Louis, Duke of Vendôme

Louis de Bourbon (December 1612 – 6 August 1669), was Duke of Mercœur and later the second Duke of Vendôme, and the grandson of Henry IV of France and Gabrielle d'Estrées. He was the Duke of Vendôme from 1665 at the death of his father.

Biography

He was the son of César de Bourbon, Légitimé de France, Duke of Vendôme and Françoise de Lorraine (1592–1669), daughter of Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (d. 1602).^[1]

His father was an illegitimate son of Henry IV of France and Gabrielle d'Estrées. He married on 4 February 1651 Laura Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. His children:

• Louis Joseph de Bourbon (1654–1712), Duke of Vendôme and Marshal of France; married Marie Anne de Bourbon, daughter of Henri Jules, Prince of Condé and Anne Henriette of Bavaria, no issue;
• Philippe de Bourbon (1655–1727), called le prieur de Vendôme, last Duke of Vendôme; never married;
• Jules César de Bourbon (1657–1660) died in infancy.

First he had a military career and became governor of the Provence in 1640.

But after the death of his wife in 1657, he entered the church and became a cardinal and legate of France. As a cardinal, he was styled as the cardinal de Vendôme. At his death, his children were raised by his sister in law, Marie Anne Mancini, wife of Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne.

Ancestry

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• December 1612 – 22 October 1665 His Serene Highness the Duke of Mercœur
• 22 October 1665 – 12 August 1669 His Serene Highness the Duke of Vendôme

See also

References

• Bourbon-Vendôme

Succession