The Forbidden Queen

FOLLOWING IN KATHERINE DE VALOIS’S FOOTSTEPS

Tempted to travel? Feel an urge to follow in the footsteps of Katherine de Valois, even if it’s only through the internet or travel guides, from the comfort of your armchair? Here are some interesting locations associated with her, and I have added website addresses. There are other sites, of course, to add to your enjoyment.

Windsor Castle

Katherine spent most of her life in England in Windsor Castle. This was where the young king, Henry VI, was principally based in his infancy and so this is where Katherine lived as part of his royal household. This is a ‘must-visit’ place. Or you can take a virtual tour with the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_vt_windsor_castle.shtml

St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle

It is not proven that Katherine’s marriage to Owen took place in the St George’s Chapel, but since she and Owen were living at Windsor, and there was no attempt to hide the marriage, I imagine that they did. I certainly placed their marriage in this magnificent chapel in The Forbidden Queen. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_vt_windsor_castle.shtml

Westminster Abbey

Visit Henry V’s tomb and the magnificent chantry chapel, surrounded by the other English monarchs. Katherine was finally buried beside her husband in 1878, but it is not a tomb to take the eye. I do not think that it is a fitting memorial to so gracious a woman. If you visit the Abbey, don’t miss the museum where you will find personal items belonging to both Katherine and Henry. How I wish I could touch them…

http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/westminster_abbey.htm

Hertford Castle

One of Katherine’s dower castles, and one which she is known to have enjoyed. Hertford is where Katherine spent much time with Owen and their children. Today there is very little to see of her property other than the gatehouse, which is referred to as the ‘Castle’ but the setting is very attractive. It is not difficult imagining Katherine enjoying life here, isolated from the royal court. http://www.hertford.net/history/castle/

Leeds Castle, Kent

Another of Katherine’s dower castles which she is known to have visited. This is also the castle where Joanna of Navarre was kept in confinement by her stepson, Henry V, when she was charged with witchcraft. It is a beautiful place—although I imagine incredibly damp in winter and I doubt that Joanna recalled it with any affection—and it must be on your list of places to visit. Do drop into my blog on Leeds Castle to discover the royal connections to this extraordinarily beautiful palace: A Palace Fit for a Queen. http://www.anneobrienbooks.com/blog/

Knaresborough Castle, North Yorkshire

Another of Katherine’s dower properties. I’m not certain that she ever visited Knaresborough, but she may just have done so when she accompanied Henry on their progress through the north in their months together when we know that she was at Pontefract, York and Beverley. It is splendidly situated on a cliff overlooking the River Nidd. http://www.knaresborough.co.uk/castle/

Bermondsey Abbey

The abbey, where Katherine went into retreat in the last sad months of her life, is no longer in existence, the site of it covered with later buildings, but reconstructions have allowed some archaeological investigations and the outline of some of the buildings that Katherine would have known have been discovered. http://www.londononline.co.uk/abbeys/bermondsey/

Hereford

This is an important city for the final days of Owen Tudor. Taken prisoner after the battle of Mortimer’s Cross, when Edward, Earl of March defeated the Lancastrian army, Owen was taken to Hereford and executed in the market place. He was buried in Greyfriars. The remnants in Hereford are not outstanding, but Owen can be discovered. Try my blog: Owen Tudor: a Right Royal Revenge http://www.anneobrienbooks.com/blog/

And for those straying as far as France:

Hotel de in St Pol in Paris

This royal palace where Katherine spent her earliest turbulent years no longer exists. It was completely destroyed in the early sixteenth century, except for one wall of the church.

Convent at Poissy

Unfortunately this too no longer exists.

Church of St Jean-au-Marche, Troyes

The scene of Henry V’s marriage to Katherine. This can of course still be visited. A lovely church.

http://en.tourisme-troyes.com/discover/the-city-of-10-churches/saint-jean-au-marche-church-13th-14th-c