Charles, Duke of Vendôme

Charles
Duke of Vendôme
18th-century portrait of the Duke of Vendôme
Born	2 June 1489 Château de Vendôme, France
Died	25 March 1537(1537-03-25) (aged 47) Amiens, France
Spouse	Françoise d'Alençon
Issue	Antoine, King of Navarre Francis, Count of Enghien Charles, Archbishop of Rouen John, Count of Soissons Louis, Prince of Condé
Names Charles de Bourbon
House	House of Bourbon
Father	Francis, Count of Vendôme
Mother	Marie de Luxembourg

Charles de Bourbon (2 June 1489– 25 March 1537) was a French prince du sang and military commander at the court of Francis I of France. He is notable as the paternal grandfather of King Henry IV of France.

Biography

Charles was born at the Château de Vendôme, the son of François, Count of Vendôme and Marie de Luxembourg.

Charles succeeded his father as Count of Vendôme in 1495. Charles's first military service was in Italy, under Louis XII. His county was elevated into a duchy in 1514. He fought at the battle of Marignan and participated in the Flemish campaign. Because of his loyalty to the king, he was appointed head of the council when Francis I was captured at Pavia.

On 18 May 1513, he married Françoise d'Alençon, daughter of René, Duke of Alençon. They had thirteen children:

1. Louis de Bourbon (1514–1516), died in infancy.
2. Marie de Bourbon (1515–1538), unmarried, prospective bride of James V of Scotland in 1536.
3. Marguerite de Bourbon (1516–1589), married 1538 Francis I of Cleves, Duke of Nevers (1516–1561).
4. Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (1518–1562).
5. François de Bourbon, Count of Enghien (1519–1546), unmarried.
6. Madeleine de Bourbon (1521–1561), Abbess of Sainte-Croix de Poitiers.
7. Louis de Bourbon (1522–1525), died in infancy.
8. Charles de Bourbon (1523–1590), Archbishop of Rouen.
9. Catherine de Bourbon (1525–1594), Abbess of Soissons.
10. Renée de Bourbon (1527–1583), Abbess of Chelles.
11. Jean de Bourbon, Count of Soissons and Enghien (1528–1557), married 1557 his first cousin Marie, Duchess of Estouteville (1539–1601).
12. Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (1530–1569), married Eléonore de Roye.
13. Léonore de Bourbon (1532–1611), Abbess of Fontevraud (1532–1611).

The successive deaths of his cousins Charles IV, Duke of Alençon (1525) and Charles III, Duke of Bourbon (1527) made him the fourth in the order of succession to the throne, just behind the king's sons. At the natural course of affairs his wife, a sister of the last duke of Alençon, would have been the heiress of her brother; but Francis I allowed his sister, Marguerite of Angoulême, the late duke's wife, to keep them, even though they did not have children. Charles would also have been heir to the duchy of Bourbon, but it was forfeited to the crown by the treason of the last holder. At the death of Constable de Bourbon in 1527, he became the Head of the House of Bourbon.

His son Antoine married Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, daughter of Marguerite of Angoulême, settling the Alençon inheritance. Their son would succeed to the French throne as Henry IV. Antoine and Louis, Prince of Condé, became powerful military leaders on opposite sides in the French Wars of Religion. Charles died at Amiens in 1537 at the age of 47.

References

• Bulletin de la commission historique et archéologique de la Mayenne, Jan. 1878, Imprimerie De Leon Moreau, 1885.
• The Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol.27, Ed. Hugh Chisholm, 1911.
• Achaintre, Nicolas Louis, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de Bourbon,Vol.1, Rue de L'École de Médecine, 1825.

Ancestors

Family of Charles, Duke of Vendôme

16. John I, Count of La Marche 8. Louis, Count of Vendôme 17. Catherine of Vendôme 4. Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme 18. Guy XIII de Laval 9. Jeanne de Laval 19. Anne de Laval 2. François, Count of Vendôme 20. Pierre de Beauveau 10. Louis de Beauvau, Seneschal of Anjou 21. Jeanne de Craon 5. Isabelle de Beauvau 22. Ferri V de Chambley 11. Marguerite de Chambley 23. Jeanne de Launoy 1. Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme 24. Pierre I of Luxembourg 12. Louis de Luxembourg 25. Margaret de Baux 6. Pierre II of Luxembourg 26. Robert de Bar 13. Jeanne de Bar 27. Jeanne de Béthune 3. Marie de Luxembourg 28. Amadeus VIII of Savoy 14. Louis, Duke of Savoy 29. Mary of Burgundy, Countess of Savoy 7. Margaret of Savoy 30. Janus of Cyprus 15. Anne of Cyprus 31. Charlotte de Bourbon (daughter of #16/#17)

Patrilineal descent

Patrilineal descent

Charles' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if Duke Charles were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Robertian, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house. Charles is a member of the House of Bourbon, a branch of the Capetian dynasty and of the Robertians. Charles' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. It follows the Kings of France and the Counts of Paris and Worms. This line can be traced back more than 1,200 years from Robert of Hesbaye to the present day, through Kings of France & Navarre, Spain and Two-Sicilies, Dukes of Parma and Grand-Dukes of Luxembourg, Princes of Orléans and Emperors of Brazil. It is one of the oldest in Europe. Robert II of Worms and Rheingau (Robert of Hesbaye), 770 - 807 Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 808 - 834 Robert IV the Strong, 820 - 866 Robert I of France, 866 - 923 Hugh the Great, 895 - 956 Hugh Capet, 941 - 996 Robert II of France, 972 - 1031 Henry I of France, 1008–1060 Philip I of France, 1053–1108 Louis VI of France, 1081–1137 Louis VII of France, 1120–1180 Philip II of France, 1165–1223 Louis VIII of France, 1187–1226 Louis IX of France, 1215–1270 Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256–1317 Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, 1279–1342 James I, Count of La Marche, 1319–1362 John I, Count of La Marche, 1344–1393 Louis, Count of Vendôme, 1376–1446 Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme, 1428–1478 François, Count of Vendôme, 1470–1495 Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489–1537