Biography
Biography
Please note that the TimeRef website is currently being redesigned.

Catherine (of Valois)

 BornOctober 1401   Born At
 Died3 January 1437  Buried At
 FatherCharles (VI, King of France 1380-1422)  MotherIsabeau (of Bavaria)
 BornOctober 1401 / 
 Died3 January 1437 / 
Catherine the Fair, born in Paris in October 1401, was the youngest child of Charles VI of France and his wife Isabeau of Bavaria. Her father sufferred from bouts of insanity and it was during one of these that she was born. After the Treaty of Troyes, in which King Charles agreed that after his death King Henry V of England and his heirs would become the rulers of France Catherine was married to Henry. They were married in June of 1420, and had a child, also called Henry in 1421, but the marriage was short as her husband died in 1422. A few years later Catherine married a Welshman called Owen Tudor, a high-ranking member of the Queen's wardrobe. The marriage was at first kept secret but together they had several children one of whom would become King of England himself. Catherine died in 1437 after retiring to Bermondsey Abbey. Some reports say she died whilst giving birth, but this is probably wrong.

Related Episodes

Henry V - The Hundred Years War (click here)

Henry V - The Hundred Years War (click here)

Parents

Fantasy image of Charles (VI, King of France 1380-1422)
Charles (VI, King of France 1380-1422)
Fantasy image of Isabeau (of Bavaria)
Isabeau (of Bavaria)

 

Family Tree Details

Father:Charles (VI, King of France 1380-1422) (b.1338 - d.1422)
Mother:Isabeau (of Bavaria) (b.1370? - d.1435)
Show Graphical Tree
 Catherine (of Valois) (b.1401 - d.1437)
    +Henry (V, King of England 1413-1422) (b.1387 - d.1422)
    |   = Henry (VI, King of England 1422-1461, 1470-1471) (b.1421 - d.1471)
    |       +Margaret (of Anjou) (b.1429 - d.1482)
    |           = Edward (of Lancaster, Prince of Wales) (b.1453 - d.1471)
    |               +Neville, Anne (Duchess of Gloucester, Queen of England) (b.1456 - d.1485)
    +Tudor, Owen (b.1400 - d.1461)
        = Tudor, Edmund (Earl of Richmond) ( - d.1456)
        |   +Beaufort, Lady Margaret (b.1441 - d.1509)
        |       = Henry (VII, King of England 1485-1509) (b.1457 - d.1509)
        |           +Elizabeth (of York) (b.1466 - d.1503)
        |               = Arthur (Prince of Wales) (b.1486 - d.1502)
        |               = Tudor, Margaret (Queen of Scotland) (b.1489 - d.1541)
        |               = Henry (VIII, King of England 1509-1547) (b.1491 - d.1547)
        |               = Mary (Tudor, Queen of France) (b.1495 - d.1533)
        = Tudor, Jasper (Earl of Pembroke) (b.1431? - d.1496)
        |   +Woodville, Catherine (b.1458? - d.1497?)
        = Thomas (Westminster Monk)
 Catherine (of Valois) (b.1401 - d.1437)
    +Henry (V, King of England 1413-1422) (b.1387 - d.1422)
    |   = Henry (VI, King of England 1422-1461, 1470-1471) (b.1421 - d.1471)
    |       +Margaret (of Anjou) (b.1429 - d.1482)
    |           = Edward (of Lancaster, Prince of Wales) (b.1453 - d.1471)
    |               +Neville, Anne (Duchess of Gloucester, Queen of England) (b.1456 - d.1485)
    +Tudor, Owen (b.1400 - d.1461)
        = Tudor, Edmund (Earl of Richmond) ( - d.1456)
        |   +Beaufort, Lady Margaret (b.1441 - d.1509)
        |       = Henry (VII, King of England 1485-1509) (b.1457 - d.1509)
        |           +Elizabeth (of York) (b.1466 - d.1503)
        |               = Arthur (Prince of Wales) (b.1486 - d.1502)
        |               = Tudor, Margaret (Queen of Scotland) (b.1489 - d.1541)
        |               = Henry (VIII, King of England 1509-1547) (b.1491 - d.1547)
        |               = Mary (Tudor, Queen of France) (b.1495 - d.1533)
        = Tudor, Jasper (Earl of Pembroke) (b.1431? - d.1496)
        |   +Woodville, Catherine (b.1458? - d.1497?)
        = Thomas (Westminster Monk)

See Also

    People

    Timeline

    1420(Age: 19yrs)

    In the Treaty of Troyes King Charles VI of France agreed that after his death King Henry V of England and his heirs would become the rulers of France. It was also agreed that the French king's daughter, Catherine of Valois would marry Henry. [1]

    The marriage of King Henry V and Catherine, the daughter of Charles VI king of France, took place and sealed the Treaty of Troyes.

    1421(Age: 20yrs)

    Queen Catherine was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

    Prince Henry (later Henry VI) was born at Windsor.

    1422(Age: 21yrs)

    Queen Catherine and her young son landed at Harfleur. From there she travelled to Rouen and then to Vincennes where she met her husband King Henry V. Together they travelled on to Paris. It was around this time that the King's health was failing. [2]

    King Henry V had fallen ill during the previous winter and had not recovered during the spring and summer. He died at the age of 34 in Bios de Vincennes in France on August 31st and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

    1429(Age: 28yrs)

    It is believed that Owen Tudor and Catherine were secretly married in this year or just before.

    1437(Age: 36yrs)

    Catherine died in this year after retiring to Bermondsey Abbey. Some reports say she died whilst giving birth, but this is probably wrong.

    After the death of Catherine of France Owen Tudor was summonsed by Henry VI. Owen was unsure of Henry's motives and wanted some guarantee that he would be able to leave unharmed. That guarantee was given and Owen went to London. Still cautious, Owen used the safety of Westminster to investigate the King's reasons for his summons and when he was relatively happy visited the King. Owen was charged with certain crimes but was cleared and allowed to leave. On his return to Wales Owen was arrested and imprisoned in Newgate gaol.

    On this day in history:

    TimeRef Shield Designer

    Use this medieval shield designer to create your coat of arms. Click the image below to start your design.

    TimeRef Shield Designer

    Use this medieval shield designer to create your coat of arms. Click the image below to start your design.

    3D Virtual Reconstructions

    Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past. Built using the popular game development tool Unity 3D, these reconstructions will run in the most of the popular web browsers on your desktop or laptop computer.

    More medieval people

    Uncover the lives of the hundreds of kings, queens, lords, ladies, barons, earls, archbishops and rebels who made the medieval people an exciting period of history to live through.

    Page Navigation

    Selection of references used:

    • 1: Peter Potter, Data Donation
    • 2: The Rev. A. J. Church, Henry the Fifth

      See Also

        People

        3D/VR

        Virtual Buildings

        Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past.

        Explore the White Tower

        Explore all four floors of the White Tower at the Tower of London using the Unity 3d game engine.

        A Medieval Mystery

        There appear to be some strange connections between the fourteenth century Old Wardour Castle and ancient stone circle Stonehenge.

        1: Location

        Old Wardour Castle appears to be aligned to ancient sites in the Stonehenge landscape.

        2: Alignment

        Stonehenge is aligned to the Summer Solstice. Old Wardour has a very similar alignment.

        3: Size

        Could the builders of Old Wardour used mesaurements from Stonehenge to layout the geometrical keep?

        Learn More