Beatrice of Bourbon | |
---|---|
Queen consort of Bohemia | |
Tenure | 1334–1346 |
Coronation | 18 May 1337 |
Born | 1320 |
Died | 23 December 1383 |
Burial | Église des Jacobins, Paris |
Spouse |
John of Bohemia Eudes II, Lord of Grancey |
Issue | Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg |
House | House of Bourbon |
Father | Louis I, Duke of Bourbon |
Mother | Mary of Avesnes |
Beatrice of Bourbon (1320 – 23 December 1383) was a French noblewoman. A member of the House of Bourbon, she was by marriage Queen of Bohemia and Countess of Luxembourg.
She was the youngest daughter of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, and Mary of Avesnes.
On 28 September 1330, Queen Elisabeth of Bohemia, wife of King John of Bohemia, died:
Despite the fact that John and Elisabeth became estranged during the last years of their marriage, the king remained a widower for the next four years. The French King Philip VI wanted to tie John more closely with France, and he suggested to the Bohemian king a second marriage. The proposed bride was Beatrice, youngest daughter of the Duke of Bourbon and member of a cadet branch of the House of Capet. Beatrice was already betrothed, however, to Philip, the second son of Philip I, Prince of Taranto, as of 29 May 1321. The engagement was broken soon after the marriage negotiations with Bohemia started.
The marriage of King John of Bohemia and Beatrice of Bourbon was solemnized in the Château de Vincennes in December 1334, at which time she was fourteen years old. But because the two were related in a prohibited degree (they were second cousins through their common descent from Henry V, Count of Luxembourg, and his wife Margaret of Bar), Pope Benedict XII had to give dispensation for the marriage, which was granted in Avignon on 9 January 1335 at the request of Philip VI.
The marriage contract stipulated that if a son was born from the marriage, the County of Luxembourg (King John's paternal heritage), as well as lands belonging to it, would go to him. King John's sons from his first marriage, Charles and John Henry, were not informed of the contents of the marriage contract, but both princes were compelled to accept it along with the knights and citizens of Luxembourg in August 1335.