of the Huguenots and fought against the possibility of Henri succeeding to the French throne. Henri III of France had the Duke of Guise killed in 1588, hoping to restore his authority with the French people. Instead, it caused a great uproar and much of the country refused to recognize him as King. His greatest ally was Henri of Navarre. The two were joined in their desire to defeat the Catholic League which had taken control of much of the country. Joining forces, they attempted to take Paris, but the French king was assassinated on August 2, 1589.

Henri of Navarre, as the heir-presumptive, became King Henri IV of France. However, the Catholic League was still the primary force in the country and refused to recognize him as the new monarch. The Catholic nobles who had previously supported King Henri III of France in his alliance with Henri of Navarre still refused to recognize him as their new sovereign. He began to take the country by force, with support from Germany and England. The Catholic League proclaimed Henri’s uncle Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon as the king but he was being held prisoner by Henri at the time. A battle ensued to name a new successor, with Spain pushing for the removal of Salic Law, thus allowing a Spanish Infanta to become Queen. However, this was struck down by the Parlament of Paris. After several more years, encouraged by his mistress, Gabrielle d’Estrées, Henri once again renounced his religion and converted to Catholicism. This gained him the support of the French people and he was finally able to rule his kingdom. As the Catholic League still occupied the city of Reims – the traditional site of French coronations – Henri was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on February 27, 1594.

Statue of King Henri IV on the Pont Neuf. By Mbzt – Own work, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11941438

During his reign, Henri IV stabilized the country’s finances and worked to promote education and agriculture. He restored Paris as a great city, building the Pont Neuf over the Seine river to join the Right and Left Banks. He built the Place Royale (now the Place des Vosges) and added the Grand Gallery to the Louvre Palace. A huge supporter of the arts, Henri permitted hundreds of artists and craftsmen to live on the lower floors of the new building. He also financed numerous expeditions to North America, whi would eventually see France laying claim to Canada.

But perhaps his best-known accomplishment was issuing the Edict of Nantes in 1598. This guaranteed a level of religious freedom previously unseen in France, restoring civil rights to Protestants, and ending the Wars of Religion.

In a loveless marriage, and knowing that he needed an heir, Henri had begun negotiations to end his first marriage to Marguerite of Valois. He hoped to have the marriage annulled so he could marry his mistress, Gabrielle d’Estrées, with whom he already had several children. This was seen as scandalous and ill-advised by most of his ministers who argued against the idea. After Gabrielle died in childbirth in April 1599, Henri continued with his plans, and his marriage to Marguerite was annulled later the same year.

Henri with his second wife, Marie de’ Medici, and family. source: Wikipedia

The next year, on December 17, 1600, King Henri IV married Marie de’ Medici, in a lavish ceremony in Lyon. The couple had six children:

The murder of King Henri IV, painted by Charles-Gustave Housez. source: Wikipedia

King Henri IV was killed in Paris on May 14, 1610, the day after his wife’s coronation. While traveling through Paris, Henri’s carriage was stopped on the Rue de Ferronnerie. A Catholic zealot, François Ravaillac, took the opportunity to rush up to the carriage and stab the King twice in the chest. Quickly subdued, Ravaillac was taken into custody and later executed. The King was taken to the Louvre Palace where he died. Following a grand funeral on July 1, 1610, King Henri IV was interred in the Basilica of St Denis near Paris. In keeping with a promise made some years earlier, his heart was entombed at the Church of Saint Louis of La Flèche.

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Isabella of Valois, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Miniature detailing Richard II of England receiving his six-year-old bride Isabel of Valois from her father Charles VI of France; Credit – Wikipedia

The second wife of King Richard II of England, Isabella of Valois, was born on November 9, 1389, at the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. She was the third, but the eldest surviving, of the twelve children of King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. Isabella’s younger sister Catherine married King Henry V of England and was the mother of King Henry VI. Through her second marriage to Owen Tudor, Catherine was the grandmother of King Henry VII of England.

Isabella’s eleven siblings:

From a very early age, Isabella was part of the French dynastic marriage plan. At the age of two, she was betrothed to John, the six-year-old son and eventual heir of Peter II, Duke of Alençon, but nothing ever came of this proposed marriage. Soon after the death of his first wife Anne of Bohemia in 1394, the childless King Richard II of England began a search for a new wife. He turned to France seeking an alliance, and after negotiations, a marriage was arranged between Isabella and Richard who was 22 years older than his bride. This marriage had many opponents, especially Louis I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of the French king, and Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, youngest uncle of the English king. Nevertheless, on November 1, 1396, at the Church of St. Nicholas in Calais, seven-year-old Isabella married 29-year-old Richard. Richard and Isabella left for England a few days later and on November 23, 1396, she made her state entry into London. The crowds in London were so great, that people were crushed to death on London Bridge. Isabella was crowned at Westminster Abbey on January 8, 1397. Isabella lived apart from Richard at Windsor Castle. Richard visited her frequently and a strong affection developed between the partners of this unconsummated marriage.

