Katherine of England

13th-century English princess

This article is about the daughter of Henry III. For queens of England named Katherine, see List of English consorts. For the fourth daughter of Henry VII, see Katherine Tudor (1503).

Katherine

An image of Katherine in a 14th-century illuminated manuscript

Born| 25 November 1253
Westminster Palace, Westminster
Died| 3 May 1257 (aged 3)
Windsor Castle
Burial|

Westminster Abbey

House| Plantagenet
Father| Henry III of England
Mother| Eleanor of Provence

Katherine of England (Old English: Katerine; 25 November 1253 – 3 May 1257) was the fifth child of Henry III and his wife, Eleanor of Provence. According to 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris, when Katherine died she was deaf and may have had an intellectual disability, though it is unclear whether this is true. Some modern historians have theorised that Katherine alternately may have had a degenerative disease or a childhood illness; historians disagree on what disease or disability she may have had, or if she had one at all.[1] She died when she was three years old. Her parents "celebrated her birth and commemorated her in death."[1]

## Birth

[edit]

Katherine was born early in the morning at Westminster Palace, Westminster, London. She was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Boniface of Savoy, Katherine's maternal great-granduncle, who also stood as her godfather. She received the name Katherine because she was born on the feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. A few days after her christening, on the day of Saint Edward the Confessor's death, 5 January 1254, the king held a massive banquet, to which he invited all the nobility, including Emma le Despencer and her son, John. The provisions for this banquet included "fourteen wild boars, twenty-four swans, one hundred and thirty-five rabbits, two hundred and fifty partridges, fifty hares, two hundred and fifty wild ducks, sixteen hundred and fifty fowls, thirty-six female geese and sixty-one thousand eggs".[citation needed]

## Life

[edit]

Soon after the banquet, the queen had to leave England and join her husband in Gascony, leaving the infant Katherine at Windsor Castle. The aforementioned Emma le Despencer was appointed governess[2] and her aides were two wet nurses, Agnes and Avisa. The next year, the king and queen returned and the king ordered "gold clothes, with borders embroidered with the king's coat of arms", on 2 May 1255 for Katherine.

## Death

[edit]

In the autumn of 1254, Katherine became gravely ill and was sent to Emma le Despencer's house in Swallowfield.[2] She had few companions of her own age so the king sent one of his men into Windsor Great Park to capture a roe deer for his daughter to play with.[3] The change seemed to benefit the sickly princess, and she was brought back to Windsor around or before February 1256. But, she had a relapse in late 1256. By the king's command, a report of her condition was sent to him by a special messenger during his expedition to France and when he heard of her convalescence he ordered that a "silver image made after the likeness of a woman" should be placed in Westminster Abbey as a votive offering, and the bearer of the news was given "a good robe". Katherine died on 3 May  1257\. After her death, chronicler Matthew Paris described her as "the most beautiful girl, but mute and useless", which has raised the question of whether she had a disability throughout her life.[1][4]

## Burial and legacy

[edit]

Katherine was buried in the ambulatory in Westminster Abbey, in the space between the chapels of King Edward and St. Benet, close to the tomb of her uncle William de Valence. A splendid monument was raised to her memory by the king, rich with serpentine and mosaics, and surmounted by a silver image of his child.[5] The Hermit of Charing was paid fifty shillings a year as long as he lived, that he might support a chaplain to pray daily at the Chapel of the Hermitage for the soul of Katherine; this was "a common aspect of Henry's commemoration of his deceased relatives".[1]

