Duke of Nemours was a title in the

Peerage of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

. The name refers to

Nemours Nemours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Geography Nemours is located on the Loing and its canal, c. south of M ...

in the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

region of north-central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Lordship of Nemours, in the

Gâtinais Gâtinais () or Gâtine () was a province of France, containing the area around the valley of the Loing, corresponding roughly to the northeastern part of the département of Loiret, and the south of the present department of Seine-et-Marne. U ...

, was a possession of the house of Villebéon, a member of which, Gautier, was

marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

in the middle of the 13th century. The lordship was sold to King

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...

in 1274 and 1276 by

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

and Philippe de Nemours. It was then made a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

and given in 1364 to Jean III de Grailly, captal de Buch. In 1404,

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved () and in the 19th century, the Mad ( or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychosis, psychotic episodes t ...

gave it to

Charles III of Navarre Charles III (, ; 22 July 1361 – 8 September 1425), called the Noble, was King of Navarre from 1387 to his death and Count of Évreux in France from 1387 to 1404, when he exchanged Évreux for the Duchy of Nemours. As a young man, Charles was ...

and elevated it into a

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

in the peerage of France, in exchange to his ancestral county of Évreux in Normandy. After being confiscated and restored several times, the duchy reverted to the French crown in 1504, after the extinction of the house of Armagnac-Pardiac. In 1507, it was given by

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

to his nephew, Gaston de Foix, who was killed at the Battle of Ravenna in 1512. The duchy then returned to the

royal domain Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

and was detached from it successively for Giuliano de Medici and his wife Philiberta of Savoy in 1515, for

Louise of Savoy Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess ''suo jure'' of Auvergne (province), Auvergne and House of Bourbon, Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours and the mother of King Francis I of France, Francis I ...

in 1524, and for Philip of Savoy, Count of Genevois, in 1528. The descendants of Philip of Savoy held the duchy until its sale to

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. In 1672, Louis XIV gave it to his brother Philippe de France, Duke of Orléans, whose descendants held it until the French Revolution. It was one of the many subsidiary titles held by the

House of Orléans The 4th House of Orléans (), sometimes called the House of Bourbon-Orléans () to distinguish it, is the fourth holder of a surname previously used by several branches of the House of France, Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimat ...

. The title of Duke of Nemours was afterwards given to Louis Charles d'Orléans, the second son of King Louis Philippe of the French.

List of lords

;House of Château-Landon *Orson (1120–1148) *Aveline (1148–1174), died 1196 Aveline married Walter of Villebéon, lord of Beaumont-du-Gâtinais, in 1150 and shared the lordship with him. They left it to their son in 1174. ;House of Villebéon *Walter I autier I(1150–1174), died 1205 *Philip I hilippe I(1174–1191) *Walter II autier II(1191–1222) *Philip II hilippe II(1222–1255) *Walter III autier III(1255–1270) *Philip III hilippe III(1270–1274) The lordship was sold to the king in 1274.

List of dukes

House of Évreux (1404–1504)

* Charles d'Évreux (1361–1425), also King

After the death of Charles III in 1425, the Duchy was claimed by the descendants of both his younger daughter, Beatrice, and his elder daughter and heiress,

Blanche I of Navarre Blanche I (, ; 6 July 1387 – 1 April 1441) was Queen of Navarre from the death of her father, King Charles III, in 1425 until her own death. She had been Queen of Sicily from 1402 to 1409 by marriage to King Martin I, serving as regent of Si ...

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

settled the claim on Jacques d'Armagnac, grandson of Beatrice, in 1462, though Blanche's descendants, the Kings of Navarre, claimed the title until 1571. * Éléonore de Bourbon (1425–c.1462) * Jacques d'Armagnac (1462–1477) :''confiscated from Jacques at his execution for treason in 1477, restored to his son Jean in 1484'' * Jean d'Armagnac (1484–1500) * Louis d'Armagnac (1500–1503) * Marguerite d'Armagnac (1503) * Charlotte d'Armagnac (1503–1504) :The last descendant of Béatrix d'Évreux, she died without issue.

House of Foix (1507–1512)

* Gaston of Foix (1507–1512)

House of Medici (1515–1524)

Giuliano de' Medici Giuliano de' Medici (28 October 1453 – 26 April 1478) was the second son of Piero de' Medici (the Gouty) and Lucrezia Tornabuoni. As co-ruler of the Florentine Republic, with his brother Lorenzo the Magnificent, he complemented his broth ...

(1515–1516), married to: * Philiberte of Savoy (1516–1524)

House of Savoy (1524–1672)

(1524–1531), Duchess of Angoulême,

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

's mother. She received the duchy of Nemours in 1524 with the

duchy of Anjou The Duchy of Anjou (; , ; ) was a French province straddling the lower Loire. Its capital was Angers, and its area was roughly co-extensive with the diocese of Angers. Anjou was bordered by Brittany to the west, Maine to the north, Touraine ...

. It was later transferred to her half-brother in 1528 and she received the duchy of Touraine in exchange.Pères Anselme & Ange, Histoire de la Maison Royale de France & des grands officiers, 1728, Tome III, p. 229-232 (Duchy of Touraine). She also received later the Duchy of Auvergne. * Philippe of Savoy (1528–1533) * Jacques of Savoy (1531–1585) * Charles Emmanuel of Savoy (1567–1595) * Henri I of Savoy (1572–1632) * Louis I of Savoy (1615–1641) * Charles Amadeus of Savoy (1624–1652) * Henri II of Savoy (1625–1659)

House of Orléans (1672–1848)

* Philippe de France (1640–1701) * Philippe d'Orléans (1674–1723), Regent of France 1715–1723, son of the above * Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans (1703–1752), son of the above * Louis Philippe d'Orléans (1725–1785), son of the above * Philippe d'Orléans, ''Philippe Égalité'' (1747–1793), son of the above * Louis Philippe d'Orléans (1773–1850), King of the French, 1830–1848, son of the above

Titular Dukes of the House of Orléans

* Louis Charles d'Orléans (1850–1896), son of the above * Charles Philippe d'Orléans (1905–1970), great-grandson of the above

Potential claimants of the House of Orléans-Braganza

In 1909, members of the

and the House of Orléans-Braganza signed the Pact of Brussels (also known as the Declaration of Brussels), the

Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans () was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King Philip VI for his yo ...

being present. The dynastic pact created the title of Prince of Orléans-Braganza for the Count d'Eu and his descendants, thus maintaining the princely status of his house, although this is considered a house distinct from the Royal House of France, and the Count d'Eu did not in fact recover his former position in the line of Orleans succession to the French throne. Under the Pact of Brussels the Count d'Eu and his sons equally undertook in his name and the name of his descendants not to contest in any way to the branch of the Duke d'Alençon the possession of the title of Duke of Nemours. Nevertheless, Charles Philippe d'Orléans, the last Duke of Nemours and only descendant of the Alençon, died without heirs. His death opened the theoretical possibility for the Head of the House of Orléans-Braganza to claim said title without violating the family pact.

List of duchesses

This is a list of duchesses of Nemours and their original houses.

House of Évreux

House of Medici

House of Savoy

House of Orléans

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke Of Nemours House of Savoy House of Orléans Duchesses of Nemours Lists of duchesses