Richard and Isabella on their wedding day; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1398, Henry Bolingbroke, the first cousin of King Richard II and the eldest child of King Edward III‘s third son John of Gaunt, quarreled with Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, who accused him of treason. The two men planned to duel, but instead, King Richard II banished them from England, and Henry went to France. John of Gaunt died on February 3, 1399, and Richard confiscated the estates of his uncle and stipulated that Henry would have to ask him to restore the estates. Henry returned to England while his cousin Richard was on a military campaign in Ireland and began a military campaign of his own, confiscating the land of those who opposed him. Eventually, King Richard II was abandoned by his supporters and was forced by Parliament on September 29, 1399, to abdicate the crown to his cousin Henry. King Henry IV was crowned in Westminster Abbey on October 13, 1399. Richard was imprisoned at Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire where he died on or around February 14, 1400. The exact cause of his death, thought to have been starvation, is unknown.

King Richard II’s funeral; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry IV confined Isabella, a widow at age 10, at the Bishop of Salisbury’s palace on the River Thames in Sonning, England. Isabella’s jewels were seized and divided among Henry IV’s children. Henry’s council declared that Isabella had no rights to any dower, a provision accorded by law, but traditionally by a husband or his family, to a widow for her support after her husband’s death. Eventually, Isabella’s return to France was arranged and she left England on July 1, 1401. Henry IV made several attempts to arrange for Isabella to marry his son and heir the future King Henry V, but the French royal family declined.

Isabella married her cousin Charles of Orléans in Compiègne, France on June 29, 1406. In November 1407, Isabella’s husband became Duke of Orléans when his father, who had opposed Isabella’s marriage to Richard, was murdered on orders of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, who had helped arrange that marriage.

Charles, Duke of Orleans, Isabella’s second husband; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella had a happy, but short second marriage. At the age of 19, she died on September 13, 1409, in Blois, France a few hours after giving birth to her only child, a daughter named Joan (1409 – 1432), who married John II, Duke of Alençon, but had no children. Isabella was buried at the Abbey of St. Saumer in Blois, France. In 1624, Isabella’s remains were transferred to the Church of the Celestines in Paris, destroyed during the French Revolution.

Charles, Duke of Orléans survived Isabella by many years, marrying two more times and dying in 1465. He fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, King Henry V of England‘s great victory, and was captured by the English. He spent 25 years as a prisoner in the Tower of London. Charles was an accomplished poet. Five hundred of his poems, written in French and English during his imprisonment, survive.

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Isabella of France, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Isabella of France, Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of King Edward II of England, whom she later helped depose and then probably had murdered, Isabella of France was probably born in Paris in 1295.  She was the sixth child of the seven children of King Philippe IV of France and Joan I, Queen of Navarre in her own right.  Isabella had six siblings:

Isabella’s family in 1315: (left to right) Isabella’s brothers Charles and Philip, Isabella, her father Philip IV, her brother Louis, and her uncle Charles of Valois; Credit – Wikipedia

Isabella was brought up in the royal palaces in Paris, France the medieval Château du Louvre and the Palais de la Cité, where she was brought up by her nurse Théophania de Saint-Pierre, and given a good education.  Isabella also learned by observing her parents, both reigning monarchs.  The French royal court was one of the wealthiest and most influential in Europe. Her father Philippe IV of France strengthened the French monarchy with clever financing and administrative reform. Her mother Joan I of  Navarre successfully defended her kingdom twice against the territorial claims of other European princes and played an active diplomatic role in the marriages of her children.

As a young child, Isabella was betrothed to the son and heir of King Edward I of England, the future King Edward II, intending to resolve the conflicts between France and England over England’s possession of Gascony and claims to Anjou, Normandy, and Aquitaine.  However, King Edward I attempted to break the engagementl several times and the marriage did not occur until after his death.  Isabella and King Edward II were married on January 25, 1308, at Boulogne Cathedral in France.  The couple’s coronation was held in Westminster Abbey on February 25, 1308.

