The Tudor Telenovela
If you thought King Henry VIII lived a dramatic life, just wait till you read about his great grandmother, Katherine of Valois. Katherine’s life was filled with neglect, loss, insanity, love and secrecy. Typical of a Tudor.
Katherine (or Catherine) of Valois was a French princess, born in 1401. She was the daughter of King Charles VI, aka Charles “The Mad” and Isabeau de Bavière. Her story is so fascinating and I am shocked that she is nothing more than a footnote in the pages of history. I am going to sum up her life in a few paragraphs but I recommend that you read about her because you will get hooked.
Basically, her father was insane and thought he was made of glass. Her mother took advantage of this and had public affairs left and right; many people believe that her sons were from another man. In fact, her son’s legitimacy, the future King of France, was questioned his entire life. While her mother was out having fun, Katherine and her siblings lived in poverty and filth. She loved her father so much and couldn’t bear to see him so ill. She also yearned for her mother’s love and approval but her mother had NO interest in her children, OF COURSE until they became valuable.
Meanwhile, England was at war with France, and the English were conquering more and more land everyday. When she was 19, Katherine was signed over to King Henry V of England as part of the Treaty of Troyes. So not only was she sent away to a country that was at war with her homeland, but she was now married to a man that took the crown away from her father and brother. The English never trusted her because she was French and the French hated her because she was a traitor. She was alone again. Eventually she got pregnant and gave King Henry V an heir. She adored her son and showered him with the love that she never received. Just a few months after her son was born, King Henry V got sick and died.
Soon she was exiled from court and her son was taken away from her to be raised by his uncles. She was sent to live in the English countryside. She was alone again but soon found comfort and friendship with a Welsh man that managed her wardrobe. That’s right, her wardrobe. That man’s name was Owen Tudor and that is how the Tudor dynasty started.
Oh wait, there is more. They fell madly in love, married in secrecy (she was forbidden to marry again) and had 6 children. Eventually people found out about their marriage and she was sent away to live in Bermondsey Abbey, where she died from an illness. After her death, Owen and Katherine’s enemies decided to proceed against Owen for violating the law of the remarriage of the Queen. Owen appeared before the Council, acquitting himself of all charges and was released. On his way back to Wales, he was arrested and his possessions seized. Meanwhile, Owen and Katherine’s two older sons, Edmund and Jasper, were sent to live with Catherine de la Pole, who was abbess of Barking and sister to the Earl of Suffolk.
Sometime after 1442, King Henry VI (Katherine’s first son with King Henry V) stepped in and took a role in their upbringing and made them both Earls. Edmund would live on to become the father of the future King Henry VII and the grandfather of King Henry VIII. Can you believe that Showtime left this out of The Tudors?
