The Disobedient Queen: Katherine of Valois

By Mildred Allen Butler

Katherine of Valois, born a French princess, was the wife of King Henry V of England, the mother of Henry VI, and ultimately the grandmother of Henry VII, the first Tudor king. In view of the current widespread interest in the Tudors, young adult readers will be fascinated by the story of the widowed Queen who fell in love with—and secretly married—the commoner who gave that dynasty its name.

This biography was written in 1970, following Mildred Allen Butler’s successful Twice Queen of France: Anne of Brittany and several other books for young adults. It was accepted for publication at that time by Harcourt Brace and was edited by the eminent editor Margaret McElderry, then in charge of books for young readers there. But she left the company before its scheduled appearance and her successor decided not to issue it, saying young people were no longer interested in history—a questionable assumption even then, and one that has since proven to be mistaken. Fortunately, the advent of ebook technology makes it possible to offer the book to today’s YA readers, so this posthumous edition has been produced by Sylvia Engdahl, the author’s daughter.

Extensively illustrated with portraits and other art from past eras, the book presents a colorful picture of royal life in the fifteenth century, from Henry V’s conquest of France to the lavish celebrations of his victory, his marriage to Katherine, and the crowning of their young son as child-king. And it tells how after Henry’s death, Katherine defied both law and convention to marry Owen Tudor, the man she then truly loved, and bear the son destined to father the king who founded the House of Tudor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ad Stellae Books
• Release date: Sep 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301550692

Mildred Allen Butler

Mildred Butler Engdahl, who published under her maiden name Mildred Allen Butler, was the mother of writer Sylvia Engdahl. She had a B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.A. in Drama from the University of Oregon, and had worked both as a high school English teacher and as a director of community theaters. Late in her life she wrote several historical books for teens as well as articles for scholarly magazines. She died in 1987 at the age of ninety.

Book preview

Katherine of Valois, born a French princess, was the wife of King Henry V of England, the mother of Henry VI, and ultimately the grandmother of Henry VII, the first Tudor king. In view of the current widespread interest in the Tudors, young adult readers will be fascinated by the story of the widowed Queen who fell in love with—and secretly married—the commoner who gave that dynasty its name.

This biography was written in 1970, following Mildred Allen Butler’s successful Twice Queen of France: Anne of Brittany and several other books for young adults. It was accepted for publication at that time by Harcourt Brace and was edited by the eminent editor Margaret McElderry, then in charge of books for young readers there. But she left the company before its scheduled appearance and her successor decided not to issue it, saying young people were no longer interested in history—a questionable assumption even then, and one that has since proven to be mistaken. Fortunately, the advent of ebook technology makes it possible to offer the book to today’s YA readers, so this posthumous edition has been produced by Sylvia Engdahl, the author’s daughter.

Extensively illustrated with portraits and other art from past eras, the book presents a colorful picture of royal life in the fifteenth century, from Henry V’s conquest of France to the lavish celebrations of his victory, his marriage to Katherine, and the crowning of their young son as child-king. And it tells how after Henry’s death, Katherine defied both law and convention to marry Owen Tudor, the man she then truly loved, and bear the son destined to father the king who founded the House of Tudor.

The Disobedient Queen

Katherine of Valois

by

Mildred Allen Butler

Edited by Sylvia Louise Engdahl

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2013 by Sylvia Louise Engdahl

All rights reserved. For information contact [e-mail]. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only, and may not be resold, given away, or altered.

The Disobedient Queen was scheduled by a major publisher to appear in 1971, but due to reorganization within the company it was never issued. This posthumous edition is its first publication.

www.adstellaebooks.com

Cover: Katherine of Valois, 18th century engraving.

All illustrations are reproductions of centuries-old works of art and are therefore in the public domain.