Isabella and Edward had four children:

Edward II receiving the English crown in a contemporary illustration; Credit – Wikipedia

From the start of her marriage, Isabella was confronted with the close relationship between her husband and Piers Gaveston, described as “an arrogant, ostentatious soldier, with a reckless and headstrong personality.”  The true nature of this relationship is not known and there is no complicit evidence that comments directly on Edward’s sexual orientation.   Gaveston was part of the delegation that welcomed the young couple when they arrived in England after their marriage, and the greeting between Edward and Gaveston was unusually warm.  Edward chose to sit with Gaveston at his wedding festivities rather than his bride and gave Gaveston part of the jewelry that belonged to Isabelle’s dowry.  Eventually, with the influence of Isabella’s father,  Dowager Queen Margaret, widow of King Edward III and Isabella’s aunt, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward agreed to exile Gaveston to Ireland.  However, in a move that angered the barons, Edward made Gaveston  Regent of Ireland.  When Gaveston returned to England in 1312, he was hunted down and executed by a group of barons led by Edward’s uncle Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick.

From 1312 – 1321, there is no evidence that Edward and Isabella had a discordant marriage or that Isabella was not loyal to her husband.  Isabella took a role in the reconciliation between Edward and the barons, who were responsible for the execution of Gaveston. However, during this time, Hugh Despenser the Elder became part of Edward’s inner circle, marking the beginning of the Despensers’ increased prominence at Edward’s court.  His son, Hugh Despenser the Younger, became a favorite of Edward II.  Edward was willing to let the Despensers do as they pleased, and they grew rich from their administration and corruption.

It is thought that Isabella first met and fell in love with Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March when he was a prisoner in the Tower of London, which was both a royal palace and a prison at that time.  Isabella arranged for Mortimer’s death sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment.  In 1323, Isabella helped arrange Mortimer’s escape from the Tower and his subsequent flight to France.  During the next year, Isabella had enough of the Despensers and left Edward II, who made an unwise decision to send Isabella and their 12-year-old son Edward on a mission to France.  Not surprisingly, Isabella met Mortimer in France where they planned to depose Edward II.  Isabella gathered an army and set sail for England, landing at Harwich on September 25, 1326.  With their mercenary army, Isabella and Mortimer quickly seized power. The Despensers were both executed and Edward II was forced to abdicate. Isabella’s son was crowned King Edward III, and Isabella and Mortimer served as regents for the teenage king.

Isabella landing in England with her son, the future Edward III in 1326; Credit – Wikipedia

King Edward II was imprisoned in Berkeley Castle and died there on September 21, 1327, probably murdered on the orders of Isabella and Mortimer.  Relations between Mortimer and the young Edward III became more and more strained.  In 1330, the 18-year-old King Edward III conducted a coup d’état at Nottingham Castle where Mortimer and Isabella were staying.  Mortimer was arrested and then executed on fourteen charges of treason, including the murder of Edward II.

After the coup, Isabella was taken to Berkhamsted Castle and then held under house arrest at Windsor Castle until 1332, when she was moved to her own Castle Rising in Norfolk.  Edward III granted his mother a yearly income of £3,000, which by 1337 had increased to £4,000. She enjoyed a regal lifestyle, maintaining minstrels, huntsmen, and grooms and being visited by family and friends.  On August 22, 1358, Isabella died at the age of 63.  She was buried at the now-destroyed Franciscan Church at Newgate, London.  Her tomb did not survive the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII.

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Margaret of France, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Statue of Margaret of France, Queen of England at Lincoln Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret of France was the second wife of King Edward I of England. Probably born in Paris, France in 1279, Margaret was the youngest child of King Philippe III of France and his second wife Marie of Brabant.

Margaret had two siblings:

Margaret had four half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Isabella of Aragon:

King Edward I of England had a loving marriage with his first wife Eleanor of Castile, and they were inseparable throughout their married life. Edward I is one of the few English kings of the time period to apparently be faithful to his wife. Eleanor accompanied her husband on Crusade and on other military campaigns. She died in 1290 at the age of 49, and King Edward I was devastated. He had been married to Eleanor for 36 years, and she had given birth to 14-16 children. However, only six children, five daughters and one son, were still living when Eleanor died in 1290. The son was the youngest child and only six years old. Edward I had to be worried about the succession, and a second marriage with sons would ensure the succession.

Edward I was also anxious for an alliance with France. In 1291, he arranged for the betrothal of his seven-year-old son Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward II) to Blanche of France, the half-sister of King Philippe IV of France and the sister of Margaret of France. However, in 1293, after hearing of Blanche’s beauty, Edward I broke off his son’s betrothal to Blanche and sent emissaries to negotiate a marriage between himself and Blanche. King Philippe IV of France agreed to the marriage providing that a truce would be concluded between the two countries and that Edward would cede the province of Gascony to France. Edward agreed, but when his brother Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster went to fetch Blanche, he discovered that Blanche was already betrothed to Rudolf, Duke of Austria. King Philippe IV instead offered Edward Blanche’s younger sister Margaret, who was only eleven years old. Edward I refused, and instead declared war on France. Five years later, King Edward, I of England and King Philippe IV of France declared a truce under which Edward would marry Margaret, now a more mature 16 years old.

