The Kingdom of France, with Charles the Bald as its first King, has never had a woman rule as Queen in her own right, although it has known several female regents. The Kingdom operated under salic law, which barred women from the throne. If we assume absolute primogeniture at any point, how many women missed out on being Queen in their own right?
Marie of France (1326–1341)
Marie was the fifth but first surviving child of King Charles IV of France. She was the second child of his third marriage to Joan of Évreux, and she was born in October 1326. Only her younger sister, Blanche, also survived infancy. Her father died in 1328 at the age of 33. If Marie had been allowed to succeed him, she would have been not even two years old. Charles’s throne passed to King Philip VI of France, who was from the Valois line. Marie died unmarried on 6 October 1341.
Anne of France
Anne was born on 3 April 1461 as the fourth but eldest surviving child of the future King Louis XI of France and Charlotte of Savoy. Of her parents’ eight children, only Anne, her sister Joan and her brother, the future King Charles VIII, survived to adulthood. On 3 November 1473, Anne married Peter of Bourbon, and they went on to have at least one daughter together. She may have also had a son who died at the age of 22. Upon the death of her father in 1483, her brother became King at the age of 13. Anne became regent for him, which she remained until 1491, and he married Anne of Brittany around that time. Anne died on 14 November 1522.
Claude of France
Claude was born on 14 October 1499 as the eldest child of King Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany. Of Anne’s subsequent pregnancies, only another daughter, Renée, survived to adulthood. Claude was not able to inherit the Kingdom of France, but she could inherit her mother’s duchy of Brittany, which she did upon her mother’s death on 9 January 1514. Four months later, she married her father’s heir, Francis. Claude’s father died the following year, after a brief remarriage to Mary Tudor in an attempt to father a male heir. Claude and Francis had seven children, of whom not all survived to adulthood. Claude died on 26 July 1524 at Blois, aged only 24.
Marie Elisabeth of France
Marie Elisabeth was born on 27 October 1572 as the only child of King Charles IX of France and Elisabeth of Austria. Marie Elisabeth was not even two years old when her father died on 30 May 1574 at the age of 23. The French throne passed to Marie Elisabeth’s uncle, King Henry III. Her mother returned to Austria when she was three, and Marie Elisabeth remained behind. They never saw each other again. She was reportedly in fragile health, and she died on 2 April 1578.
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