Born in 1320, Beatrice was the daughter of
Louis I, Duke of Bourbon and
Mary of Avesnes. Beatrice was betrothed to
Philip, Despot of Romania, the second son of
Philip I, Prince of Taranto, in May 1321. The engagement was broken in 1327 after Philip chose to marry Violante of Aragon, daughter of James II of Aragon. At the age of fourteen, she was married to
John of Bohemia. The marriage was arranged by Philip VI of France, who wanted closer ties with Bohemia. The marriage of Beatrice and John was celebrated in the
Château de Vincennes in December 1334, at which time she was fourteen years old. But because the two were related in a prohibited degree,
Pope Benedict XII had to give dispensation for the marriage, which was granted in
Avignon on 9 January 1335. The marriage contract stipulated that if a son was born from the marriage, the
County of Luxembourg (John's paternal heritage), as well as lands belonging to it, would go to him.
Queen of Bohemia Beatrice arrived in Prague in July 1335. She brought with her an annual income of 4,000 livres from her father's County of Clermont. On 25 February 1337, Beatrice gave birth in
Prague to her only child, a son named
Wenceslaus after the holy patron of the
Přemyslid dynasty; probably calling her son with this name either the queen or her husband tried to gain the favor of the Bohemians. The relationship between Beatrice and her new subjects remained estranged: On 18 May 1337, Beatrice was crowned at Prague Castle by John, the bishop of Prague, using the crown of the Czech lands, although the ceremony lacked the usual grand pomp. Shortly after her coronation, in June 1337, Beatrice left Bohemia leaving her son behind, and went to live in
Luxembourg. After this, she rarely visited the Bohemian Kingdom.
Later years Beatrice ceased to be queen consort following the death of her husband John at the
Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346. Her stepson, now King Charles of Bohemia, confirmed the provisions of her marriage contract. Beatrice, now Dowager Queen of Bohemia, received in perpetuity the lands in the
County of Hainaut, the rent of 4,000 livres and the towns of
Arlon,
Marville and
Damvillers as her widow's estate. These revenues were used not only for their own needs, but also for the education of her son. King Charles also left her all the movable property and income from the mines in
Kutná Hora. In addition, when her father Duke Louis I of Bourbon died in 1342, she received the sum of 1,000 livres, which was secured from the town of
Creil. Around 1347, Beatrice married for a second time to Eudes II, Lord of Grancey, at her state of Damvillers. Despite her new marriage, she retained the title of Dowager Queen of Bohemia. The couple had no children. Soon after her second marriage, she arranged the betrothal of her son Wenceslaus with the widowed
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant, daughter and heiress of
John III, Duke of Brabant, who was fifteen years older than he was. The marriage took place in Damvillers four years later, on 17 May 1351. Beatrice died on 27 December 1383, having outlived her son and all her stepchildren. She was buried in the now-demolished church of the
Couvent des Jacobins in
Paris - her effigy is now in the
Basilica of St Denis. ==Notes==