On September 10, 1299, at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England 60-year-old King Edward I and 17-year-old Margaret of France were married. This was followed by four days of wedding festivities. Margaret was never crowned, making her the first queen since the Norman Conquest in 1066 not to be crowned.

Edward and Margaret had three children:

Edward I of England and Margaret of France; Credit – Wikipedia

As King Edward I’s first wife did, Margaret accompanied him on military campaigns. Margaret got along well with her stepson Edward, Prince of Wales, who was two years younger than her, and Margaret often reconciled the prince with his father when the two disagreed. In the summer of 1307, Margaret accompanied Edward I on a military campaign in Scotland. On the way to Scotland, the 68-year-old king died on July 7, 1307, at Burgh by Sands in Cumbria, England.

Although the widowed Margaret was still in her 20s, she never remarried saying, “When Edward died, all men died for me.” In January 1308, Margaret accompanied her stepson King Edward II of England to Boulogne, France where he married Margaret’s half-niece Isabella of France, daughter of King Philippe IV. Margaret then retired to her dower house, Marlborough Castle, in Wiltshire, England, where she lived the rest of her life. She died there on February 14, 1318, not yet 40 years old, and was buried at Christ Church Greyfriars in London, England which she had co-founded. Her beautifully carved tomb was destroyed during the English Reformation and sold for its marble and other valuable materials.

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Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal; Source: Wikipedia

Princess Amélie of Orléans was the Queen Consort of King Carlos I of Portugal. She was born Marie Amélie Louise Hélène d’Orléans on September 28, 1865, the eldest of eight children of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, and Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans. Although a French princess, she was born in Twickenham, London, England where her family had been living in exile since the French monarchy of the House of Orléans had fallen.

Amélie had seven siblings:

Following the fall of the Second French Empire, the family was able to return to France in 1871. Amélie developed a love of the arts, particularly theater and opera, and became an accomplished painter. As she became older, her family began to search for a suitable husband. After several proposed marriages into the Austrian and Spanish royal families did not work out, she became engaged to the future King Carlos I of Portugal, the eldest son of King Luís of Portugal and Princess Maria Pia of Savoy.

Wedding of Amélie and Carlos, 1886. Source: Wikipedia

Amélie and Carlos met in Chantilly, France, where both were guests at a hunting party, and their engagement was announced on February 7, 1886. In mid-May of that year, Amélie’s father threw a lavish engagement party in Paris. The extravagance of the event led to the family again being sent into exile just a month later. After the party, Amélie traveled to Lisbon, Portugal where she and Carlos were married on May 22, 1886, at the Church of St. Dominic.

Queen Amélie and her two sons, c1890. Source: Wikipedia

Amélie and Carlos settled at Belém Palace in Lisbon, and had three children:

Queen Amélie (center) with Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom and Dowager Queen Maria Pia, 1905. Source: Wikipedia

Amélie quickly became fluent in Portuguese and was greatly admired in her new country. In October 1889, just a month before the birth of their younger son, Carlos and Amélie became King and Queen of Portugal following the death of King Luís. As Queen, Amélie took great interest in the well-being of the Portuguese people, establishing hospitals, sanatoriums, pharmacies, kitchens, and nurseries. She also founded the Royal Institute of Aid to the Shipwrecked in 1892, as well as the National Coach Museum in 1905, the Pasteur Institute in Portugal, and the National Assistance for Tuberculosis in 1899. However, along with her philanthropic efforts, she was also greatly criticized for her lavish spending, particularly in the midst of Portugal’s two bankruptcies.

On February 1, 1908, upon their return to Lisbon from a stay at the Palace of Vila Viçosa, the royal family was the target of an assassination. King Carlos and The Prince Royal, Luís Filipe, were both killed, and Manuel was injured. Remarkably, Queen Amélie was unharmed and is credited with likely having saved the life of her younger son. When one of the shooters had come into the carriage, she reportedly waved her bouquet of flowers around, trying to hit him and keep him from taking any more shots. After the shooting, she was kept under close security, along with her son and mother-in-law, at the Palace of Necessidades. She later withdrew to the Pena National Palace, which would be her last home in Portugal.

Dowager Queen Amélie with her son, King Manuel II, 1910. source: Wikipedia

Now Dowager Queen, Amélie offered her full support to her son, King Manuel II. However, the political climate in Portugal was tenuous at best, and soon the monarchy would come to an end. In October 1910, the monarchy was deposed during the Republican Revolution. Amélie went into exile along with her son, and mother-in-law, settling in Twickenham, London. After her son’s marriage in 1912, the Dowager Queen moved to France, settling at the Château de Bellevue in Le Chesnay, close to the Palace of Versailles.

