Catherine Montaigne

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Catherine Montaigne is the former Countess of the Tor, and currently a member of Manticore's House of Commons, a fictional body that acts as the lower house of Parliament in the Star Kingdom of Manticore in the Honorverse. She is also one of the foremost leaders in the campaign to abolish genetic slavery, and thus a bitter enemy of Mesa, and especially of Manpower, Inc.

She was a childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth III, but they grew apart due to political differences. She became prominent in the Liberal party, but was officially excluded from the House of Lords after one fiery speech too many; she was too far left for even the Liberals to tolerate. (As of From the Highlands, only three peers were excluded from the Lords: the Countess of the Tor, the Earl of Seaview (after conviction for unspecified gross personal crimes), and Honor Harrington, for using her maiden speech to challenge Pavel Young to a duel.) She exiled herself on Earth for some time, where she met Anton Zilwicki, who became her lover and political advisor. After this meeting, she returned to Manticore and renounced her noble title in order to run for the House of Commons. After Countess New Kiev (leader of the Liberal Party) was dragged down with Baron High Ridge's government, Catherine became the leader of one of the two major remnants of the Liberal Party.

Her adopted daughter, Berry, is also Queen Berry I of the planet Torch (elective monarchy, influenced by her "leet" skills of computer hacking, and her leadership of the movement to liberate the planet from its former slaver-lords.