Catherine of Valois was the youngest daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabella of Bavaria. She was born in Paris in the Hotel St Pol on 27th October 1401. Her childhood was beset with struggles as her family managed the divisions between the Armagnac and Burgundian factions in France. Rumours circulated that Catherine was rejected by her mother and her father, who was said to be mentally unwell, and that she would have been abandoned to live in poverty if not for kindly servants. As with all historical rumours, the truth of these claims cannot be verified. This being said, little is really known about her childhood.

We know that Catherine was betrothed in June 1403 to Charles, the grandson and heir of Louis, Duke of Bourbon, however, by 1408, this betrothal seems to have been retracted. In 1408, Henry IV suggested that a marriage between England and France would help to strengthen peace. Catherine’s name, therefore, recurs during the diplomacy that took place in the next decade. By January 1414, Henry V stated that he would marry no one else before the 1st May. A portrait of Catherine brought from France in 1415 aided marriage negotiations. However, due to the English campaign at Agincourt, the marriage plans were halted until 1418. Henry and Catherine met at Meulan on 2nd June 1419. The meeting was said to have gone successfully, with Henry V being smitten and determined to marry her, promising to give her 10,000 marks and renouncing his title ‘King of France.’ Henry’s terms were that he be recognised as regent during Charles VI’s lifetime. These terms were accepted, and Henry V arrived in Troyes in 1420 to confirm their acceptance. The following day, the betrothal was confirmed, and on 2nd June they celebrated their marriage.