Her son, King Manuel II, died in 1932, leaving Amélie the last living member of her family. At the onset of World War II, the Portuguese government invited her to return and live in the country, but she declined, preferring to remain in France where she received diplomatic immunity. She did, however, make a visit to Portugal in May and June of 1945. During this trip, she visited Lisbon, made a pilgrimage to Fatima, and returned to many of her former homes. She also visited several of the pharmacies and other organizations that she had founded.

Just six years later, Queen Amélie died in Le Chesnay, France on October 25, 1951. Her remains were returned to Portugal, where she was buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza, at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon.

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Henrietta Maria of France, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Henrietta Maria of France, Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Henrietta Maria of France was born at the Louvre Palace in Paris, France on November 26, 1609. She was the youngest of the six children of King Henri IV of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici.  When Henrietta Maria was six months old, her father was assassinated while driving in his carriage through the streets of Paris. Her nine-year-old eldest brother then became King Louis XIII.

Henrietta Maria in 1611; Credit – Wikipedia

Henrietta Maria had five siblings:

Henri IV and his family; Credit – Wikipedia

When Henrietta Maria was 14 years old, negotiations were started for her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales, the heir of King James I of England. By the time the proxy marriage took place on May 1, 1625, on the steps of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, the groom had acceded to the throne as King Charles I. Henrietta and Charles were then married in person at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England on June 13, 1625. Charles’ coronation was held on February 2, 1626, at Westminster Abbey, but the Roman Catholic Henrietta Maria was not crowned because she refused to participate in a Church of England ceremony. She had proposed that a French Catholic bishop crown her but that was unacceptable to Charles and the English court.

Henrietta Maria as Princess of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles and Henrietta Maria had nine children:

Charles and Henrietta Maria’s five eldest children in 1637: Left to right: Mary, James, Charles, Elizabeth, and Anne; Credit – Wikipedia

Although we refer to her as Henrietta Maria, she was known as Queen Mary to her contemporaries in England. Initially, Charles and Henrietta Maria’s relationship was strained. However, their relationship improved after the assassination of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, who had been the favorite of Charles’ father King James I, and was a great influence on Charles. Henrietta Maria’s Roman Catholicism did not make her a popular queen. At court, she disrupted Anglican services by walking through with a pack of dogs. To the English people, her Catholic beliefs made her different and dangerous at a time when Catholic plots and subversion were feared. She did not speak English before she married and always had difficulties speaking and writing English.

Henrietta Maria was a strong patron of the arts and both she and her husband were knowledgeable art collectors. She enjoyed taking part in masques and dramatic entertainments. Henrietta Maria was interested in sculpture, garden design, and architecture and employed designer and architect Inigo Jones, garden designer André Mollet, and sculptor François Dieussart. The Queen’s House in Greenwich, London, England, started for Charles’ mother Anne of Denmark, was completed for Henrietta Maria under the supervision of Inigo Jones.

King Charles I had the same issues with Parliament as his father had, clashing with its members over financial, political, and religious issues. Henrietta Maria gave her support to her husband in his clashes with Parliament and in his plans to raise money. Ultimately, these clashes with Parliament led to the English Civil War and to Charles’ downfall. Henrietta accompanied her husband when he left London in 1642 and established a royal court in Oxford. However, in 1644, while seven months pregnant with her last child, Henrietta Maria was forced to leave Oxford because it was becoming less secure. She made her way to Exeter where she gave birth to her youngest child Henrietta. Henrietta Maria never saw Charles again. Leaving her newborn daughter in Exeter in the care of Lady Dalkeith (born Anne Villiers, the daughter of Sir Edward Villiers), Henrietta Maria escaped to France where she settled in Paris with the support of the French government.

Gaston de France, Duke of Orléans presents his sister widowed Henrietta Maria to Anne of Austria, regent of France for King Louis XIV. The young Louis XIV in peach stands in front of his mother and next to his brother Philippe. Henrietta Maria stands between Gaston and his daughter, the Grand Mademoiselle; Credit – Wikipedia

King Charles I was executed in 1649 and the monarchy was abolished. Henrietta Maria spent the years of the Commonwealth of England with her surviving children at the court of her nephew King Louis XIV. She formed a Royalist court in exile at Château de St-Germain-en-Laye.  Henrietta Maria attempted to convert her sons James and Henry to Catholicism. These attempts angered the Royalists in exile and her eldest son Charles. However, her youngest child Henrietta (nicknamed Minette) was brought up Catholic and married her first cousin, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of King Louis XIV of France.

