Catherine Henriette de Bourbon
Encyclopedia
Catherine Henriette de Bourbon, Légitimée de France (26 March 1596 – 20 June 1663) was an illegitimate daughter of King Henri IV
and his long-term maîtresse en titre
Gabrielle d'Estrées
. She married into the Princely House of Guise
.
, France, she was baptised on 14 November 1596. At her birth, Queen
Elizabeth I of England
sent a special ambassador who also proposed a new treaty between the two nations. Then, surprising everyone, Spain attacked Amiens. One of the first things Catherine Henriette's mother Gabrielle did was to ask the people of France to contribute financially to the war effort while she herself pawned her jewellery; in doing so she raised a substantial fortune.
In her youth, she was known as Mademoiselle de Vendôme, derived from the Duchy of Vendôme which had been in possession of the House of Bourbon
since 1393. Her older brother, César de Bourbon, was legitimised in 1595 and given the title of Duke of Vendôme. César would later scheme against the crown against Cardinal Richelieu in the Fronde
with their younger half brother Gaston d'Orléans
. Her youngest full sibling, Alexandre de Bourbon was born in 1598 and died in 1629; he was known as the chevalier de Vendôme.
At the age of just three, her 28 year-old mother died of an attack of Eclampsia
after giving birth to a stillborn child. As a result of her mother's death, Catherine Henriette inherited her wealth in her own right. Her mother's duchy, (Beaufort) was given to her older brother, César.
In 1610, her father was assassinated outside the Louvre
on 19 May. This left her eight year old half-brother Louis
the new king, with a regency under the power of his mother Marie de' Medici
, who hated the royal bastards.
Her husband would be the Duke of Elbeuf
, born Charles de Lorraine and a member of the House of Guise
. The House of Guise was a cadet branch of the Dukes of Lorraine
which were one of the most powerful families in France. The 25 year-old Mademoiselle de Vendôme married Charles in at the Palais du Louvre
in Paris on 20 June 1619. The groom was seven months younger than the bride. Her younger half-sister Christine Marie of France
had married there also in February the same year to Prince Victor Amadeus of Savoy
, future Duke of Savoy.
The dowry given to the House of Guise was the large sum of 1.3 million livres and included pensions as well. Most of this money was spent and re-mortgaged for various reasons including a failed lawsuit against her brother César.
As Catherine Henriette was marrying into the House of Guise, she took on the style of Highness
, the Guises being Foreign Prince
s at court. After her marriage, she was known as the Légitimée-duchesse. She used to sign documents as C H. L de France - Catherine Henriette. Légitimée de France.
Her marriage produced six children, three of whom would have issue. Her husband died in Paris at the Hôtel d'Elboeuf, the family town house. Catherine Henriette remained a widow for six years until her own death in 1663.
Her husband's first cousin was the Chevalier de Lorraine
, lover of Monsieur
, Louis XIV's brother. She was also ancestor of the future maréchal de Soubise, princesse de Condé
Madame de Guéméné
and the murdered duc d'Enghien.
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
and his long-term maîtresse en titre
Maîtresse-en-titre
The maîtresse-en-titre was the chief mistress of the king of France. It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartments. The title really came into use during the reign of Henry IV and continued until the reign of Louis XV....
Gabrielle d'Estrées
Gabrielle d'Estrées
Gabrielle d'Estrées, Duchess of Beaufort and Verneuil, Marchioness of Monceaux was a French mistress of King Henry IV of France, born at either the Château de la Bourdaisière in Montlouis-sur-Loire, in Touraine, or at the château de Cœuvres, in Picardy....
. She married into the Princely House of Guise
House of Guise
The House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.The Guises were Catholic, and Henry Guise wanted to end growing Calvinist influence...
.
Early years
Born on 26 March 1596 in RouenRouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, France, she was baptised on 14 November 1596. At her birth, Queen
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
sent a special ambassador who also proposed a new treaty between the two nations. Then, surprising everyone, Spain attacked Amiens. One of the first things Catherine Henriette's mother Gabrielle did was to ask the people of France to contribute financially to the war effort while she herself pawned her jewellery; in doing so she raised a substantial fortune.
In her youth, she was known as Mademoiselle de Vendôme, derived from the Duchy of Vendôme which had been in possession of the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
since 1393. Her older brother, César de Bourbon, was legitimised in 1595 and given the title of Duke of Vendôme. César would later scheme against the crown against Cardinal Richelieu in the Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
with their younger half brother Gaston d'Orléans
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Gaston of France, , also known as Gaston d'Orléans, was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his wife Marie de Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a Fils de France. He later acquired the title Duke of Orléans, by which he was generally known during his adulthood...
. Her youngest full sibling, Alexandre de Bourbon was born in 1598 and died in 1629; he was known as the chevalier de Vendôme.
At the age of just three, her 28 year-old mother died of an attack of Eclampsia
Eclampsia
Eclampsia , an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy, is characterized by the appearance of tonic-clonic seizures, usually in a patient who had developed pre-eclampsia...
after giving birth to a stillborn child. As a result of her mother's death, Catherine Henriette inherited her wealth in her own right. Her mother's duchy, (Beaufort) was given to her older brother, César.
In 1610, her father was assassinated outside the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
on 19 May. This left her eight year old half-brother Louis
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
the new king, with a regency under the power of his mother Marie de' Medici
Marie de' Medici
Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...
, who hated the royal bastards.
