Tags
Battle of Pavia, Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, François I of France, House of Bourbon, House of Capet, House of Valois, House of Valois-Alençon, Kingdom of France, Louis IX of France, Philippe III of France, Prince Du Sang, Robért of Claremont
Charles de Bourbon (June 2, 1489 – March 25, 1537) was a French Prince du Sang (Prince of the Blood) and military commander at the court of King François I of France.
Charles was born at the Château de Vendôme, eldest son of François de Bourbon, Count of Vendôme and Marie of Luxembourg, was the elder daughter and principal heiress of Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Soissons, and Margaret of Savoy, a daughter of Louis I, Duke of Savoy. She belonged to the French, cadet branch of a dynasty which had reigned as Dukes of Luxembourg, and whose senior line provided several Holy Roman Emperors, before becoming extinct in 1437.
Charles de Bourbon was a direct male-line descendant of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, son of Robért, Count of Clermont and Beatrix of Burgundy, heiress of Bourbon and a granddaughter of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy. Robért, Count of Clermont was a son of King Louis IX of France.
Charles succeeded his father as Count of Vendôme in 1495. Charles’s first military service was in Italy, under King Louis XII of France. In 1514, he was created Duke of Vendôme when the county of Vendôme was elevated into a duchy.
He fought at the Battle of Marignano (1515) and participated in the Flemish campaign. Because of his loyalty to the King, he was appointed head of the council when King François I was captured at the Battle of Pavia.
Charles de Bourbon was the grandfather of King Henri IV of France and Navarre.
Marriage and issue
On May 18, 1513, Charles married Françoise d’Alençon, eldest daughter of René, Duke of Alençon and Margaret of Lorraine.
René Duke of Alençon, was a Prince du Sang and born in 1454 to the House of Valois-Alençon. He was the son of Jean II of Alençon and Marie of Armagnac.
The House of Valois succeeded the House of Capét (or “Direct Capetians”) to the French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the family founded cadet branches in Orléans, Anjou, Burgundy, and Alençon.
The House of Valois descended from Charles, Count of Valois (1270–1325), the second surviving son of King Philippe III of France (reigned 1270–1285). Their title to the throne was based on a precedent in 1316 (later retroactively attributed to the Merovingian Salic law) which excluded females (Joan II of Navarre), as well as male descendants through the distaff side (Edward III of England), from the succession to the French throne.
After holding the throne for several centuries the Valois male line became extinct and the House of Bourbon succeeded the Valois to the throne as the senior-surviving branch of the Capetian dynasty.
René, Duke of Alençon was a direct male-line descendant of Charles II, Count of Alençon (1297 – 1346) and a grandson of King Philippe III of France.
The children Charles de Bourbon and Françoise d’Alençon had:
1. Louis de Bourbon (1514–1516), died in infancy.
2. Marie de Bourbon (1515–1538), unmarried, prospective bride of King James V of Scotland in 1536.
3. Marguerite de Bourbon (1516–1559), married in 1538, Francis I, Duke of Nevers (1516–1561)
4. Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (1518–1562), King of Navarre through his marriage (jure uxoris) to Queen Jeanne III. He died of wounds sustained during the Siege of Rouen. He was the father of King Henri IV of France and Navarre.
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 in 1557, his first cousin, Marie, Duchess of Estouteville (1539–1601)
12. Louis I de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (1530–1569), married Eléonore de Roye, daughter of Charles de Roye, Count of Royce.
13. Léonore de Bourbon (1532–1611), Abbess of Fontevraud.