CONTENTS

Chapter I: Princess Katherine of France

Chapter II: Henry of England

Chapter III: The Invader

Chapter IV: The Conqueror

Chapter V: The Negotiator

Chapter VI: The Bride

Chapter VII: The Queen

Chapter VIII: The Unforgiven

Chapter IX: The Mother

Chapter X: Owen Tudor

Chapter XI: The Little King

Chapter XII: The Penitent

Afterword

Principal Characters

Bibliography

About the Author

Illus: Katherine of Valois

Illus: King Henry V of England

Illus: King Charles VI of France

Illus: The Battle of Agincourt

Illus: Queen Isabeau

Illus: The Treaty of Troyes

Illus: The Marriage of Katherine and Henry

Illus: Joanna of Navarre

Illus: Jacqueline of Hainaut

Illus: Edmund Tudor

Illus: Joan of Arc

Illus: King Henry VI of England

Katherine of Valois. From Queens of England by Sydney Wilmot, 1889.

Chapter I: Princess Katherine of France

Katherine of Valois rode proudly on her white horse beside her husband, King Henry V of England, as they followed the road north through Normandy. At last she was Queen of England! Henry was clad in scarlet and gold and his black horse was caparisoned in matching colors. Katherine’s long gown of purple and lavender covered one side of her horse’s blue and silver trappings, and a misty veil floated from her headdress in the light breeze. Behind them and on either side came a cavalcade of richly clothed courtiers, prelates and servants, laughing and singing as they rode; and a detachment of five hundred men-at-arms brought up the rear in case of attack.

Katherine’s face was radiant, for she was now the wife of the most valiant prince of her time, the hoped-for event that had been long, long in coming. Her childhood had been an unhappy one. The alliance between France and England had been postponed many times, and endless delays had held up the marriage contract. The honeymoon itself had been strange. But here she was, Henry’s Queen, and on her way to England to be crowned. Five years ago she had had only hope; today she had the reality. She could think back, now, without bitterness to those days when she was just emerging from childhood, for in the end she had attained her heart’s desire.

*

It was in 1415 when Katherine of Valois, daughter of the mad King Charles VI of France, heard the startling news that Henry of England was preparing to invade and conquer France. She was walking alone in the weed-filled gardens of the old palace called the Hotel de St. Pol and she danced about with excitement. The Court and the populace would be frightened; but if Henry must fight to take what he could not win by treaty—the French crown and herself for his Queen—she was glad. It was what she had wished for all along. She had never seen the King of England, not even his portrait. But like everyone else in Europe she had heard of his bravery as Prince Harry: of how he had been knighted on the battlefield when he was only a boy of eleven and had, at sixteen, been made a general who led the English forces to victory over the Welsh. Her country was in constant turmoil; her father was insane; she had no respect for her brother, who was heir to the throne. By all means let Harry win! He was a man she could admire and love, and she would be proud to be his Queen.

Katherine lived in the palace of St. Pol where she had been born. It was a dreary place. She was lonely, for all her brothers and sisters, except one, had gone away. Her mother did not live there, nor did she often come to visit. Her father was locked up in his apartments most of the time. She longed to get away.

Once when she was five years old and several times since, England had sent emissaries to her father to make a treaty of peace that would include the marriage of Katherine to Henry of England, and each time they were sent away disappointed. No other betrothal had been arranged for her. She knew that she would be required to make a political marriage for the good of France. She did not know why the negotiations with England had failed; but she had set her heart on being queen to the bravest, the most glamorous of all princes in the world—Prince Harry, sometimes called Prince Hal, who was now King Henry V.

On this day, when news of King Henry’s invasion was received, no one would have taken Katherine for a princess. Her gown was patched and covered with stains, her red-gold hair unbound, and her feet bare and dirty. She and her brother Charles, who was twelve years old, rarely had enough to eat. They had no attendants, and the servants were lazy and rude. Their mother Isabeau of Bavaria, the extravagant, pleasure-loving Queen, saw to it that they were cooped up within the confines of the decaying royal residence, while she lived in luxury in one or another of her palaces, painted and powdered end adorned with jewels. She let them go hungry and without even a change of underclothes, while she robbed the treasury to pay for her own beautiful gowns and entertained her friends and lovers at banquets and fetes.