Henrietta Maria in mourning in the 1650s; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1660, when the English monarchy was restored and King Charles II took the throne, Henrietta Maria returned to England, where she was known as the Queen Mother, and lived at Somerset House in London. She received a grant from Parliament of £30,000 for the loss of her dower lands and the same amount as a pension from her son King Charles II. In 1661, Henrietta Maria returned to France to attend the marriage of her daughter Henrietta. When she returned to England in 1662, Henrietta Maria found life there disagreeable and the climate damaging to her health, so she returned to France where she lived for a while in Paris at the Hôtel de la Bazinière, the present Hôtel de Chimay.  She later lived at the Château de Colombes nearby Paris. It was there that Henrietta Maria died on September 10, 1669, at the age of 59 from an overdose of opiates taken for pain on the advice of King Louis XIV’s doctor.

Château de Colombes (now destroyed); Credit – Wikipedia

Henrietta Maria was buried beside her father, King Henri IV of France, at the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris. Her heart was buried at the Visitation Convent Chapel at Chaillot, France, which she had founded in 1651. Her remains and the other royal remains at the Basilica of St. Denis were desecrated on October 16, 1793, when a mob pillaged the Bourbon crypt and threw the remains into mass graves. The convent building where her heart had been buried was destroyed during the French Revolution. In 1817, the mass graves were opened, the remains were collected and reburied in the crypt of the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Plaques next to the gated entrance of the burial site list the remains of those buried there.

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Gated entrance to the reburial site of the French royals at the Basilica of Saint-Denis; Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Louise-Marie of Orleans, Queen of the Belgians

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Louise-Marie of Orleans, Queen of the Belgians; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise-Marie Thérèse Charlotte Isabelle d’Orleans was born in Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily, now in Italy, on April 3, 1812. She was the eldest daughter and second child of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French and Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies. Among her ancestors are Kings of France, Spain, Poland, Sicily and Naples, and Holy Roman Emperors. Marie Antoinette, Queen of France was her mother’s aunt. Her paternal grandfather was Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, known as Philippe. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité. He was a deputy for Paris to the National Convention, had a role in arresting the French royal family, and voted in favor of the death sentence for King Louis XVI. Philippe Égalité eventually met the same fate as Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette.

Louise-Marie had nine siblings:

Because her father was in exile resulting from the French Revolution, Louise-Marie’s early years were spent under British protection in Palermo, Italy in a palace given to her parents by her maternal grandfather Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies.  Upon the abdication of Napoleon as Emperor of France in 1814, Louise-Marie’s family returned to France. However, when Napoleon escaped from Elba in 1815 and made a brief return to France before his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the family had to leave France. In 1817, the family was permitted to return to France where they lived at the Palais-Royal, which had been the home of Marie-Louise’s paternal grandfather Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Égalité). In 1830, the July Revolution resulted in the overthrow of King Charles X, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin and Louise-Marie’s father as Louis-Philippe, King of the French. 18 years later, Louis-Philippe was overthrown. He spent his exile in England where he was well-received by Queen Victoria, who let him live in Claremont House for life.

Louise-Marie’s paternal aunt Adelaide of Orléans never married and instead lived with brother’s family. Adelaide was devoted to her nieces and nephews and was a second mother to them. Historian Jules Michelet taught Marie-Louise history. Painter and botanist Pierre Joseph Redouté taught her the art of painting flowers.

In 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, uncle of both Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert, became the first King of the Belgians. Leopold’s first wife had been Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of King George IV of the United Kingdom, who would have become Queen if she had not tragically died due to childbirth complications. Leopold had to marry again to provide for the Belgian succession and his choice was Louise-Marie. She did not hide her distaste for this marriage which she called “a sacrifice for a very difficult future.” Leopold was 22 years older than Marie-Louise, had been a widower for 14 years, and was an austere Lutheran. After meeting Leopold at a dinner, Marie-Louise described Leopold as a cold and gloomy man who “is as indifferent as the man one passes on the street.” The marriage inspired French writer Alfred de Musset, a schoolmate of Marie-Louise’s brothers, to write the play Fantasio in which a princess is forced to marry a fat and ridiculous prince.

Nevertheless, on August 9, 1832, the nearly 42-year-old Leopold married 20-year-old Louise-Marie at the Château de Compiègne, in France. Since Leopold was Protestant and Louise-Marie was Catholic, they had both a Catholic and a Protestant ceremony. Although Leopold remained Protestant, his children were raised as Catholics because the vast majority of Belgians were Catholic.

Wedding of Louise-Marie d’Orléans and Leopold; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise-Marie in her wedding gown; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold and Louise-Marie had four children:

Louise-Marie, Leopold, and their family; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite her original misgivings, Louise-Marie quickly changed her mind when she got to know Leopold. She wrote to a friend, “All I can say is that the king makes me perfectly happy. His kindness to me touches me deeply. I deeply believe that he has strong and endearing qualities which alone could satisfy my heart. ” Leopold never forgot his beloved Charlotte and considered his second wife as a very dear friend. He regularly spent evenings in Louise-Marie’s salon where she read aloud recent literary works. However, sometime between 1842-1844, Leopold started an affair with Arcadie Claret that would last until his death. Leopold and Arcadie had two sons.

