Duchess of Vendome Francoise DE LORRAINE

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Name:
Françoise of Lorraine (November 1592 - 8 September 1669) was a princess of Lorraine and daughter-in-law of Henry IV of France. Sometimes known as Françoise de Merc?ur, she belonged to the Merc?ur cadet branch of the sovereign Dukes of Lorraine and was a niece of Louise of Lorraine, wife of the previous King Henry III. Françoise was the heiress of her father and, as such, was the Duchess of Merc?ur and Penthièvre suo jure.



Françoise was the younger of two children. She was born in November 1592 with the exact date unknown; her only sibling, Philippe Louis, died in 1590 aged one making her the heiress to a large private fortune. During the reign of Henry III, her father had put himself at the head of the Catholic League in Brittany, and had himself proclaimed protector of the Roman Catholic Church in the province in 1588. Invoking the hereditary rights of his wife, who was a descendant of the Dukes of Brittany, he endeavoured to make himself independent in that province, and organised a government at Nantes, calling his son "prince and duke of Brittany".


With the aid of the Spaniards he defeated Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier, whom Henry IV of France had sent against him, at Craon in 1592. The king marched against Meroeur in person. As part of their peace they drew up a marriage contract in 1596 whereby his daughter, would marry Henry's legitimised son.[1]

The French and Spanish then signed the Peace of Vervins on 2 May 1598 when Françoise was 6; part of the treaty again stipulated that the young Françoise would be engaged to the illegitimate child of Henry IV, César de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme. Vendôme was the eldest child of the King and his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées.[citation needed]

The wedding took place at the palace of Fontainebleau on 16 July 1609. The bride was 16, the groom 15. The couple had three children and were the paternal grandparents of le Grand Vendôme. Due to the marriage contract, César acquired the right to manage her lands. Her husband died disgraced in 1665, having been involved in the Fronde and having been accused of trying to poison Cardinal Richelieu. In the same year she went to Savoy with her granddaughter Marie Jeanne of Savoy, who wed Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy on 20 May 1665. The duchies of Merc?ur and Penthièvre were inherited by her eldest son. Françoise died in Paris in 1669 aged 77 and was buried there. Other fiefs that Françoise owned were the princedom of Martigues, the duchy of Étampes and the seigneurie of Ancenis.[citation needed]

Issue
Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (1612?1669) married Laura Mancini and had issue.
Élisabeth de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Vendôme (1614?1664) married Charles Amadeus of Savoy, Duke of Nemours and had issue.
François de Bourbon, Duke of Beaufort (1616?1669) died unmarried.

Family/Spouse: Cesar de Bourbon Duke of VENDOME. Cesar was born on 3 Jun 1594 in Chateau de Coucy, Picardy, France; died on 22 Oct 1665 in Paris, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Élisabeth de Bourbon (August 1614 - 19 May 1664) was a granddaughter of King Henry IV of France.


Élisabeth was born in Paris. Her father was César de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, legitimised son of King Henry IV of France and his official mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées. Her mother was Françoise of Lorraine (1592?1669), daughter and heiress of Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Merc?ur, himself a rival of Henry IV. Her mother was the Duchess of Merc?ur and Penthièvre in her own right and was the greatest heiress of her time.

Styled as Mademoiselle de Vendôme prior to marriage, she was the second of three children; she had two brothers, the Frondeur François de Bourbon, Duke of Beaufort and Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme whose wife Laura Mancini was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. They were the parents of Louis Joseph de Bourbon, a very successful military commander and a Marshal of France.

On 11 July 1643 at the Louvre, Mademoiselle de Vendôme married Charles Amadeus of Savoy, Duke of Nemours. The young prince was a member of a cadet branch of the house of Savoy which had settled in France. The young prince was a direct descendant of Philip II, Duke of Savoy as was Élisabeth. They had two daughters who would marry the heirs to the thrones of Savoy and Portugal, and three sons who died shortly after birth.

In 1652 the Duke of Nemours was killed by her brother François, Duke of Beaufort in a duel. Élisabeth herself died in Paris. She managed to secure the income of the lands of Nemours for her two daughters, but the titles were inherited by other members of the family.

Issue
Marie Jeanne of Savoy, Mademoiselle de Nemours (1644?1724) married Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy in 1665.
Stillborn daughter
Marie Françoise of Savoy, Mademoiselle d'Aumale (1646?1683) married Afonso VI of Portugal in 1666 and afterwards Afonso's brother Pedro II of Portugal.
Prince Joseph of Savoy (1649?1649)
Prince Francis of Savoy (1650?1650)
Prince Charles Amadeus of Savoy (1651?1651)

Elisabeth married Charles Amadeus Duke of NEMOURS on 11 Jul 1643. Charles (son of Henri I Duke of NEMOURS and Anne DE LORRAINE) was born on 12 Apr 1624 in Paris, France; died on 30 Jul 1652 in Paris, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]