Élisabeth de Bourbon

Élisabeth de Bourbon (August 1614 – 19 May 1664) was a granddaughter of Henry IV, King of France and an ancestor of many European Royals. She is an ancestor of Prince Henri the Count of Paris, Orléanist pretender to the French throne, are among the male line descendants and heirs of Philippe. He is also an ancestor of Juan Carlos I of Spain, of Albert II, King of the Belgians, of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and of Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, a pretender to the Italian throne.

Biography

Élisabeth was born in Paris. Her father was César de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, legitimised son of King Henry IV of France and his official mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées. Her mother was Françoise de Lorraine (1592–1669), daughter and heiress of Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur, who was a rival of Henry IV. Her mother was the Duchess of Mercœur and Penthièvre in her own right and was the greatest heiress of her time.

She was styled as Mademoiselle de Vendôme prior to marriage. She was the youngest of three children; she had two older brothers, the Frondeur François de Bourbon, Duke of Beaufort and Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme whose wife Laura was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. They were the parents of the notorious débauché Louis Joseph de Bourbon.

On 11 July 1643 at the Louvre, Mademoiselle de Vendôme married Prince Charles Amadeus of Savoy, son of Prince Henry of Savoy and Duke of Nemours. They had two daughters who would marry the heirs to the thrones of Savoy and Portugal, and three sons who died shortly after birth.

In 1652, Élisabeth's husband the Duke of Nemours was killed by her brother François de Bourbon, Duke of Beaufort in a duel. Élisabeth herself died in Paris. She managed to secure the income of the lands of Nemours for her two daughters, but the titles were inherited by other members of the family.

Élisabeth was an ancestor of both Louis XV of France and Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, and thus of the Royal Houses of France and Italy.

Issue

1. Princess Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy, Mademoiselle de Nemours (1644–1724), who married Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, ruler of Piedmont in 1665.
2. Stillborn daughter
3. Princess Marie Françoise Élisabeth of Savoy, Mademoiselle d'Aumale' (1646–1683), who married king Alphonso VI of Portugal, in 1666 and afterwards Afonso's younger brother, Pedro, Duke of Beja, regent of Portugal.
4. Prince Joseph of Savoy (1649–1649)
5. Prince Francis of Savoy (1650–1650)
6. Prince Charles Amadeus of Savoy (1651–1651)

Ancestry

See also