Charlotte of Savoy (c. 1441/3 – 1 December 1483) was

Queen of France This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning monarchs technica ...

as the second spouse of

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

. She served as regent during the king's absence in 1465, and was a member of the royal regency council during her son's minority in 1483.

Life

She was a daughter of

Louis, Duke of Savoy Ludovico I or Louis I (Italian: Lodovico; 24 February 1413 – 29 January 1465) was Duke of Savoy from 1440 until his death in 1465. Life He was born at Geneva the son of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy and Mary of Burgundy; he was the first to ho ...

Joachim W. Stieber, ''Pope Eugenius IV, the Council of Basel and the Secular and Ecclesiastical Authorities in the Empire'', (E.J. Brill, 1978), 254. and Anne of Cyprus.Sharon L. Jansen, ''Anne of France: Lessons For My Daughter'', ed. Jane Chance, (Boydell & Brewer, 2004), 2-3 She was one of 19 children, 14 of whom survived infancy.

Marriage

On 11 March 1443, when Charlotte was just over a year old, she was betrothed to Frederick of Saxony (28 August 1439- 23 December 1451), eldest son of

Frederick II, Elector of Saxony Frederick II, The Gentle (''Friedrich, der Sanftmütige''; Frederick the Gentle) (22 August 1412 – 7 September 1464) was Elector of Saxony (1428–1464) and was Landgrave of Thuringia (1440–1445). Biography Frederick was born in Leipzig ...

. For reasons unknown, the betrothal was annulled. Less than eight years later on 14 February 1451, Charlotte married Louis, Dauphin of France (future Louis XI), eldest son of

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

and

Marie of Anjou Marie of Anjou (14 October 1404 – 29 November 1463) was Queen of France as the spouse of King Charles VII from 1422 to 1461. She served as regent and presided over the council of state several times during the absence of the king. Life Marie w ...

.Richard Vaughan, ''Philip the Good'', (The Boydell Press, 2010), 353. The bride was nine years old and the groom twenty-seven. The marriage, which had taken place without the consent of the French king, was Louis' second; his first spouse, Margaret of Scotland, had died childless in 1445. Upon her marriage, Charlotte became Dauphine of France. Louis reportedly neglected her. When the news upon his succession to the throne of France reached the couple at the Burgundian court, he immediately abandoned her in Burgundy to secure his inheritance, leaving her dependent upon

Isabella of Bourbon Isabella of Bourbon, Countess of Charolais (c. 1434 – 25 September 1465) was the second wife of Charles the Bold, Count of Charolais and future Duke of Burgundy. She was a daughter of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon and Agnes of Burgundy, and ...

to borrow the carts and entourage necessary to travel to France to join him.

Queen

On 22 July 1461, Charlotte became Queen of France. The following year, she became seriously ill and was close to death by August 1462. Although she recovered, her health was weakened. Louis XI did not keep much of a representational court life. He had Queen Charlotte and her household kept secluded at the

Château of Amboise A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

, where she spent her days with her sisters and courtiers, supervising the education of her daughters (her son was educated by the king), playing chess and marbles, listening to her lute player, doing needlework and fulfilling her religious duties. On rare occasions she was asked to fulfill ceremonial tasks as queen such as greeting foreign guests, for example in 1470, when the king took the powerful

Earl of Warwick Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation c ...

and the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England. The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...

from England to Amboise to visit her. Charlotte was interested in literature and praised for the taste and excellence of her personal library. She left a collection of about one hundred manuscripts, which would become the genesis of the Bibliothèque nationale of France. Charlotte was regarded as virtuous. A contemporary noted that "while she was an excellent Princess in other respects, she was not a person in whom a man could take any great delight"; However, after the birth of her last child in 1472, Louis swore that he would no longer be unfaithful, and according to the chronicler Phillip de Commynes, he kept this vow. Charlotte served as regent in September 1465.

Queen dowager

Charlotte was widowed on August 30, 1483, upon which Louis XI was succeeded by their son Charles VIII, who was still a minor. Louis XI did not make Charlotte regent if his son should succeed him while still a minor; he did in fact not formally appoint a regent at all, but he did leave instructions for a royal council to govern during such a minority, in which Charlotte, alongside Duke Jean de Bourbon II and their two sons-in-law Louis d'Orleans (married to their daughter Jeanne) and

Peter II, Duke of Bourbon Peter II, Duke of Bourbon (1 December 1438 – 10 October 1503 in Moulins), was the son of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon, and Agnes of Burgundy, and a member of the House of Bourbon. He and his wife Anne of France ruled as regents during the mino ...

(married to their daughter Anne), were made members. In practice, her daughter Anne took control over France as regent during the minority of Charles. Charlotte died on 1 December 1483 in

Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about away f ...

, just a few months after her spouse's death. She is buried with him in the Notre-Dame de Cléry Basilica in

Cléry-Saint-André Cléry-Saint-André () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France, near Orléans. King Louis XI is buried in the Basilica of Notre Dame in the town. See also * Communes of the Loiret department The following is the list of ...

(

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

) in the arrondissement of Orléans.

Issue

Charlotte became the mother of eight children, but only three survived infancy. These were Charles VIII, who became king of France,

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

, who acted as regent of France for Charles, and

Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...

, who became queen of France as the spouse of

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

. * Louis (18 October 14581460) * Joachim (15 July 145929 November 1459) * Louise (born and died in 1460) *

(3 April 1461 − 14 November 1522), married Pierre de Beaujeau *

(23 April 1464 – 4 February 1505), married Louis XII, King of France. * Louis (born and died on 4 December 1466) *

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...

(30 June 1470 – 8 April 1498) * Francis,

Duke of Berry Duke of Berry (french: Duc de Berry) or Duchess of Berry (french: Duchesse de Berry) was a title in the Peerage of France. The Duchy of Berry, centred on Bourges, was originally created as an appanage for junior members of the French royal family ...

(3 September 1472 – November 1473)

References

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Savoy, Charlotte of 1440s births 1483 deaths Year of birth uncertain

Charlotte of Savoy Charlotte of Savoy (c. 1441/3 – 1 December 1483) was Queen of France as the second spouse of Louis XI. She served as regent during the king's absence in 1465, and was a member of the royal regency council during her son's minority in 1483. Lif ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

Italian people of Cypriot descent French people of Cypriot descent 15th-century women rulers Queen mothers