Ansgarde of Burgundy

Ansgarde of Burgundy (826-880/882) was a French queen, the daughter of Hardouin of Burgundy. She secretly married Louis II of France when he was still a prince; her sons became Louis III and Carloman II of France.

At the time of the marriage, Ansgarde was 36 years old; Louis was only 16. Because Charles the Bald wished to marry his son off to Adélaïde de Frioul, he had to seek a papal annulment; this he did, and Adélaïde married Louis in February of 878.

Ansgarde was thus repudiated, but at the death of Louis II in 879 she worked to ensure that her sons could mount the throne of France themselves. To that end, she sought to revisit the subject of her divorce with the archbishop of Reims. Adélaïde, however, was pregnant, and gave birth too a son on September 17 of that year, which thus called into doubt the inheritance of Ansgarde's own sons.

Ansgarde and her sons attacked Adélaïde's marriage, accusing her of adultery; consequently, Louis and Carloman mounted the throne together. However, both died without issue, and after a long and difficult process Adélaïde finally saw her son confirmed as Charles III, the only legitimate heir to the throne.

Ansgarde passes into obscurity after this episode, and the date of her death is not conclusively known.

Reference

*translation/ref|fr|Ansgarde de Bourgogne