Marriage
It was discussed that she should marry Henri de Bourbon, prince de Condé but the idea was dropped.Her husband would be the Duke of Elbeuf
Charles II, Duke of Elbeuf
Charles de Lorraine was a French nobleman, the son of Charles I of Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf by his wife, Marguerite de Chabot. He succeeded his father in the Elbeuf dukedom in 1605.- Biography :He joined the French royal court in 1607, becoming a playmate to the future King Louis XIII...
, born Charles de Lorraine and a member of the House of Guise
House of Guise
The House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.The Guises were Catholic, and Henry Guise wanted to end growing Calvinist influence...
. The House of Guise was a cadet branch of the Dukes of Lorraine
House of Lorraine
The House of Lorraine, the main and now only remaining line known as Habsburg-Lorraine, is one of the most important and was one of the longest-reigning royal houses in the history of Europe...
which were one of the most powerful families in France. The 25 year-old Mademoiselle de Vendôme married Charles in at the Palais du Louvre
Palais du Louvre
The Louvre Palace , on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, is a former royal palace situated between the Tuileries Gardens and the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois...
in Paris on 20 June 1619. The groom was seven months younger than the bride. Her younger half-sister Christine Marie of France
Christine Marie of France
Christine of France was the sister of Louis XIII and the Duchess of Savoy by marriage. At the death of her husband Victor Amadeus I in 1637, she acted as regent of Savoy between 1637 and 1648....
had married there also in February the same year to Prince Victor Amadeus of Savoy
Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy
Victor Amadeus I was the Duke of Savoy from 1630 to 1637. He was also titular King of Cyprus and Jerusalem. He was also known as the Lion of Susa-Biography:...
, future Duke of Savoy.
The dowry given to the House of Guise was the large sum of 1.3 million livres and included pensions as well. Most of this money was spent and re-mortgaged for various reasons including a failed lawsuit against her brother César.
As Catherine Henriette was marrying into the House of Guise, she took on the style of Highness
Highness
Highness, often used with a possessive adjective , is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty in an address...
, the Guises being Foreign Prince
Foreign Prince
Foreign Prince is the English translation of prince étranger, a high, though somewhat ambiguous, rank at the French royal court of the ancien régime.-Terminology:...
s at court. After her marriage, she was known as the Légitimée-duchesse. She used to sign documents as C H. L de France - Catherine Henriette. Légitimée de France.
Her marriage produced six children, three of whom would have issue. Her husband died in Paris at the Hôtel d'Elboeuf, the family town house. Catherine Henriette remained a widow for six years until her own death in 1663.
Her husband's first cousin was the Chevalier de Lorraine
Chevalier de Lorraine
Philippe of Lorraine, called the Chevalier de Lorraine was a French noble man and member of the House of Guise, cadet of the Ducal house of Lorraine. He was the renowned lover of Philippe de France, Monsieur, brother of Louis XIV.-Biography:Philippe de Lorraine was the second son of the Count and...
, lover of Monsieur
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
, Louis XIV's brother. She was also ancestor of the future maréchal de Soubise, princesse de Condé
Charlotte Élisabeth Godefride de Rohan
Charlotte de Rohan was a French aristocrat who married into the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the ruling House of Bourbon, during the Ancien Régime. She was Princess of Condé by her marriage...
Madame de Guéméné
Victoire Armande Josèphe de Rohan
Victoire de Rohan, Princess of Guéméné was a French aristocrat who was the governess of the children of Louis XVI of France. She is known better as Madame de Guéméné...
and the murdered duc d'Enghien.
Issue
- Charles de Lorraine (1620–4 May, 1692), Duke of Elbeuf; had issue by - Anne Elisabeth de Lannoy (1626–1654); Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne (11 May, 1635–23 October, 1680); Françoise de Montault de Navailles (?–11 June, 1717); children by an unknown mistress
- Henri de Lorraine (1622–3 April, 1648) never married; Abbe of Hombieres
- François Louis de LorraineFrançois Louis, Count of HarcourtFrançois Louis de Lorraine was a member of the House of Lorraine. He was Count of Harcourt. He was also the Count of Rieux, Rochefort and Montlaur...
(1623–27 June, 1694) Count of Harcourt, married Anne d'Ornano and had issue; - François Marie de LorraineFrançois Marie, Prince of LillebonneFrançois Marie de Lorraine was a French nobleman and member of the House of Lorraine. He was known as the prince de Lillebonne...
(4 April, 1624–19 January, 1694) Prince of Lillebonne; married; Christine d'Estrées (no issue) Anne de Lorraine, had issue; were the parents of Béatrice Hiéronyme de LorraineBéatrice Hiéronyme de LorraineBéatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine was a member of the House of Lorraine and was the Abbess of Remiremont. She was a member of the household of Le Grand Dauphin and was the supposed wife of her cousin the Chevalier de Lorraine...
, Abbess of Remiremont and great grandparents of Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise; they were also the ancestors of the murdered duc d'Enghien - Catherine de Lorraine (1626–1645)
- Marie Marguerite de Lorraine (1629–7 August, 1679) Mademoiselle d'Elboeuf, never married.
Titles and styles
- 14 November, 1596 – 20 June, 1619 Mademoiselle de Vendôme
- 20 June, 1619 – 5 November, 1657 Her HighnessHighnessHighness, often used with a possessive adjective , is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty in an address...
the Duchess of Elbeuf (Madame la duchesse d'Elbeuf) - 5 November, 1657 – 20 June, 1663 Her HighnessHighnessHighness, often used with a possessive adjective , is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty in an address...
the Dowager Duchess of Elbeuf (Madame la duchesse d'Elbeuf Douairière)