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| Depiction in the Beauchamp Pageant (c. 1485) |
Birth name: Catherine de Valois
Born: 27 October 1401, Paris, Royal Domain, Kingdom of France
Father: King Charles VI of France 'The Beloved'
Mother: Lady Isabeau of Bavaria
House: Valois
Nationality: French
Consort of: Henry V
Religion: Catholicism
Reign: 02 June 1420 - 31 August 1422 (2 years)
Coronation: 23 February 1421
Predecessor: Joan of Navarre
Successor: Margaret of Anjou
Died: 03 January 1437 (aged 35), Westminster, Middlesex, Kingdom of England
Cause: Postpartum infection
Burial: Westminster Abbey
Motto: N/A
Spouse(s):
- King Henry V of England (m. 1420 - 1422)
- Sir Owen Tudor (m. 1431 - 1437)
Children:
- With King Henry V of England
- King Henry VI of England (1421 - 1471)
- With Sir Owen Tudor
- Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond (c. 1430 - 1456)
- Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (c. 1431 - 1495)
- Margaret Tudor (???? - ????)
- Edward Tudor (???? - ????)
- *Unknown Child* (1437 - ????)
Appearance:
She was described as beautiful with very pale skin and an oval shaped face with large, dark brown eyes. She also had light brown hair.
Character:
Catherine was never politically astute and appears to have played a very limited role in politics. It appears that she was not ambitious due to her affair and marriage to the much lower ranking Owen Tudor, marrying him out of love.
She was described as beautiful with very pale skin and an oval shaped face with large, dark brown eyes. She also had light brown hair.
Character:
Catherine was never politically astute and appears to have played a very limited role in politics. It appears that she was not ambitious due to her affair and marriage to the much lower ranking Owen Tudor, marrying him out of love.
She was also a loving mother and doted on her children.
Biography:
Catherine was born just outside of Paris, France in 1401, and was the youngest daughter of King Charles VI of France, and his wife, Lady Isabeau of Bavaria. Her older sister, Isabella of Valois, had already served as a royal consort of England during her marriage to King Richard II of England, until he was deposed two years before Catherine was born.
From an early age, there were already plans in place to have Catherine also marry a King of England: the future King Henry V of England. However, King Henry IV of England died before negotiations could be finalised. Aside from this, not much is known about Catherine's early life, but she likely did receive a religious education, and spent most of her time in a convent. However, in 1417, Catherine would be imprisoned alongside her mother by Count Bernard III of Armagnac during a power struggle. Luckily, they were both soon released.
In 1420, Catherine and King Henry V of England finally met in person, and he was reported to have been immediately smitten with her. A peace treaty was finally signed between England and France, putting the Hundred Years War on hold, with Henry V also being recognised as the heir to the French throne. Both Catherine and Henry were also married later that same year, and she began her new life in England. She quickly fell pregnant before her husband returned to France to resume his campaigns. She would never see her husband again.
In 1421, Catherine gave birth to a son, Henry, whom Henry V would never get to meet. Henry V died in 1422 while laying siege to Meaux. After just two years of marriage, and aged just 20 years old, Catherine was already a widow, and became the Queen Dowager of England. Her son, aged just a few months old, became King Henry VI of England. Because he was just a baby, a council was appointed to rule England until he was old enough to govern on his own. Catherine herself remained mostly with her son to help raise him, and she loved him dearly. However, Catherine was also kept close by so that her son's council could keep an eye on her, especially because of her French connections.
Some time around 1430, Catherine fell in love with and began a relationship with Owen Tudor, one of her servants, and a previous servant of her first husband, Henry V. She became pregnant and moved out of her son's household to be with Owen. There does not appear to have been much disapproval of the relationship, since Owen was granted the rights of an Englishman.
The exact date of her marriage to Owen is unknown, but it likely occurred around 1431 after she became pregnant. It's even possible that they did not marry at all. The two of them would go on to have six children together, and lived away from the English court, enjoying a quiet life together.
Unfortunately, it was the birth of their sixth child in 1437 that likely led to Catherine's death. Though it could have been any number of illnesses, it's most accepted that she died as a result of a postpartum infection.
Rule:
As consort, Catherine's reign only lasted two years, and not too much is known about her during this period. She did succeed in her main duty of providing a male heir.
Perhaps her biggest, unwitting achievement was her creation of the prominence of the Tudor family and eventual dynasty.
Biography:
Catherine was born just outside of Paris, France in 1401, and was the youngest daughter of King Charles VI of France, and his wife, Lady Isabeau of Bavaria. Her older sister, Isabella of Valois, had already served as a royal consort of England during her marriage to King Richard II of England, until he was deposed two years before Catherine was born.
From an early age, there were already plans in place to have Catherine also marry a King of England: the future King Henry V of England. However, King Henry IV of England died before negotiations could be finalised. Aside from this, not much is known about Catherine's early life, but she likely did receive a religious education, and spent most of her time in a convent. However, in 1417, Catherine would be imprisoned alongside her mother by Count Bernard III of Armagnac during a power struggle. Luckily, they were both soon released.
In 1420, Catherine and King Henry V of England finally met in person, and he was reported to have been immediately smitten with her. A peace treaty was finally signed between England and France, putting the Hundred Years War on hold, with Henry V also being recognised as the heir to the French throne. Both Catherine and Henry were also married later that same year, and she began her new life in England. She quickly fell pregnant before her husband returned to France to resume his campaigns. She would never see her husband again.
In 1421, Catherine gave birth to a son, Henry, whom Henry V would never get to meet. Henry V died in 1422 while laying siege to Meaux. After just two years of marriage, and aged just 20 years old, Catherine was already a widow, and became the Queen Dowager of England. Her son, aged just a few months old, became King Henry VI of England. Because he was just a baby, a council was appointed to rule England until he was old enough to govern on his own. Catherine herself remained mostly with her son to help raise him, and she loved him dearly. However, Catherine was also kept close by so that her son's council could keep an eye on her, especially because of her French connections.
Some time around 1430, Catherine fell in love with and began a relationship with Owen Tudor, one of her servants, and a previous servant of her first husband, Henry V. She became pregnant and moved out of her son's household to be with Owen. There does not appear to have been much disapproval of the relationship, since Owen was granted the rights of an Englishman.
The exact date of her marriage to Owen is unknown, but it likely occurred around 1431 after she became pregnant. It's even possible that they did not marry at all. The two of them would go on to have six children together, and lived away from the English court, enjoying a quiet life together.
Unfortunately, it was the birth of their sixth child in 1437 that likely led to Catherine's death. Though it could have been any number of illnesses, it's most accepted that she died as a result of a postpartum infection.
Rule:
As consort, Catherine's reign only lasted two years, and not too much is known about her during this period. She did succeed in her main duty of providing a male heir.
Perhaps her biggest, unwitting achievement was her creation of the prominence of the Tudor family and eventual dynasty.
Trivia:
- It was Catherine and Owen's descendents that would create the Tudor dynasty in England.
Quotes:
N/A
Sources & Further Reading:
Catherine of Valois | Biography & Facts. (n.d.). In Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Catherine-of-Valois
Catherinevalois.png - Wikimedia Commons. (2021). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catherinevalois.png
Henry V and Catherine de Valois. (n.d.). Westminster Abbey. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/henry-v-and-catherine-de-valois
Starbuck, L. (2020). The royal bride who changed England forever. Royal Central. https://royalcentral.co.uk/features/the-royal-bride-who-changed-england-forever-143814/
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