Charles II Gonzaga (22 October 1609 – 30 August 1631) was the son of Charles I, Duke of Mantua, and Catherine de Lorraine-Guise (also known as Catherine de Mayenne). He was the Duke of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

and

Rethel Rethel () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture and third-most important city and economic center in the department. It is situated on the river Aisne, near the northern border of Champagne and 37 ...

, together with his father. In 1621, he succeeded his uncle Henri de Lorraine-Guise as

Duke of Mayenne Duke of Mayenne (duc de Mayenne) is a title created for a cadet branch of the House of Guise. It subsequently passed by marriage to the Gonzaga in 1621, who sold it to Cardinal Mazarin in 1654; he bestowed it on his niece, Hortense Mancini in ...

. In 1627 he married his cousin Maria Gonzaga,

Marquise of Montferrat The marquises and dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po and east of Turin. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the northwest of his ki ...

and heiress to the

Duchy of Mantua The Duchy of Mantua (; ) was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. In 1531, the duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to the marr ...

. However,

Cesare II Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla Cesare II Gonzaga (Mantua, 1592 – 26 February 1632) was Duke of Guastalla. He was the son of Ferrante II Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla and Duke of Amalfi and of Vittoria Doria. He succeeded his father in 1630, but died 2 years later. From 1630 t ...

and

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...

rejected her claim to Mantua, leading to the War of Mantuan Succession (1628–1631). Charles was never

Duke of Mantua During its Timeline of Mantua, history as independent entity, Mantua had different rulers who governed on the city and the lands of Mantua from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. From 970 to 1115, the Counts of Mantua were members of ...

since he died at

Cavriana Cavriana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, part of the municipalities of Alto Mantovano. Geography Cavriana is in the northern part of the Province of Mantua. It is located about east of M ...

six years before his father. When the latter died in 1637, Charles's eight-year-old son, Charles II, became Duke of Mantua, his widow Maria acting as regent. His daughter Eleonora became

Holy Roman Empress The Holy Roman Empress or Empress of the Holy Roman Empire (''Kaiserin des Heiligen Römischen Reiches'') was the wife or widow of the Holy Roman Emperor. The elective dignity of Holy Roman emperor was restricted to males only, but some empresse ...

Family

In December 1627 he married his cousin Maria Gonzaga, the marriage being arranged by

Vincenzo II Gonzaga Vincenzo II Gonzaga (8 February 1594 – 25 December 1627) was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1626 until his death. Vincenzo was the son of Duke Vincent I and Eleonora de' Medici and inherited the duchy upon the death of his elder ...

. Charles and Maria had: *Maria Gonzaga * Charles II, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (1629–1665). * Eleonora (1630–1686), who married in 1651

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III (Ferdinand Ernest; 13 July 1608 – 2 April 1657) was Archduke of Austria, Kingdom of Hungary, King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia from 1625, Kingdom of Bohemia, King of Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emper ...

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 02 Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers 1609 births 1631 deaths

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Heirs apparent who never acceded Nobility from Paris 17th-century Italian nobility 17th-century peers of France Sons of dukes Dukes of Mayenne