Betrothal and Marriage
On 11 March 1443, when Charlotte was just over a year old, she was betrothed to Frederick of Saxony (28 August 1439- 23 December 1451), eldest son of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony. For reasons unknown, the betrothal was annulled. Less than eight years later on 14 February 1451, Charlotte married Louis, Dauphin France (future Louis XI), eldest son of Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou. The bride was only nine years old and the groom twenty-seven. The marriage, which had taken place without the consent of the French king, was Louis' second; his first wife, Margaret of Scotland, had died childless in 1445. Upon her marriage, Charlotte became Dauphine of France.
In spite of her virtues, Louis neglected her. For example, upon his succession to the throne of France, he immediately abandoned her in Burgundy - where the two had been in exile - to secure his inheritance, leaving the young Queen dependent upon the aid of Isabella of Bourbon, wife of Charles, Heir of Burgundy. A contemporary of Charlotte's noted that "while she was an excellent Princess in other respects, she was not a person in whom a man could take any great delight"; She was, however, praised for the taste and excellence of her personal library.
On 22 July 1461, Charlotte became Queen consort of France. She held that position until her husband's death on 30 August 1483.
Charlotte gave her husband eight children; however, only three survived infancy; these were the future King Charles VIII, and princesses Anne of France (better known as Anne de Beaujeu), who would act as regent of the kingdom, and Jeanne of France, who later became the consort of Louis XII of France.
After a solitary life, Charlotte died on 1 December 1483 in Amboise, just a few months after her husband's death. She is buried with him in the Notre-Dame de Cléry Basilica in Cléry-Saint-André (Loiret) in the arrondissement of Orléans.
Read more about this topic: Charlotte Of Savoy
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