Catherine Martine Denguiadé became Catherine Bokassa (born 7 August 1949) is a Central African former member of the royal family and the

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

Jean-Bédel Bokassa Jean-Bédel Bokassa (; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996), also known as Bokassa I, was a Central African political and military leader who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR) and as the emperor of its s ...

. She was one of several wives of Emperor Bokassa but she became the Empress when he created the

Central African Empire From 4 December 1976 to 21 September 1979, the Central African Republic was officially known as the Central African Empire (french: Empire centrafricain), after military dictator (and president at the time) Marshal Jean-Bédel Bokassa declared ...

. Her son was chosen as his

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

Life

Denguiadé was born in

Sarh Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive det ...

in Chad. Her father was from the CAR but her mother was from Chad and that was where she began her education. Her secondary education was in

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

. She married when she was fourteen. She was kidnapped by Bokassa to become his third wife. He would later marry fourteen other women. She was involved in some way in 1977 when her husband's fall from power began. He issued a decree to say that every child attending school in his empire should wear a school uniform. It then appeared that Denguiadé owned the company that made the uniforms. In December 1977 her husband decreed himself

Emperor of Central Africa Emperor of Central Africa (french: Empereur de Centrafrique) was the title used by Jean-Bédel Bokassa from 4 December 1976, who was crowned on 4 December 1977 in a lavish ceremony that was estimated to cost the Central African Empire US$20 mill ...

and the Central African Republic became the

. He chose to crown Catherine as Empress Consort and she was in an outfit by French fashion house

Lanvin (company) Lanvin () is a French luxury fashion house based in Paris. Founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin, it is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Bruno Sialelli, a 31-year- ...

. Many of the extravagant items required for the coronation were imported from France. The French President sent eight horses from Normandy to pull their coach. In the event two of the horses died and the couple had to use a car. Her four year old son Jean-Bédel Bokassa Jr. attended the ceremony as the

. He was named

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

(''prince héritier de Centrafrique''). Her son had elder brothers and half-brothers. One of her son's half brothers, Georges, was made a cabinet minister but her husband said he was not strong enough to be an heir. In 1979 she was in Geneva living in exile with her and the ex-Emperor's seven children. She was said to sell a diamond every time she was short of money. After Bokassa died she was supported by friends. In time both she and her children returned to the Central African Republic.

Honours

National honours

Dame Grand Cordon of the Imperial Order of Bokassa (4 December 1977).Akg
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denguiade, Catherine Martine 1949 births Living people People from Sarh Central African Republic politicians Chadian women Empresses House of Bokassa