Madeleine of France, also called Magdalena of Valois (1 December 1443 – 21 January 1495), was a French princess who became Princess of Viana by marriage to Gaston of Foix. She was the regent of Navarre between 1479 and 1494 during the minority of her two children, each of whom became monarchs of Navarre: Francis I and

Catherine I Catherine I Alekseyevna Mikhailova (born Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya; – ) was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, whom she succeeded as Emperor of all the Russias, Empress of Russia, ruling from 1725 until her death in 1 ...

Life

She was born at

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, a younger daughter of

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...

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 ...

. Magdalena was betrothed to

Ladislaus the Posthumous Ladislaus V, more commonly known as Ladislaus the Posthumous (; ; ; ; 22 February 144023 November 1457), was Duke of Austria and King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia. He was the posthumous birth, posthumous son ...

, but he died suddenly in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

on 23 November 1457 while preparing for his marriage. It was rumored at the time that his political opponents in Bohemia had poisoned him; but in the 20th century it was proved that Ladislaus died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

, not a recognized disease in that period. She instead married Gaston, Prince of Viana, son and heir of Gaston IV of Foix and

Eleanor of Navarre Eleanor of Navarre (2 February 1426 – 12 February 1479) was a Navarrese princess and monarch. She served as the regent of Navarre from 1455 to 1479, during the absence of her father, and then briefly as the queen regnant of Navarre in 147 ...

, at Saint-Jean-d'Angély in 1461.

Regent of Navarre

Her husband died in 1470, predeceasing his father; accordingly, when Gaston IV died in 1472, his possessions were inherited by Magdalena's son, Francis Phoebus. Francis became the heir of Navarre in 1479 upon the death of his great-grandfather,

John II of Aragon and Navarre John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, who left Navarre to the rightful heir, Magdalena's mother-in-law, Eleanor. Eleanor only spent a few weeks as queen before she herself died. Francis Phoebus became king, and his mother acted as regent until his death, at age 15, in 1483. Magdalena continued her regency, then for her daughter, Catherine, until 1494. During this regency, she was forced to battle her brother-in-law, John of Foix, who claimed the throne of Navarre as heir of Francis Phoebus. In 1483, she arranged for her daughter to be married to a French nobleman on the suggestion of the King of France and refused the match with the heir to the throne of Castile and Aragon, in order to protect Navarre from being united with Castile and Aragon by a French alliance. The marital contract was signed in 1484 and the wedding of her daughter took place in 1486. Her daughter's marriage was not consummated until 1491. It is possible that the consummation, being a political event, was purposely postponed in order to prevent Catherine and her husband from being declared of legal majority, which would allow Magdalena to continue her regency. Magdalena continued to act as regent despite the fact that her daughter had given birth in 1491 and her marriage had clearly been consummated and, at the age of twenty-three, should no longer have the need of a minor regency. Her continued regency even after her daughter's coronation in 1494 is clearly evidenced, as it is documented that she continued to sign charters and was mentioned first officially as regent despite her daughter and son-in-law being adults.Woodacre, Elena (2013). The Queens Regnant of Navarre: Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274-1512. Palgrave Macmillan. Magdalena was taken hostage by

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

in 1494. This ended her regency of Navarre and her daughter and son-in-law are confirmed to have been active rulers from this time onward. She died in the following year at

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

; her death provoking fresh conflict. With the death of

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the 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. His elder sister Anne acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Du ...

(Magdalena's nephew), the descendants of

Charles VI 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 ...

ceased to occupy the French throne. By the death of

Anne of France Anne of France (or Anne de Beaujeu; 3 April 146114 November 1522) was a French princess and regent, the eldest daughter of Louis XI by Charlotte of Savoy. Anne was the sister of Charles VIII, for whom she acted as regent during his minority fro ...

, Magdalena's niece, along with that of her elder sister Yolande, Duchess of Savoy, they became the last surviving legitimate descendants of

. Her descendant and heir,

Henry III of Navarre Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

, would become King of France in 1589, returning the descendants and heirs of Charles VI and Charles VII to the French throne.

Issue

She had two children: *

Francis Phoebus Francis Phoebus (, , , ; 4 December 1467 – 7 January 1483) was King of Navarre (1479–1483), Viscount of Bearn, and Count of Foix (1472). He was the son of Gaston, Prince of Viana, and grandson of Queen Eleanor, whom he succeeded. She recom ...

(1467–1483), King of Navarre *

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

(1470–1517),

queen regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...

of Navarre, married in 1484 John of Albret (1469–1516).

Ancestry

References

{{Authority control French princesses 1443 births 1495 deaths People from Tours, France House of Valois Regents of France 15th-century women regents 15th-century regents Princesses of Viana Burials at Pamplona Cathedral 15th-century French people 15th-century French women Daughters of kings 15th-century Navarrese monarchs Mothers of Navarrese monarchs