Catherine of Valois

Dutiful Princess. Ideal Queen Consort. Doting Queen Mother. Defiant Queen Dowager. Catherine of Valois spent the majority of her life doing exactly what was expected of her. She married the English King Henry V as part of a treaty to end the Hundred Years' War. She gave him a son almost immediately. But when he died and her brothers-in-law booted her off of the throne, she finally had enough. She found her happiness and took it, regardless of the consequences. These actions led directly to the rise of England's most notorious dynasty, the Tudors. Find out more about the English Queen who brought the best dowry and directly defied a royal decree to marry the man that she wanted. She was instrumental in both the Hundred Years War and the War of the Roses; two critical events that shaped Medieval England and medieval history as a whole. If you liked 1000 Years of Annoying the French by Stephen Clarke or Notorious Royal Marriages: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire by Leslie Carroll, then you will definitely enjoy Catherine of Valois: The Tudor Queen Ahead of Her Time.