Madeline Of BEAUMONT

Notes:

Antoine de Bourbon, duc de VendÙme (22 April 1518 ? 17 November 1562), was head of the House of Bourbon from 1537 to 1562, and King-consort of Navarre from 1555 to 1562.

He was born at La FËre, Picardie, France, the son of Charles IV de Bourbon, duc de VendÙme (1489-1537) and his wife, Francoise d'Alencon (d. 1550). He was the older brother of Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de CondÈ.

On 20 October 1548 at Moulins he married Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, daughter of Henri d'Albret (Henri II of Navarre) and his wife Margaret of AngoulÍme. By his marriage, he became Count of Foix, of Bigorre, of Armagnac, of Perigord, and Viscount of BÈarn. The Kingdom of Navarre had been occupied by the Spanish since 1512, and Antoine tried to re-establish it. He was ready to sacrifice anything to his political interests.

He had no real religious conviction and changed religions several times. His reconversion to Catholicism separated him from his wife. He had an affair with Louise de la BÈraudiËre, "la belle Rouet," with whom he had a son in 1555.

Coat of Arms of Antoine de Bourbon and the Kings of Navarre.Although his brother was the head of the protestant faction, he spent most of his life fighting for the King of France. Catherine de Medici, regent for her son Charles IX of France, named him lieutenant general of the kingdom in 1561. When his wife allowed the Huguenots to sack the chapel of VendÙme and the churches of the town in 1562, he threatened to send her to a convent. She took refuge in BÈarn.

Antoine was vain and unstable. He often disappointed his followers and was manipulated by his superiors and out-witted by his adversaries.

He laid siege to Rouen and was mortally wounded on November 13, 1562. He died at Les Andelys, Eure.

Antoine married Jeanne III Of NAVARRE on 20 Oct 1548. Jeanne was born on 07 Jan 1528; died on 09 Jun 1572. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Jeanne d'Albret (January 7, 1528 ? June 9, 1572) was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572, wife of Antoine de Bourbon, duke of Vendome and mother of Henry IV of France.

Jeanne was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines in 1528, the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and Marguerite of Navarre. Marguerite was the sister of Francis I of France, and Jeanne grew up at the French court. In 1541, when she was thirteen, Francis married her to William "the Rich", Duke of J¸lich-Cleves-Berg, but this political marriage was annulled four years later.

After the death of Francis and the accession of Henry II Jeanne was married to Antoine de Bourbon, "first prince of the blood," who would become heir to the French throne if the Valois line died out.

In 1555 Henry II of Navarre died, and Jeanne and her husband became rulers of Navarre.

In the first year of her reign, Jeanne d'Albret called a conference of beleaguered Huguenot ministers which led to her declaring Calvinism the official religion of her kingdom.

The power struggle between Catholics and Huguenots for control of the French court and France as a whole led to the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion in 1562. Antoine de Bourbon chose to support the Catholics, but was mortally wounded at the siege of Rouen. Jeanne's son Henry now became "first prince of the blood."

In 1567 war broke out again, and Jeanne fled to the Huguenot city of La Rochelle. From here she conducted peace negotiations, and in 1570 official talks began to marry Henry to the king's sister Marguerite. She died in Paris two months before the wedding took place. A popular rumour of the time alleged that Jeanne had been poisoned by Catherine de Medici, the mother of her son's prospective bride.

Titles

by birth
Queen of Navarre (1555-1572)
Duchess of Albret (1555-1572)
Countess of Limoges (1555-1572)
Countess of Foix (1555-1572)
Countess of Armagnac (1555-1572)
Countess of Bigorre (1555-1572)
Countess of PÈrigord (1555-1572)

by marriage
Duchess of Bourbon (1548-1562)
Duchess of VendÙme (1550-1562)
Duchess of Beaumont (1550-1562)
Countess of Marle (1548-1562)
Countess of La FËre (1548-1562)
Countess of Soissons (1550-1562)