Louise-Marie had difficulties getting used to the mentality of her new Belgian subjects. She readily communicated her thoughts to friends. In one letter she wrote, “I do not denigrate the Belgians or Belgium. I would never make fun of them, at least publicly. If they were not so vain, I really would love them because they are very good people. ” Frequently, Louise-Marie’s father had to advise his daughter to be more cautious. Eventually, Louise-Marie’s attitude toward the Belgian people changed. Every morning, she received reports about some needy families. She then personally visited their homes to bring them comfort and financial aid. Sometimes Louise-Marie did not have enough money for his charitable works and then borrowed money without telling her husband.

Queen Louise-Marie; Credit – Wikipedia

In August 1850, during a memorial service for Louise-Marie’s father at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Belgium, it was noticed that Louise-Marie had difficulty walking and needed support from her husband to prevent her from falling. A month later, suffering from tuberculosis and feeling increasingly weak, she moved to Ostend, Belgium on the sea. Surrounded by her mother, her husband, and her children, Louise-Marie died at the age of 38 on October 11, 1850.

Death of Queen Louise-Marie (Oostende, 11 October 1850) by Jozef Meganck; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise-Marie’s actual deathbed; “Reine Marie Louise de Belgique” by karel leermans – Own work.

Louise-Marie had expressed a desire to be buried in Laeken in Brussels, Belgium. Leopold had the Church of Our Lady of Laeken built in her memory. Louise-Marie was buried there and the crypt there has become the burial site for the Belgian royal family. Leopold survived her by nearly 15 years, dying on December 10, 1865, at the age of 74. King Leopold was buried in the Royal Crypt in the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, in Brussels, Belgium with his wife Queen Louise-Marie.

Tomb of King Leopold I and Queen Louise-Marie; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Catherine of Valois, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Catherine of Valois, Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

“On Shrove Tuesday 1669, I to the Abbey went, and by favour did see the body of Queen Catherine of Valois, and had the upper part of the body in my hands, and I did kiss her mouth, reflecting upon it I did kiss a Queen: and this my birthday and I thirty-six years old and I did kiss a Queen.” Samuel Pepys, an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is most famous for the diary he kept during the years 1660-1669, wrote this in his diary on his 36th birthday.

The queen was Catherine of Valois, wife of King Henry V of England, mother of King Henry VI of England, and grandmother of Henry Tudor who became King Henry VII of England. During renovations of Westminster Abbey in the reign of King Henry VII, Catherine’s tomb was destroyed (some say to distance her grandson Henry VII from his illegitimate ancestry) and her remains were placed in a wooden coffin and kept above ground.  Abbey vergers charged a shilling to take off the coffin’s lid so curious visitors could view Catherine’s corpse.  Her coffin remained a public spectacle for over 200 years until it was buried in the Villiers Vault in the St. Nicholas Chapel of Westminster Abbey in 1778.  In 1878, Catherine’s remains were re-buried in a new altar tomb of Henry V’s Chantry in Westminster Abbey.

Tomb of Catherine of Valois; Credit – https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/henry-v-and-catherine-de-valois/

Catherine of Valois was born a French princess on October 27, 1401, the tenth of the twelve children of King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria.  Once known as Charles the Beloved, Catherine’s father became known as Charles the Mad when he began to suffer bouts of insanity in 1392 which continued throughout his life.  During one bout, Charles thought that he was made of glass and acted in ways that caused him to protect himself so that he would not break.  Catherine’s son King Henry VI of England also suffered from similar bouts and it is possible that they were both suffering from porphyria, which is a hereditary disease believed to have plagued King George III of Great Britain, a descendant of Catherine of Valois through one of her sons by Owen Tudor.

Catherine had eleven siblings:

Most notable of Catherine’s seven siblings who reached adulthood is King Charles VII of France, the Dauphin helped by Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War, and Isabella of Valois, the second wife and widow of King Richard II of EnglandKing Henry IV  had usurped the throne from his cousin King Richard II.  It is thought that Richard starved to death in captivity on or around February 14, 1400, but there is uncertainty over the date and manner of his death. King Henry IV then decided the widowed Queen Isabella should marry his son, the future King Henry V of England, but she refused. Knowing her husband was dead, she went into mourning, ignoring King Henry IV’s demands. Eventually, Isabella was allowed to return to France where she married a second time and died in childbirth at the age of 19.

