Charlotte of Savoy
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Charlotte de Savoie (1443-December 1, 1483), was the second wife and only Queen consort of Louis XI of France.
[edit] Family
She was a daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne of Cyprus.
Her maternal grandparents were Janus of Cyprus and Charlotte of Bourbon-La Marche.
Her maternal grandmother was a daughter of John I, Count of La Marche and Catherine of Vendôme.
[edit] Marriage
On February 14, 1451, Charlotte married Dauphin Louis de France (future Louis XI), eldest son of Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou. The bride was only eight years old and the groom twenty-eight. Louis had survived his first wife Margaret of Scotland.
In spite of her virtues, Louis neglected her. For example, upon his succession to the throne of France, he immediately abandoned her in Burgundy - where the two had been in exile - to secure his inheritance, leaving the young Queen dependent upon the aid of Isabella of Bourbon, wife of Charles, Heir of Burgundy.
Charlotte gave her husband eight children; however, of these, only the future Charles VIII, and princesses Anne of France - future Anne de Beaujeu and regent of the kingdom - and Jeanne of France - future wife of Louis XII of France survived infancy :
- Louis (1458-1460)
- Joachim (1459-1459)
- Louise (1460-1460)
- Anne (3 April 1462-1522)
- Jeanne (1464-1505)
- François (1466-1466)
- Charles VIII (1470-1498)
- François (1472-1473)
After a solitary life, Charlotte died on December 1, 1483 in Amboise, just a few months after her husband's death. She is buried with him in the Notre-Dame de Cléry Basilica [1] in Cléry-Sant-André in the Arrondissement of Orléans.
| Preceded by Margaret of Scotland |
Dauphine of France 14 February 1451–22 July 1461 |
Succeeded by Catherine de' Medici |
| Preceded by Marie of Anjou |
Queen of France July 22, 1461 – August 30, 1483 |
Succeeded by Anne of Brittany |
