Catherine of France (4 February 1378 – November 1388) was a

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as the daughter of Charles V, King of France, and became the

Countess of Montpensier Countess of Montpensier House of Valois, 1362?–1434 House of Bourbon-Montpensier, 1434–1523 Duchess of Montpensier House of Bourbon-Vendôme, 1561–1627 House of Bourbon-Orléans House of Bourbon-Orléans (in pretence) ...

as the wife of

John of Berry, Count of Montpensier John of Berry (1375/1376–1397), count of Montpensier (1386–1401), was a French nobleman. He was the son of John, Duke of Berry and Joanna of Armagnac. He had no children and predeceased his father. He married twice: #in 1386 at Saint-Ouen to ...

Life

Catherine of France was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 4 February 1378 as the ninth child and fifth daughter of Charles V, King of France ("Charles the Wise", 1338–1380) and his wife, born

Joanna of Bourbon Joanna of Bourbon (''Jeanne de Bourbon''; 3 February 1338 – 6 February 1378) was Queen of France by marriage to King Charles V. She acted as his political adviser and was appointed potential regent in case of a minor regency. Life Early ...

(1338–1378). She had had eight older siblings, only two or three of whom were still alive at the time of her birth:

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, the Dauphin aged 9,

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

, aged 5, and maybe John, aged 3-4 or 1-2. Her mother died while delivering Catherine, which deeply upset her father. He died only two years later, making Catherine's oldest living brother

(1368–1368) king. In 1386, at the age of eight, Catherine married

, also known as John of Valois (1375/1376–1397), who was between the ages of nine and eleven. He was the oldest living son and heir of

John, Duke of Berry John of Berry or John the Magnificent ( French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was Regent of France during the minority of his nephew 1380-1388 ...

("John the Magnificent", 1340–1416), and Catherine's

first cousin once removed Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...

through their shared descendance from John II, King of France ("John the Good", 1319–1364). In November 1388, Catherine died at the age of ten of unknown causes, three months short of her eleventh birthday. Her death meant that only two of her parents' nine children survived to adulthood,

Charles VI, King of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...

(1368–1422) and

Louis I, Duke of Orléans Louis I of Orléans (13 March 1372 – 23 November 1407) was Duke of Orléans from 1392 to his death. He was also Duke of Touraine (1386–1392), Count of Valois (1386?–1406) Blois (1397–1407), Angoulême (1404–1407 ...

(1372–1407). She hadn't had any children due to both her and her husband's young age. Two years later her widower married

Anne de Bourbon Anne de Bourbon (1380 – September 1408) was a daughter of John I, Count of La Marche and his wife Catherine of Vendôme. She was a member of the House of Bourbon. Family Anne was one of the seven children of John I, Count of La Marche and Ca ...

(1380–1408), and predeceased his father in 1397.

Ancestors

References

Sources

* 1378 births 1388 deaths House of Valois French princesses Countesses of Montpensier 14th-century French people 14th-century French women Daughters of kings {{france-noble-stub Royalty and nobility who died as children