King Henry IV had started negotiations to marry Catherine to his heir Henry, but he died before the negotiations were completed.  The new king, Henry V, continued the marriage negotiations.  He was eager to regain all the French land that previous English kings had lost over the centuries and reign in both England and France. He intended to accomplish this either by conquest or marriage.  As a dowry, King Henry V demanded two million crowns and the return of Normandy and Aquitaine.  The French refused and King Henry V declared war.  According to contemporary writers, Catherine took pride in the fact that she was worth fighting for and was eager to marry Henry.  Following many defeats including the great English victory at the Battle of Agincourt, the French agreed to the marriage.  A peace treaty was agreed upon in May 1420 and one of the provisions was that King Charles VI of France would acknowledge King Henry V of England as his heir.  Catherine and Henry were married at Troyes Cathedral in France on June 2, 1420. Despite the peace treaty, fighting continued and Catherine spent the first few months of her marriage accompanying Henry from battle to battle.

Marriage of King Henry V of England and Catherine of Valois; Credit:  Wikipedia

Eventually, the couple returned to England, and Catherine was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey on February 23, 1421.  By the summer, Catherine was pregnant and Henry was returning to France to continue his military campaigns.  Henry was superstitious and had warned Catherine against giving birth at Windsor Castle.  Catherine did not listen to him and on December 6, 1421, gave birth to a boy at Windsor Castle:

Upon hearing the news of his son’s birth, King Henry V said to his chamberlain Lord Fitz-Hugh, “I, Henry born at Monmouth, shall small time reign and much get, but Henry born at Windsor shall long reign and lose all.”  Within nine months, his prophecy came true.  On August 31, 1422, King Henry V died of dysentery, nine days before his 36th birthday, having reigned nine years, and his son King Henry VI at the age of nine months started his 40 years on the throne.  Catherine was left a widow at the age of 21.

The two surviving brothers of King Henry V played important roles during the minority of King Henry VI.  John, Duke of Bedford, was appointed Regent of the Realm and was in charge of the ongoing war in France. During Bedford’s absence, the government of England was headed by King Henry V’s other surviving brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who was appointed Protector and Defender of the Realm. His duties were limited to keeping the peace and summoning Parliament.

Because Catherine was still quite marriageable, Parliament passed a bill setting the rules for the remarriage of a queen dowager.  The bill stated that if a queen dowager married without the king’s consent, her husband would lose his lands and possessions, but that any children of the marriage would not suffer any consequences.  A “Catch 22” which would seem not to allow Catherine to marry any time soon stated that permission could only be granted once the king had reached his majority.  At the time of the bill’s passage, Henry was six years old.

With Catherine being a young widow and with apparently no chance of remarriage, it should not seem unusual that an amorous relationship would be likely.  Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudor (in Welsh  Owain ap Maredudd ap Tewdwr) was a Welsh soldier and courtier, descended from a daughter of the Welsh prince Rhys ap Gruffudd.  He served in Catherine’s household and their relationship began when Catherine was living at Windsor Castle.  There is much debate as to whether Catherine and Owen married.  No documentation of marriage exists and even if they did marry, their marriage would not have been legal due to the act regarding the remarriage of a queen dowager.  From the relationship between Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois descended King Henry VII of England and the Tudor dynasty. The British royal family and many other European royal families descended from their great-granddaughter Margaret Tudor.

It is uncertain how many children Catherine and Owen had. The following four can be verified:

Catherine died at the Abbey of St. Saviour in Bermondsey, London, England on January 3, 1437, following the birth of her last child and was buried in Westminster Abbey. After her death, Catherine’s two sons Edmund and Jasper went to live with Katherine de la Pole, Abbess of Barking, sister of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.  Katherine de la Pole persuaded King Henry VI to take an interest in the boys, who were his half-brothers. King Henry VI eventually gave his two Tudor half-brothers the rank of Earl and issued an edict that the legitimization of his two Tudor half-brothers was unnecessary.

Owen Tudor became an early casualty of the Wars of the Roses between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. On February 2, 1461, Owen, at the age of 60, unsuccessfully led the Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross against the Yorkists led by Edward, Earl of March (the future King Edward IV). Owen was beheaded at Hereford along with other prisoners and was buried there. Before his execution, he is alleged to have said that “the head which used to lie in Queen Catherine’s lap would now lie in the executioner’s basket”.

Catherine’s son with King Henry V, King Henry VI, reigned in England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471.  From 1455 onward, the Wars of the Roses tore the country apart literally and emotionally.  After the Yorkist victory at the Battle of Tewkesbury where King Henry VI’s only child Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales was killed, King Henry VI ultimately lost his crown to the Yorkist King Edward IV. Henry was imprisoned in the Wakefield Tower at the Tower of London and died, most likely by murder, during the night of May 21/22, 1471.

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