Charlotte of Savoy
(1441-1483)
BIRTH
1441
PLACE
Savoy, France
DEATH
December 1, 1483
PLACE
Amboise, France
FAMILY
HOMES
RELIGIOUS VIEWS
CHRISTIAN
CATHOLIC
MEMBERSHIPS
AWARDS
Charlotte of Savoy was queen of France as the second wife of Louis XI and the mother of Charles VIII and Anne of France. When Louis quarreled openly with his father in 1456, he fled to the court of Burgundy, and Charlotte joined him there. Louis succeeded his father as king in 1461. Charlotte had little role in government. Charlotte died at Amboise on December 1, 1483, three months after Louis XI. She was buried beside him at Notre-Dame de Cléry.
EARLY LIFE
Charlotte was born around 1441, the daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy, and Anne of Cyprus, of the house of Lusignan. Her family ruled an Alpine state that lay between France and Italy. In 1451 the Dauphin Louis, then living in his own province of the Dauphiné and at odds with his father, arranged to marry her without the consent of Charles VII, who opposed the match. The wedding took place at Chambéry on March 9, 1451, when Charlotte was about nine years old, and the marriage was not consummated for several years.
When Louis quarreled openly with his father in 1456, he fled to the court of Burgundy, and Charlotte joined him there. Louis succeeded his father as king in 1461.
Charlotte had little role in government. She lived mostly at the Château d'Amboise, where she raised her children, among them Anne of France, later regent, Joan of France, and the future Charles VIII. She collected a notable library.
Charlotte died at Amboise on December 1, 1483, three months after Louis XI. She was buried beside him at Notre-Dame de Cléry.
CAREER
DEATH
Charlotte of Savoy lived mostly at the Château d'Amboise, where she raised her children, among them Anne of France, later regent, Joan of France, and the future Charles VIII. Charlotte of Savoy was queen of France as the second wife of Louis XI and the mother of Charles VIII and Anne of France. When Louis quarreled openly with his father in 1456, he fled to the court of Burgundy, and Charlotte joined him there. Louis succeeded his father as king in 1461. Charlotte had little role in government. Charlotte died at Amboise on December 1, 1483, three months after Louis XI. She was buried beside him at Notre-Dame de Cléry. The available biographical account does not describe a continuous final medical course. It gives no dependable sequence of treatment and last symptoms from which to reconstruct a more detailed bedside narrative.
POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
Charlotte of Savoy, Louis XI’s queen and Anne of France’s mother. The royal biographies are related family reading. Editorial selections prioritize biographical coverage; five standalone biographies were not established. Collective biography, family reference, primary writings and related studies are labelled individually. Multi-volume works and series are counted as one selection.
1. Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France — Kathleen Wellman. [Collective biography] Find on Amazon
2. Queenship in Medieval France, 1300–1500 — Murielle Gaude-Ferragu. [Collective biography] Find on Amazon
3. Louis XI: The Universal Spider — Paul Murray Kendall. [Related biography of her husband] Find on Amazon
4. Anne of France: Lessons for My Daughter — Sharon L. Jansen (translator and editor). [Related biography of her daughter] Find on Amazon
5. The Valois: Kings of France, 1328–1589 — Robert Knecht. [Related family and dynastic history] Find on Amazon
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