he could in the Dauphiné and was looking to marry again.
The Duke of Savoy was an ally of the Dauphin. Louis was twenty-seven, unmarried and childless when the heir to the French throne should have had a family and a successor. Louis requested permission from his father several times to marry the Duke of Savoy’s daughter Charlotte and was denied every time. In February of 1451, Louis had received another refusal for permission. In the meantime he sent an embassy to Savoy and a marriage contract was signed around the same time. Louis gave his two representatives five thousand crowns each for their services and the Chancellor of Savoy received ten thousand gold crowns for his part in the agreement.
The legal age in the Catholic Church at the time for a woman to marry was twelve and Charlotte was most likely nine. Louis and Charlotte celebrated their nuptials on March 9, 1451 in Chambéry. When King Charles heard the news of the marriage contract being finalized, he sent a herald to stop the wedding. The herald arrived just in time to witness the couple enter the chapel in crimson velvet robes. After the wedding, Louis returned to the Dauphiné and Charlotte soon followed him. In honor of her joyous arrival, several towns gave gifts of money to Louis. She entered Louis’ household to live until she was old enough to consummate the marriage.
Louis and his father argued off and on over the marriage and other political matters until in August of 1456, King Charles sent an army to the Dauphiné to try to force Louis into submission. Rather than meet his father in battle, Louis escaped to Burgundy where he lived as the guest of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Charlotte was left behind.
At the urging of the Duke of Burgundy, Louis sent for Charlotte in the spring of 1457. She traveled to Namur where Louis met her. There was no official greeting. The couple slept together for the first time that night. Charlotte wasn’t physically attractive but she wanted to do everything she could to meet Louis’ will. Louis was satisfied with her and for the first twelve years of the marriage, he remained relatively faithful to her with just a few amours on the side.
Charlotte’s first four children were born in Burgundy. A son Louis was born in 1458 and lived until 1460. Joachim, born in 1459, died shortly after birth as did Louise in 1460. A daughter Anne was born on April 3, 1461, just before Louis became king. She would marry Peter II, Duke of Bourbon and would serve as regent of France for her young brother Charles when he became king upon their father’s death.
On July 17, 1461, Louis received word that his father was dying. He made a hasty retreat from Burgundy to Paris to claim his crown, without saying goodbye to the Duke and Duchess of Burgundy. Charlotte was left behind at their temporary home in Genappe and Louis instructed her to borrow whatever carts she could find from Isabella, the Countess of Charolais who lived nearby in Quesnoy. Isabella sent her equerry with carts, carriages and wagons. Charlotte packed up and also left without saying goodbye or thanks to the Duke, Duchess or Countess.
King Charles VII died on July 22, 1461 and Louis and Charlotte became King and Queen of France. Louis was preoccupied with the affairs of his kingdom and didn’t really hold court like other comparable monarchs. Charlotte played no political role in her husband’s administration. Louis kept her in isolation in the Château of Amboise on the Loire in an effort to keep her and her servants away from court intrigue.
As Queen, Charlotte had four more children. Jeanne was born on April 23, 1464 and would live until 1505. She was briefly Queen of France as the first wife of King Louis XII. On December 4, 1466, Charlotte gave birth to a baby boy, who was baptized quickly and named Francois. He died shortly thereafter. Charlotte’s grief was great as this would have been the much wanted heir. Finally on June 30, 1470, Charlotte gave birth to the future King Charles VIII. Another boy named Francis was born in 1472 but he only lived until he was three months sho