Catherine de Régnier

Mistress of John I of England

Joan FitzRoy

Isabella FitzRoy

Constance of Hampshire

Margaret of Hampshire

Edmund of Hampshire

**Catherine de Régnier** (C. 1153 - 1181) was the youngest daughter and 7th child of Louis de Régnier a French Lord, and Joan de Autry-Capet who was an illegitimate daughter of Louis VII of France. When she was 14 in 1167, she moved to England with her parents and siblings, and Catherine was betrothed to Thomas, 1st Earl of Hampshire whom she married a year after when she was 15, Catherine was a very beautiful teenager, and caught the eye of John I of England after she married Thomas. Catherine became an official royal mistress when she gave birth to 2 children whom John fathered: Joan and Isabella. Her mother scolded Catherine for having an affair with the King, her mother was strict and what many courtiers described "Perfect" which Catherine found boring, she also had children with her husband, Henry, Cecily, Constance, Margaret and Edmund. Catherine's husband died in 1180, and Catherine died a year later of sweating sickness.

## Early Life

Catherine was born in Pas-de-Calais Palace in France, in 1153, to Louis de Régnier and Joan de Autry-Capet, her father was a French over-lord, and her mother Joan was the one of many illegitimate children of Louis VII of France, Louis's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine who was now the Queen Mother of England, oversaw the birth and Joan made Eleanor of Aquitaine, Blanche of France, and Joan I of Navarre her god-mothers, and Richard the Lionheart, Phillip of France, and Ladislaus the Great were Catherine's god-fathers. Catherine grew up in a very rich family with 6 brothers and an older sister. The Régnier family soon wanted to spread there influence into England, so when Catherine was 14, she and her family moved to England in the court of John I of England.

## Marriage

5 weeks after she moved to England, she moved to Mitford Castle which was her families new seat, Catherine was quite familiar with the English language, as her tutor's had thought her the language. Her father decided to betroth Catherine to Thomas, 1st Earl of Hampshire who was described as "The most boring man at court." Thomas was tall and handsome, but also old and always tired, he had no sense of humor and rarely smiled, he liked to sit down at read, and hated being talked to. Whenever anyone tried to talk to them, he screamed at them. He was also in a sense "weird" as whenever he walked in gardens, he secretly picked flowers and ate them with a fork, according to Catherine. He also liked having fake conversations with Anglo-Saxon kings and whenever he saw a duck he would pick it up by the neck and chew on its neck, Catherine immediately started avoiding her fiancee and even begged her father to change the proposal, but he refused. When Catherine was 15, she married her boring fiancee at Hampshire Castle. Catherine was only 15 and her groom was 46, he never made one face but a glare at the wedding. After the 6 hour wedding and feast, Thomas blamed Catherine for the ceremony being to long, and the second Catherine moved to Hampshire Castle, Thomas sat down and read a book while eating Catherine's bouquet which he gave to her at the wedding.

## Royal Mistress

1 year into there union, Catherine gave birth to a son Henry of Hampshire whom Thomas tried to get rid of as he hated children. But Catherine refused to let her husband in her birth chambers, and she quickly visited back home in Mitford Castle to have her mother raise her child. A year after she gave birth to her second child Cecily of Hampshire. But while at a court party with her older sister Blanche de Régnier, she met John I of England and danced with him all night, Catherine quickly became a Royal mistress and after the party, Catherine slept with John while he was suppose to be bride-hunting. She fell pregnant wit her 3rd child who was this time fathered by John, Catherine's mother was furious when she found out she had an affair, and threatened to not include her in the will, but John made sure Catherine did inherit the will her father wrote, in 1171 she gave birth to Joan FitzRoy. Her husband was furious and through a tantrum at Hampshire Castle, he forced Catherine back into Hampshire and imprisoned her there for 6 months before John let her free, Catherine moved back to Buckingham Castle in John's court, and gave birth to another child with John, Isabella FitzRoy who was put in the care of the English governess, but she was not the top mistress forever, John started hanging out with Catherine less much to her fury, and hung put with other woman of the court, after the birth of Catherine's 5th child Constance of Hampshire, she tried to get the attention of John again, but John ignored her for much younger and prettier woman.

## Death

In 1180 after the birth of Catherine's 2 other children Margaret and Edmund, her husband had a seizure while Catherine was visiting her nieces in France, Catherine discovered his body on a ledge, and alerted her mother he died, her mother alerted John who at this point forgot about Catherine, John ordered Thomas's body be buried in Westminsiter Abbey in the Plantagenet vault, Catherine unsurprisingly was not that sad about it. Catherine left Hampshire for Hylton once again to be with her daughters with John. Her son Henry was regented by Catherine's mother, Catherine soon caught sweating sickness when she was 28, and her will stated her daughter Joan inherit Hylton Castle and then died. She requested her body be buried in a local abbey, but John saw Catherine as a member of the Plantagenet family as her husband was a Plantagenet, so she was buried next to her husband in Westminister Abbey.