Her mother’s behavior did not seem strange to Katherine—she could not remember when it had been any different. She pitied her father alone in his locked chamber where he ranted and shouted and sometimes cried, and she avoided seeing him except in the infrequent intervals when he was sane and clean, quiet and kind. She did not hate her mother for her treatment of the King. She knew that when the madness came over him he had to be shut away. Even she could not bear to look upon him when he was raving wildly or staring vacantly, plucking ceaselessly at his beard.

But the Queen was beautiful and a pleasure to look at. She used thick layers of cosmetics, to be sure, for she was past her youth; but she was always dressed in rich, gold-trimmed gowns with trains and the tall, pointed headdress she had introduced into the French Court in place of the padded and dumpy-looking flat hats formerly worn by ladies. She was striking and regal, and Katherine thought it was the way of the world that the beautiful and powerful had everything, while the weak and sick had nothing.

She did not consider herself beautiful. She knew that she was a princess and she had had some education—Latin and even a little English; but she had not been away from St. Pol often enough to know what respect and refinements were usually accorded to princesses. Her sister, Isabelle, had been a princess—even a queen, for she had been married to Richard II, King of England, when she was only six years old. When, five years later, Richard died, she came back to France and was married to her cousin, Charles of Orléans, and did not return to St. Pol. Katherine had never really known that sister, who was twelve years older than herself and had been dead now for several years. There were three other sisters: Jeanne, married to the Duke of Brittany; Michelle, married to the Duke of Burgundy’s heir; and Marie, a nun in a convent at Poissy. They too were princesses, and had long since escaped the squalor of St. Pol. Now only Charles and Katherine were left there.

Her brother John was in Holland, having been brought up by the Duke of Burgundy’s sister, to whose daughter he was soon to be married; and the eldest brother, Louis, was Dauphin (heir to the throne) of France—a weak frivolous youth, who led his own dissipated life at Court and acted occasionally for his father when Queen Isabeau thought it expedient to use him. The Queen was the real ruler of France, and if she did not actually hate her children, she had no concern for them—except, all of a sudden, for Katherine.

Lately the girl had noticed that her mother summoned her more often to her palace and sometimes seemed distressed by her appearance. She had even ordered her a new gown. Katherine was not stupid and she knew at once why her mother paid her more attention: she was the only remaining daughter of the King of France. Her marriage could be used to cement an alliance with one or another of her country’s enemies.

During the Middle Ages all European countries were a confederation of many duchies, all showing allegiance to the most powerful family, one which had been able to seize and hold territory for several generations. At this time—the early fifteenth century—the House of Valois was the ruling family in France and the House of Lancaster ruled in England. Katherine was important to her country’s place in Europe and, as time went on, she realized it more and more.

In hoping that Henry of England would become King of France she was not being disloyal to her father. She had compassion for him, but she could not think of him as King, babbling and witless as he usually was, nor even when he was sane, for then he was quiet, sad and bewildered. But he had not always been so pitiful.

Charles of Valois, sixth ruler of that name, had not begun as Charles the Fool. Born in 1368, he had become King when he was twelve years old; but because he was not of age, his four uncles had been Regents. One of them, the Duke of Anjou, was the actual ruler and had charge of the young King, who was a good and sweet-tempered child. His uncles tried to instill in him the theory of good government, but he did not prove an apt pupil. Indeed, he was not capable of much education. At the age of fifteen he had hardly learned to write. His amusements were childish; he liked to blow up balloons and disguise himself and play mischievous tricks.

When he was grown, however, he showed the best traits of the medieval man. He had great charm and gallantry, which appealed to both rich and poor. After he came to manhood he waged a successful war against Flanders. When he was twenty-one he married the daughter of the Duke of Bavaria and life seemed to stretch before him as a straight road to fame and fortune, both for himself and for France.

Then came the disaster. On a day in August, 1392, when he was commanding a small army against Brittany, the weather was hot and bright, and Charles, clad in black velvet, became overheated. As his party of knights journeyed on, a madman accosted Charles on his prancing horse, crying out in a