Katherine of England

Katherine of England (Old English: Katerine; 25 November 1253 – 3 May 1257) was the fifth child of Henry III and his wife, Eleanor of Provence. According to 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris, when Katherine died she was deaf and may have had an intellectual disability, though it is unclear whether this is true. Some modern historians have theorised that Katherine alternately may have had a degenerative disease or a childhood illness; historians disagree on what disease or disability she may have had, or if she had one at all. She died when she was three years old. Her parents "celebrated her birth and commemorated her in death." and her aides were two wet nurses, Agnes and Avisa. The next year, the king and queen returned and the king ordered "gold clothes, with borders embroidered with the king's coat of arms", on 2 May 1255 for Katherine.

Death In the autumn of 1254, Katherine became gravely ill and was sent to Emma le Despencer's house in Swallowfield. The change seemed to benefit the sickly princess, and she was brought back to Windsor around or before February 1256. But, she had a relapse in late 1256. By the king's command, a report of her condition was sent to him by a special messenger during his expedition to France and when he heard of her convalescence he ordered that a "silver image made after the likeness of a woman" should be placed in Westminster Abbey as a votive offering, and the bearer of the news was given "a good robe". Katherine died on . After her death, chronicler Matthew Paris described her as "the most beautiful girl, but mute and useless", which has raised the question of whether she had a disability throughout her life.

Burial and legacy Katherine was buried in the ambulatory in Westminster Abbey, in the space between the chapels of King Edward and St. Benet, close to the tomb of her uncle William de Valence. A splendid monument was raised to her memory by the king, rich with serpentine and mosaics, and surmounted by a silver image of his child. The Hermit of Charing was paid fifty shillings a year as long as he lived, that he might support a chaplain to pray daily at the Chapel of the Hermitage for the soul of Katherine; this was "a common aspect of Henry's commemoration of his deceased relatives".

After the death of Katherine, both Henry and Eleanor were heartbroken, the queen becoming sick with grief. They did not have any further children.