Charles the Bold spouse Catherine of France, Countess of Charolais
Biography
Early life
Charles the Bold was born in Dijon, the son of Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal. Before the death of his father in 1467, he bore the title of Count of Charolais; afterwards, he assumed all of his father's titles, including that of "Grand Duke of the West". He was also made a Knight of the Golden Fleece just twenty days after his birth, invested by Charles I, Count of Nevers, and the seigneur de Croÿ.
Charles was brought up under the direction of Jean d'Auxy and early showed great application alike to academic studies and warlike exercises. His father's court was the most extravagant in Europe at the time, and a centre for the arts and commerce. While he was growing up, Charles witnessed his father's efforts to unite his far-flung and ethnically diverse dominions into a single state, and his own later efforts centered on continuing and securing his father's successes in this endeavor.
In 1440, at the age of seven, Charles was married to Catherine, daughter of King Charles VII of France and sister of the Dauphin (later King Louis XI). She was five years older than her husband, and she died in 1446 at the age of 18. They had no children.On 19 May 1440, he married Catherine of France (1428–1446), daughter of Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou. She died in 1446.
On 30 October 1454, he married Isabella of Bourbon (1437–1465), daughter of Charles I of Bourbon. He had wanted to marry Anne of York (the daughter of Richard, Duke of York), but his father insisted that he fulfill the conditions of the Treaty of Arras (1435), which committed him to marry a French princess. The marriage was, however, a happy one, and produced his only child, Mary of Burgundy, on 13 February 1457.
On 3 July 1468, Charles married Anne's sister, Margaret of York (1446–1503); her siblings also included Edward IV of England, George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard III of England. The marriage was solemnized at Damme, near Bruges, by the bishop of Salisbury.The Burgundian possessions became part of the Habsburg empire on the marriage of his daughter Mary to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
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