My vote is to leave out the quotes, and here's why. Recently I ran several story ideas past my agent, Don Maass. He observed that warning flags go up whenever writers, particularly those with a strong background in history, start off by talking about the topic, era, or even historical character. What he's looking for is a good story. I doubt he's unique in this regard. Starting with quotes puts the emphasis strongly on the historical character and may well cause eyes to glaze over before they get to the story itself.
There are several things that you MUST have for a query: genre, target market (in case the genre is not specific enough; i.e., "young adult fantasy," not just fantasy or YA), word count, and a finished manuscript. But you know all this. Your only other task in the query is to sell the story, so weigh all other elements with that goal in mind. If you want to mention Catherine, do so toward the end of the query, so the connection will not overpower the story itself.
no subject
There are several things that you MUST have for a query: genre, target market (in case the genre is not specific enough; i.e., "young adult fantasy," not just fantasy or YA), word count, and a finished manuscript. But you know all this. Your only other task in the query is to sell the story, so weigh all other elements with that goal in mind. If you want to mention Catherine, do so toward the end of the query, so the connection will not overpower the story itself.
$.02,
ec