Marie of Brabant (13 May 1254 – 12 January 1322) 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 ...

from 1274 until 1285 as the second wife of King Philip III. Born in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, Brabant, she was a daughter of

Henry III, Duke of Brabant Henry III of Brabant ( 1230 – February 28, 1261, Leuven) was Duke of Brabant between 1248 and his death. He was the son of Henry II of Brabant and Marie of Hohenstaufen. He was also a trouvère. The disputed territory of Lothier, the for ...

, and Adelaide of Burgundy.

Queen

Marie married the widowed

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...

on 21 August 1274. His first wife, Isabella of Aragon, had already given birth to three surviving sons:

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

and

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 ''* ...

. Philip was under the strong influence of his mother,

Margaret of Provence Margaret of Provence (; 1221 – 20 December 1295) was Queen of France by marriage to Louis IX of France, King Louis IX. Early life Margaret was born in the spring of 1221 in Forcalquier. She was the eldest of four daughters of Ramon Berenguer ...

, and his minion, surgeon and chamberlain (Chambellan) Pierre de la Broce. Not being French, Marie stood out at the French court. In 1276, Marie's stepson Louis died under suspicious circumstances. Marie was suspected of ordering him to be poisoned. La Broce, who was also suspected, was imprisoned and later executed for the murder.

Queen dowager

After the death of Philip III in 1285, Marie lost some of her political influence, and dedicated her life to their three children:

(May 1276 – 19 May 1319), Blanche (1278 – 19 March 1305) and

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(died in 1318). Her stepson Philip IV was crowned king of France on 6 January 1286 in

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. Together with

Joan I of Navarre Joan I (14 January 1273 – 31 March/2 April 1305) (, Spanish: ''Juana'') was ruling Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1274 until 1305. She was also Queen of France by marriage to King Philip IV. She founded the College of Nava ...

and

Blanche of Artois Blanche of Artois (; – 2 May 1302) was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne and Brie during her marriage to Henry I of Navarre. After his death she became regent in the name of their infant daughter, Joan I. She passed on the regenc ...

, she negotiated peace in 1294 between England and France with

Edmund Crouchback Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster (16 January 12455 June 1296), also known as Edmund Crouchback, was a member of the royal Plantagenet Dynasty and the founder of the first House of Lancaster. He was Earl of Leicester (1265–1296), Lancaster (1267� ...

, the younger brother of

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

. Marie lived through Philip IV's reign and she outlived her children. She died in 1322, aged 67, in the monastery at

Les Mureaux Les Mureaux () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Population Transport Les Mureaux is served by Les ...

, near

Meulan Meulan-en-Yvelines (, before 2010: ''Meulan'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It hosted part of the Sailing at the 1900 Su ...

, where she had withdrawn to in 1316. Marie was not buried in the royal necropolis of

Basilica of Saint-Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...

, but in the

Cordeliers Convent There were several Cordeliers Convents (French: ''Couvent des Cordeliers'') in France. ''Cordeliers'' was the name given in France to the Conventual Franciscans. Cordeliers Convent in Paris The Cordeliers Convent in Paris is located 15 rue de l ...

, 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 ...

. Destroyed in a fire in 1580, the church was rebuilt in the following years.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:France, Marie of Brabant, Queen of 1254 births 1322 deaths Marie of Brabant People from Leuven

Marie Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French compo ...

13th-century French people 13th-century French women 14th-century French people 14th-century French women Daughters of dukes