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

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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.

Life

Catherine of France was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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

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 Earl ...

. Catherine had eight older siblings, only two or three of whom were still alive at the time of her birth: Dauphin

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 ''* ...

(born 1368), Louis of Orleans (born 1372) and maybe John (born 1375). King Charles V died only two years later in 1380, making Catherine's oldest living brother, the 12 year old Dauphin Charles, succeed their father as King Charles VI of France. In 1386, at the age of eight, Catherine married John of Berry, Count of Montpensier, also known as John of Valois, 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 language, French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Rulers of Auvergne, Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. His brothers were King Charles ...

("John the Magnificent"), and Catherine's first cousin through their shared descent from

John II, King of France John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...

. In November 1388, Catherine died at the age of 10 of unknown causes. Her death meant that only two of King Charles V's nine children survived to adulthood and produced offspring: the reigning

Charles VI, King of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved () and in the 19th century, the Mad ( or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychosis, psychotic episodes t ...

(who would become the ancestor of the main line of successive Valois kings) and

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

(who would become the ancestor of the Valois-Orleans cadet branch). As Catherine was only a child at her death, she was unable to have any children with her husband the Count of Montpensier. Two years later Catherine's widower married Anne de Bourbon before his premature death in 1397, predeceasing his father the Duke of Berry.

Ancestors

References

Sources

*{{cite book , title=The History of Italy , first=Francesco , last=Guicciardini , publisher=Princeton University Press , translator-first=Sidney , translator-last=Alexander , year=1969 1378 births 1388 deaths House of Valois French princesses Countesses of Montpensier 14th-century French people 14th-century French women Daughters of kings French royalty who died as children 14th-century countesses consort