Death of Princess Katherine of England

Death of Princess Katherine of England

Katherine was was the fifth child of King Henry III and his wife Eleanor of Provence.

She was born early in the morning of the 25th November 1253, at Westminster Palace, Westminster, London.

Katherine was described as the most beautiful of all Henry’s daughters, even though it was obvious something was wrong with her.

Described as “the most beautiful girl, but dumb and useless”, this did not matter to her parents, they adored her for her beauty and delicacy.

A few days after her christening, the king held a massive banquet, to which he invited all the nobility.

The provisions for this banquet included fourteen wild boars, twenty-four swans, one hundred and thirty-five rabbits, two hundred and fifty partridges, fifty hares, two hundred and fifty wild ducks, sixteen hundred and fifty fowls, thirty-six female geese and sixty-one thousand eggs!!!

Soon after the banquet, the queen had to leave England and join her husband the king in Gascony.

They left the infant Katherine at Windsor Castle with her appointed governess Emma le Despencer.

In the autumn of 1254, Katherine became gravely ill.
She was sent to Emma le Despencer’s house in Swallowfield.

The King sent one of his men into Windsor Great Park to capture a goat, for his daughter to play with.

The change seemed to benefit the sickly little princess, and she began to get better.
Katherine was brought back to Windsor, around February 1256.

In late 1256, little Katherine had a relapse.
A few months later on 3rd May 1257, Katherine passed away, she was just three years old.

There was a magnificent funeral, which cost £51-12s–4d.
Katherine was buried in the ambulatory in Westminster Abbey, in the space between the chapels of King Edward and St. Benet.

A splendid monument was raised to her memory by the king, rich with serpentine and mosaics, and surmounted by a silver image of his child.

After the death of Katherine, both Henry and Eleanor were heartbroken, and the queen became sick with grief.
They did not have any further children.

Chronicles of the time, had raised the question of whether she had an intellectual disability throughout her short life.

Modern historians have theorised that Katherine alternately may have had a degenerative disease, or just simply a childhood illness, that Katherine could not recover from.

💔 The Tomb Monument of Katherine, Daughter of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence.