Marie of Anjou (14 October 1404 – 29 November 1463) 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 French Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning monarchs te ...

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 was the eldest daughter of

Louis II of Anjou Louis II (5 October 1377 – 29 April 1417) was Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence from 1384 to 1417; he claimed the Kingdom of Naples, but only ruled parts of the kingdom from 1390 to 1399. His father, Louis I of Anjouthe founder of the House o ...

, claimant to the throne of Naples, and

Yolande of Aragon Yolande of Aragon (11 August 1381 – 14 November 1442) was Duchess of Anjou and Countess of Provence by marriage, who acted as regent of Provence during the minority of her son. She was also known as Yolanda de Aragón and Violant d'Ara ...

, claimant to the throne of Aragon. Marie was betrothed to her second cousin

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 ''* ...

, son and

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

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 ...

, in 1413. When a Burgundian force took Paris in 1418, Charles left her stranded, but she was taken by

John the Fearless John I (; ; 28 May 1371 – 10 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his assassination in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs during the early 15th century, part ...

to Saumur to be reunited with him. However, Charles failed to arrive for the agreed rendezvous. The wedding took place on 18 December 1422 at

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

. The marriage made Marie

, but she was never crowned. Her spouse's victory in the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

owed a great deal to the support he received from Marie's family, notably from her mother

Queen

Queen Marie presided over the council of state several times in the absence of the king, during which she had power of attorney as regent and signed acts in the position of "lieutenant of the king" (April 1434). She made several pilgrimages, such as Puy with the king in 1424, and Mount St Michel by herself in 1447. Marie and Charles had fourteen children, but her spouse's affection was primarily directed towards his mistress,

Agnès Sorel Agnès Sorel (; 1422 – 9 February 1450), known by the sobriquet ''Dame de beauté'' (Lady of Beauty), was a favourite and chief mistress of King Charles VII of France, by whom she bore four daughters. She is considered the first officially ...

, originally Marie's lady in waiting, who became official mistress to the king in 1444 and played a dominant role at court until her death in 1450, somewhat eclipsing the queen. Robert Blondel composed the allegorical Treatise of the ''"Twelve Perils of Hell"'' for Queen Marie in 1455.

Queen dowager

In 1461, Charles VII died and was succeeded by their son Louis XI, making Marie

queen dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is cle ...

. She was granted the Chateau of Amboise and the income from Brabant by her son. During the winter of 1462–63, Marie of Anjou made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. It has been speculated that she had a mission in Spain as secret ambassador for her son, due to the political situation at the time and the fact that she made the pilgrimage during winter time, when the roads were so bad that such trips were normally avoided if possible. She died at the age of 59 on 29 November 1463 at the Cistercian Abbaye de Chateliers-en-Poitou (now in

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

region) on her return. She is buried in the basilica of Saint-Denis alongside her spouse.

Issue

Marie and Charles had: *

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the 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 revolt known as the ...

of France (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), married firstly, Margaret of Scotland, no issue. Married secondly,

Charlotte of Savoy Charlotte of Savoy (16 November 1441 – 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 148 ...

, had issue. *John (d. 19 September 1426) * Radegonde (1425 or August 1428 – 19 March 1445), betrothed to

Sigismund, Archduke of Austria Sigismund (26 October 1427 – 4 March 1496), a member of the House of Habsburg, was List of rulers of Austria, Duke of Austria from 1439 (elevated to Archduke in 1477) until his death. As a scion of the Habsburg Leopoldian line, he ruled over F ...

on 22 July 1430 *

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 ...

(1428 – 13 July 1446), married

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

, no issue *James (1432 – 2 March 1437) * Yolande (23 September 1434 – 23/29 August 1478), married

Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy Amadeus IX (1 February 1435 – 30 March 1472), nicknamed the Happy, was the Duke of Savoy from 1465 to 1472. The Catholic Church venerates him with a liturgical feast on March 30. Life Amadeus was born at Thonon-les-Bains, the son of Louis, ...

, had issue * Joan (4 May 1435 – 4 May 1482), married

John II, Duke of Bourbon Jean (John) de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon (1426 – 1 April 1488), sometimes referred to as John the Good and The Scourge of the English, was a son of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon, Charles I of Bourbon and Agnes of Burgundy, Duchess of Bourbon, Ag ...

*Philip (4 February 1436 – 11 June 1436) *Margaret (May 1437 – 24 July 1438) *Joan (7 September 1438 – 26 December 1446), twin of Marie *Mary (7 September 1438 – 14 February 1439), twin of Joan *Isabella (d. 1441) * Magdalena (1 December 1443 – 21 January 1495), married Gaston of Foix, Prince of Viana, had issue. *

(12 December 1446 – 24 May 1472)

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Marie of Anjou 1404 births 1463 deaths Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis Armagnac faction Queens consort of France Dauphines of Viennois House of Valois-Anjou 15th-century French women People from Angers 15th-century French nobility 15th-century women regents 15th-century regents People of Byzantine descent French queen mothers