Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme

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Charles de Bourbon duc de Vendôme (June 2, 1489 – 1537) was a French nobleman of the court of Francis I of France.

He was born at the Château de Vendôme, the son of François, Count of Vendôme and Marie de Luxembourg. In 1514, he was named a peer of France and elevated from Count of Vendôme to Duke of Vendôme. He was a faithful follower of Francis I and participated in the Battle of Marignan in 1515. After 1525, while the king was held captive, he was a member of the Regency Council. His mother administered his lands during this period.

On May 18, 1513, he married Françoise d'Alençon, the widow of François d'Orléans, Count of Dunois. They had 13 children:

Louis (1514-1516)
Marie (1515-1538) unmarried
Marguerite (1516-1589), married 1538 Duke Francis I of Cleves,Duc de Nevers(1516-1561)
Antoine de Bourbon (April 22, 1518 – November 17, 1562)
François (1519-1546), Comte d'Enghien, unmarried
Madeleine (1521-1561), Abbess of Sainte Croix de Poitiers
Louis (1522-1525)
Charles (1523-1590), Cardinal de Bourbon,Archbishop of Rouen
Catherine (1525-1594), Abbess of Soissons
Renée (1527-1583), Abbess of Chelles
Jean (1528-1557), Cte de Soissons et d'Enghien,married 1557 his first cousin Marie, Dss d'Estouteville(1539-1601)
Louis I of Bourbon (May 7, 1530 – March 13, 1569)
Léonore (1532-1611), Abbess of Fontevraud

His sons Antoine and Louis, Prince de Condé became powerful military leaders on opposite sides in the French Wars of Religion, and his grandson became King Henry IV of France.