Claude de La Trémoille, 2nd Duke of Thouars

Thouars

Thouars is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France.It is on the River Thouet. Its inhabitants are known as Thouarsais.-History:...

 (1566 – 25 October 1604) was a sixteenth-century French nobleman of the La Tremoille

La Trémoille

Members of the House of La Trémoille, were part of an old French family which derives its name from a village in the department of Vienne....

 family. He was the son of Louis III de La Trémoille

Louis III de La Trémoille

Louis III de La Trémoille , 1st Duke of Thouars, was a sixteenth-century French nobleman of the La Tremoille family. He was the son of François II de La Trémoille and his wife, Anne de Laval....

 and his wife, Jeanne de Montmorency.

King Henry IV of France

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....

 had been friendly with La Trémoille when he was King of Navarre

Kingdom of Navarre

The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....

, but kept him in a subordinate position once he became King of France, preferring La Trémoille's cousin, Henry de La Tour d'Auvergne, the Viscount of Turenne

Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne, duc de Bouillon

Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne was a member of the powerful, House of La Tour d'Auvergne, Prince of Sedan and a marshal of France.-Biography:The vicomte de Turenne was born at the castle of...

. In 1587, La Trémoille converted to Protestantism

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

. He fought for Henry IV at the battle of Coutras

Battle of Coutras

The Battle of Coutras, fought on 20 October 1587, was a major engagement in the eighth and final war of the French Religious Wars between an army under Henry of Navarre and a royal army led by Anne, Duke of Joyeuse...

 and also at Ivry

Battle of Ivry

The Battle of Ivry was fought on 14 March 1590, during the French Wars of Religion. The battle was a decisive victory for Henry of Navarre, the future Henry IV of France, leading Huguenot forces against the Catholic League forces led by the Duc de Mayenne...

, and was rewarded by elevation to the peerage, as Duke of Thouars, in 1595. This new title, however, made La Trémoille lose more money than it earned him. In 1598, Turenne proposed to his sister-in-law Charlotte-Brabantine

Charlotte Brabantina of Nassau

Countess Charlotte Brabantina of Nassau was the fifth daughter of William the Silent and his third spouse Charlotte of Bourbon.-Biography:...

 to marry La Trémoille. Thanks to her relations with the houses of Orange

Prince of Orange

Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....

 and Bouillon

Bouillon

Bouillon is a municipality in Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Luxembourg Province.The municipality, which covers 149.09 km², had 5,477 inhabitants, giving a population density of 36.7 inhabitants per km².- History :...

, Charlotte-Brabantine played an important part in the French Protestant

Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

 diplomacy. They had four children: Henry; Charlotte

Charlotte Stanley, Countess of Derby

Charlotte Stanley, Countess of Derby , born Charlotte de La Trémoille, was the daughter of the French nobleman Claude de La Trémoille, Duke of Thouars, and his wife Charlotte Brabantina of Nassau...

, who married James Stanley, Earl of Derby

James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby

James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby KG was a supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.Born at Knowsley, he is sometimes styled the Great Earl of Derby, eldest son of William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby and Lady Elizabeth de Vere. During his father's life he was known as Lord Strange...

; Élisabeth (1601–1604); and Frédéric (1602–1642) comte de Laval

Laval, Mayenne

Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:...

.

In 1602, Charlotte-Brabantine dissuaded her husband from engaging in the conspiracy of Biron

Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron

Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron was a French soldier.-Biography:He was the son of Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron, under whose command he fought for the royal party against the Catholic League in the later stages of the Wars of Religion in France. His efforts won him the name “Thunderbolt of...

and encouraged him to lend allegiance to the king. He died in 1604.