Duke of Aubigny (french: Duc d'Aubigny) is a title that was created in the Peerage of France in 1684. It was granted by King Louis XIV of France to

Louise de Kérouaille Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

, the last mistress of King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

, and to descend to Charles's illegitimate issue by her, namely to the descendants of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox (1672–1723) of

Goodwood House Goodwood House is a country house and estate covering in Westhampnett, Chichester, West Sussex, England and is the seat of the Duke of Richmond. The house was built in about 1600 and is a Grade I listed building. Description The house and its ...

in Sussex. Louis XIV also granted her the

Château de la Verrerie Château de la Verrerie may refer to: * Château de la Verrerie (Saône-et-Loire) * Château de la Verrerie (Cher) The Château de la Verrerie is a château in Oizon, in the ancient province of Berry (now Cher) in France. It is an historic anc ...

, a former secondary seat of the Stewart Seigneurs d'Aubigny, Franco-Scottish cousins of the Stewart monarchs, seated from 1422 to 1672 at the Château d'Aubigny in the parish and

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Aubigny-sur-Nère in the ancient province of

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

in France. The ducal title, with accompanying grant of arms and of lands, were an attempt by Charles II to place his youngest illegitimate son into the persona of his much beloved and recently extinct Franco-Scottish cousins, the Stewart Seigneurs d'Aubigny, the last in the male line of whom was Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox (1639–1672) of Cobham Hall in Kent and of Richmond House in London. During the Auld Alliance between the Kingdom of Scotland and the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

of France, the Château d'Aubigny had been granted in 1422 by King

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

to Sir John Stewart of Darnley, 1st

Comte d'Évreux ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

, 1st Seigneur de Concressault, 1st Seigneur d'Aubigny ( 1380–1429), a famous military commander who served as Constable of the Scottish Army in France, supporting the French against the English during the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

, and a fourth cousin of King James I of Scotland (reigned 1406 to 1437), the third monarch of the House of Stewart. The Stewarts of Darnley were a junior branch of Stewart of Bonkyll, of Bonkyll Castle in Scotland, descended from Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland (died 1283), whose senior great-grandson was King Robert II of Scotland (1371–1390), the first monarch of the House of Stewart. King James VI & I of Scotland and England (grandson of Robert II) united the senior royal line of Stewart (represented by his mother Mary, Queen of Scots) with the junior branch of Stewart of Darnley, as his father ( Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley) was that family's senior representative, being the son and heir apparent of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox (1516–1571). King James VI & I inherited the title of Earl of Lennox, as nominal 5th Earl, when that title merged into the crown, as had done the

Earldom of Richmond The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of Peerage of England, England. The earldom of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond was initially held by various Breton people, Breton nobles; sometimes the holde ...

in 1485 on the accession to the throne of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, as King Henry VII of England. These titles were re-granted by the Stewart monarchs to their beloved Franco-Scottish cousins, the Stewarts of Aubigny.

History

The lord of the manor of Aubigny-sur-Nère, a substantial walled town, was known in France as the ''Seigneur d'Aubigny'' ("lord of Aubigny"). It was a territorial title rather than a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

title, and thus was able to be given by a Seigneur to a younger son, where for example the elder son already had a great estate and titles. The first ducal holder was

, the French-born last mistress of King Charles II of England and Scotland. In 1684, at the request of Charles II, the French King Louis XIV created her "Duchess of Aubigny" in the Peerage of France. However, the

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

creating the Duchy were not registered by the Paris Parliament, so the dukedom became extinct at the Duchess' death in 1734. In 1777, King Louis XV issued ''lettres de suranation'', which restored the 1684 peerage to her heirs. Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and 1st Duke of Lennox (1672–1723), her son by King Charles II, had predeceased her, but her grandson Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, had already received a ''brevet de duc'' (i.e., a ducal patent), which gave him the honours of a duke at the French royal court. The French dukedom was confiscated during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1803 and 1806–1814), but it was finally returned to

Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond General Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox, 4th Duke of Aubigny, (9 December 176428 August 1819) was a Scottish peer, soldier, politician, and Governor-general of British North America. Background Richmond was born to Ge ...

, the nephew and heir of the 3rd Duke of Richmond, who also succeeded to the Dukedom of Aubigny according to ancient

Salic law The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old Du ...

. The English coat of arms of the Lennox Dukes of Richmond display an inescutcheon of ''gules, three buckles or'', which are their French arms as Dukes of Aubigny. These arms were created as a difference from the French arms granted in 1428 by King Charles VII of France to John Stewart of Darnley, 1st Seigneur d'Aubigny, 1st Seigneur de Concressault, 1st Comte d'Évreux, and Constable of the Scottish Army in France, the outstanding warrior who commanded the Scottish army in France that was instrumental in saving the throne of Charles VII from the English invasionary forces under King

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

of England. In 1428, John Stewart of Darnley was awarded by King Charles VII of France "the glorious privilege of quartering the royal arms of France with his paternal arms". This was in the form of the royal French arms differenced by ''a bordure gules charged with buckles or'', specified to appear in the 1st and 4th quarters of greatest honour. The ''bordure gules charged with buckles or'' is a reference to the arms of Stewart of Bonkyll, who bore Stewart differenced by ''a bordure gules charged with buckles or'' (an example of canting arms: buckles for Bonkyl). The chateau and appurtenances are no longer the family's, as they were sold off to maintain their other legacies or assets. Aubigny is the chief tourist attraction in France which attests to the Auld Alliance. The honour is now only an historic title.

Stewart Seigneurs d'Aubigny

John Stewart, 1st Lord of Aubigny Sir John Stewart of Darnley, 1st Comte d'Évreux, 1st Seigneur de Concressault, 1st Seigneur d'Aubigny (1429) was a Scottish nobleman and famous military commander who served as Constable of the Scottish Army in France, supporting the French a ...

(killed 1429) * John Stewart, 2nd Lord of Aubigny (died 1482) * Bernard Stewart, 3rd Lord of Aubigny (died 1508) *

Robert Stewart, 4th Lord of Aubigny Robert Stewart (or Stuart) (c. 1470–1544), 5th Lord of Aubigny, Count of Beaumont-le-Roger, was a French soldier belonging to the family of Stewart of Darnley. Robert was the fourth son of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox and Margaret Mont ...

(died 1543) * John Stewart, 5th Lord of Aubigny (died 1567) * Esmé Stewart, 6th Lord of Aubigny (died 1583) * Esmé Stewart, 7th Lord of Aubigny (died 1624) * Henry Stewart, 8th Lord of Aubigny (died 1632) * George Stewart, 9th Lord of Aubigny (killed 1642) *

Ludovic Stewart, 10th Lord of Aubigny Ludovic is a given name and has also been a surname. People with the given name A * Ludovic Albós Cavaliere (born 1979), Andorran ski mountaineer * Ludovic Ambruș (born 1946), Romanian wrestler who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics * Ludo ...

(died 1665) * Charles Stewart, 11th Lord of Aubigny (died 1672)

Lennox Dukes of Aubigny

10th Duke of Richmond & Gordon 4 Allan Warren

References

External links

The Stuarts of Darnley, seigneurs d'Aubigny
{{Dukes of Lennox, Richmond, and Gordon family tree House of Stuart Aubigny

History

Stewart Seigneurs d'Aubigny

Lennox Dukes of Aubigny

See also

Further reading

References

External links