Catherine de Bourbon (7 February 1559 – 13 February 1604) was a Navarrese regent princess. She was the daughter of Queen Joan III and King Anthony of Navarre. She ruled the principality of Béarn in the name of her brother, King Henry III of Navarre, from 1576 until 1596.

Early life

Catherine was born on 7 February 1559 to

Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret ( Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. Jeanne was the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and Margar ...

, Queen of Navarre and her co-ruler,

Antoine de Bourbon Antoine de Bourbon, roi de Navarre (22 April 1518 – 17 November 1562) was the King of Navarre through his marriage (''jure uxoris'') to Queen Jeanne III, from 1555 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Bourbon, of which he w ...

. She was named after her godmother, the French queen Catherine de' Medici. Jeanne converted to

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

a year after Catherine's birth and declared it the official religion of the Kingdom of Navarre. Antoine, conversely, remained a Catholic and turned against his wife and threatened to divorce her. He died fighting for the Catholic cause on 17 November 1562. Catherine was with her mother and elder brother,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, as they fought for the Protestant cause. The Queen died on 9 June 1572, and Catherine's custody was assigned to Catherine de' Medici and Charles IX. During the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Catherine and her brother were forced to convert to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. After the death of Charles IX in 1574, the new king, Henry III, considered marrying Catherine. She almost married James VI of Scotland, and her brother sent ambassadors to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

to advocate the marriage, including Claude de l'Isle,

François de Civille François de Civille, seigneur de Saint-Mards (1537–1610), was a French soldier and diplomat. The Civille family of Rouen was of Spanish origin. Buried alive François de Civille was a soldier in the French Wars of Religion. He wrote a memoir ...

, and

Jérôme Groslot Jérôme Groslot, Sieur de l’Isle (died 1622) was a French diplomat. His father, also Jérôme Groslot (1520-1572), was killed during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in Paris. He came to Scotland and was brought up with the young James VI at ...

Political service

Catherine's brother, successor of Queen Joan III, was generally absent from the principality. After his escape from captivity in 1576, he entrusted Catherine with the government of Béarn. She served almost continuously as regent until 1596, where among her other responsibilities, she, a staunch Protestant, hosted Antonio Perez, a famous Spanish Catholic refugee from King Philip II. After the accession of her brother to the French throne, in 1589, she was created Duchess of Albret and Countess of Armagnac. Appointed by her brother to sit on his Council as a representative of French Protestant interests in 1598, she set about persuading the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

to agree to the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

Marriage

As part of the treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye between Henry IV and

Charles III, Duke of Lorraine Charles III (18 February 1543 – 14 May 1608), known as ''the Great'', was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death. Life He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and Christina of Denmark. In 1545, his father died, and ...

, it was agreed that Catherine should marry Charles' elder son,

(1563–1624). The marriage agreement was signed on 13 July 1598. However, Catherine was a confirmed

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, who refused to convert to Roman Catholicism, whilst her husband was a devout Catholic, and a former member of the Holy League. Thus, a papal dispensation was required to allow the two to marry, but on 29 December 1598,

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

declared himself opposed to the marriage. Dissatisfied, Henry IV intimidated the Archbishop of Reims into granting an authorisation of marriage. This was made at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 31 January 1599. Henry eventually secured Papal agreement. Until the birth of her nephew on 27 September 1601, she was heiress presumptive to the Navarrese crown. However, Catherine was not married long before she died, childless. Her husband remarried to Margherita Gonzaga, a niece of

Marie de Medici Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingdom ...

(Henry IV's second wife).

Writings

Catherine de Bourbon was also a writer. Her works consist principally of sonnets and correspondence.

Early life

Political service

Marriage

Writings

Ancestry

References

Sources

Further reading