Magdalena of Valois

Magdalena of Valois, also called Madeleine de France (1 December 1443, Tours - 21 January 1495, Pamplona), was a daughter of Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou, and acted as regent for her children, Francis I and Catherine I, who were successively monarchs of Navarre.

Magdalena was betrothed to Ladislaus the Posthumous however he died suddenly in Prague on 23 November 1457 while preparing for his marriage. It was rumored at the time that his political opponents in Bohemia had poisoned him; but in the 20th century it was proved that Ladislaus died of leukemia, not a recognized disease in that period.

She married Gaston, Prince of Viana, son and heir of Gaston IV, Count of Foix and Eleanor of Navarre, at Saint-Jean-d'Angély in 1461. They had two children:

• Francis Phoebus (1466–1483), King of Navarre
• Catherine (1470–1518), queen regnant of Navarre, married in 1484 John of Albret (1469–1516).

Her husband died in 1470, predeceasing his father; accordingly, when Gaston IV died in 1472, his possessions were inherited by Magdalena's son, Francis Phoebus. Francis became the heir of Navarre in 1479 upon the death of his great-grandfather, John II of Aragon and Navarre, who left Navarre to the rightful heir, Magdalena's mother-in-law, Eleanor. Eleanor only spent a few weeks as Queen before she herself died; Francis Phoebus became King, and his mother acted as regent until his death, at age 17, in 1483; Magdalena then acted as regent for her daughter, Catherine, until 1494. During this regency, she was forced to battle her brother-in-law, John of Foix, who claimed the throne of Navarre as heir male of Francis Phoebus.

Magdalena was taken hostage by Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1494. She died in the following year; her death provoked fresh conflict.

With the death of Charles VIII of France (Magdalena's nephew), the descendants of Charles VI of France ceased to occupy the French throne. By the death of Anne of France, Magdalena's descent, along with that of her elder sister Yolande, Duchess of Savoy became the last surviving legitimate descents from Charles VII of France. Her descendant and heir, Henry III of Navarre, would become King of France in 1589, returning the descent and heirs of Charles VI and Charles VII to the French throne.

Ancestry

References