After the death of Katherine, both Henry and Eleanor were heartbroken,[6] the queen becoming sick with grief. They did not have any further children.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Armstrong, Abigail Sophie (2018). The Daughters of Henry III (PhD). Canterbury Christ Church University. p. 251-266.
2. ^ a b "Swallowfield". Royal Berkshire History. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
3. ^ Baker, Darren (30 October 2019). The Two Eleanors of Henry III: The Lives of Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor de Montfort. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-5267-4752-5.
4. ^ Paris, Matthew (1257). Chronica Majora. Vol. V. p. 175.
5. ^ Badham, Sally; Oosterwijk, Sophie (2012). "The tomb monument of Katherine, daughter of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence (1253-7)". The Antiquaries Journal. 92: 169–196\. doi:10.1017/s0003581512000078. S2CID 162927416.
6. ^ Costain 1994, p. 130-140.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Armstrong, Abigail Sophie (2018). The Daughters of Henry III (PhD). Canterbury Christ Church University.
* Costain, Thomas B. (1994). The Magnificent Century. London: Buccaneer Books. p. 324\. ISBN 978-1-56849-371-8.
* Badham, Sally; Oosterwijk, Sophie (2012). "The tomb monument of Katherine, daughter of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence (1253-7)". The Antiquaries Journal. 92: 169–196\. doi:10.1017/s0003581512000078. S2CID 162927416.

* v
* t
* e

House of Plantagenet

Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou

* Wife: Empress Matilda

* Henry II of England
* Geoffrey, Count of Nantes
* William FitzEmpress

* Illegitimate: Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey
* Emma of Anjou
* Mary of Shaftesbury

Henry II of England

* Wife: Eleanor of Aquitaine

* William IX, Count of Poitiers
* Henry the Young King
* Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony
* Richard I of England
* Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
* Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile
* Joan of England, Queen of Sicily
* John, King of England

* Illegitimate: Geoffrey (archbishop of York)
* William de Longespée, Earl of Salisbury

Henry the Young King

* Wife: Margaret of France, Queen of England and Hungary

* William Plantagenet (died in infancy)

Richard I of England

* Wife: Berengaria of Navarre

* Illegitimate: Philip of Cognac

John, King of England

* Wife: Isabella of Angoulême

* Henry III of England
* Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
* Joan of England, Queen of Scotland
* Isabella of England
* Eleanor of England, Countess of Leicester

* Illegitimate: Joan, Lady of Wales
* Richard FitzRoy
* Oliver FitzRoy
* Geoffrey FitzRoy
* John FitzRoy
* Henry FitzRoy
* Osbert Gifford
* Eudes FitzRoy
* Bartholomew FitzRoy
* Maud FitzRoy
* Isabel FitzRoy
* Philip FitzRoy
* William de Forz

Henry III of England

* Wife: Eleanor of Provence

* Edward I of England
* Margaret of England
* Beatrice of England
* Edmund Crouchback
* Katherine of England

Edward I of England

* Wives: Eleanor of Castile
* Margaret of France, Queen of England

* Henry
* Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar
* Joan, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester
* Alphonso, Earl of Chester
* Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant
* Berengaria of England
* Mary of Woodstock
* Elizabeth of Rhuddlan
* Edward II of England
* Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk
* Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent

Edward II of England

* Wife: Isabella of France

* Edward III of England
* John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall
* Eleanor of Woodstock
* Joan of the Tower

* Illegitimate: Adam

Edward III of England

* Wife: Philippa of Hainault

* Edward the Black Prince
* Isabella, Lady de Coucy and Countess of Bedford
* Joan of England
* Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence
* John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
* Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York
* Mary of Waltham
* Margaret, Countess of Pembroke
* Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester

* Illegitimate: John de Southeray
* Jane Northland
* Joan Skerne

Richard II of England

* Wives: Anne of Bohemia
* Isabella of Valois

Henry IV of England

* Wives: Mary de Bohun
* Joan of Navarre, Queen of England

* Henry V of England
* Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence
* John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford
* Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
* Blanche of England
* Philippa of England

* Illegitimate: Edmund Leboorde

Henry V of England

* Wife: Catherine of Valois

* Henry VI of England

Henry VI of England

* Wife: Margaret of Anjou

* Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales

Edward IV

* Wife: Elizabeth Woodville

* Elizabeth of York
* Mary of York
* Cecily of York
* Edward V
* Margaret of York
* Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York
* Anne of York, Lady Howard
* George Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford
* Catherine of York
* Bridget of York

* Illegitimate: Elizabeth Plantagenet
* Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle
* Grace Plantagenet

Edward V

* no consort or issue

Richard III of England

* Wife: Anne Neville

* Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales

* Illegitimate: John of Gloucester
* Katherine, Countess of Pembroke
* Richard of Eastwell

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template