Duke of Estouteville (''duc d'Estouteville'') was a title in the

French nobility The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napoléo ...

that is claimed today by the

Prince of Monaco The sovereign prince (french: prince de Monaco) is the monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All reigning princes have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi, although some have belonged to other families (Goyon de Matignon or ...

. It was created in 1537 by King

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 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 ...

for Adrienne d'Estouteville (1512–1560) and her husband

Francis de Bourbon, Count of St. Pol Francis I de Bourbon, Count of St. Pol, Duke of Estouteville (6 October 1491 – 1 September 1545), was a French prince and important military commander during the Italian Wars. Francis was the second son of Francis, Count of Vendôme and Mar ...

(1491–1545) (who was son of

Francis, Count of Vendôme Francis of Bourbon or François de Bourbon, (In a date range from January 7, 1470 to December 31, 1470 – 30 October 1495), was the Count of Vendôme and a French '' prince du sang''. Life Francis was the son of John VIII de Bourbon, Count of ...

and his wife Marie of Luxembourg, Countess of Vendôme). The title passed briefly to their young son Francis II (1536/'37-1546), then to their daughter Marie (1539–1601), who married successively her first cousin Jean de Bourbon,

Count of Soissons This is a list of those who bore the title Count of Soissons (french: Comte de Soissons) and ruled Soissons and its '' civitas'' or diocese as a county in the Middle Ages. The title continued in use into modern times, but without ties to the actual ...

(1528–1557); François de Cleves,

Duke of Nevers The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the County of Nevers, which became a French Duchy of Nivernais, duchy in 1539, with the rulers of the duchy calling themselves Duke, dukes. History The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected ...

(1539–1563); and

Léonor d'Orléans, duc de Longueville Léonor d'Orléans, duc de Longueville (1540 – 7 August 1573) was prince de Châtellaillon, marquis de Rothelin, comte de Montgommery et Tancarville, viscomte d'Abbeville, Melun, comte de Neufchâtel et Valangin. Longueville was governor of Pi ...

(1540–1573). The dukedom passed to the descendants of Marie's third marriage, the

dukes of Longueville Duke of Longueville (''Longueville-sur-Scie'') was a title of French nobility, though not a peerage of France. History The title was created in 1505 by King Louis XII of France for his first cousin once removed, François d'Orléans, Count of ...

, the last male of whom died in 1694, leaving a childless sister and remote cousins descended through females. Estouteville was inherited by the last duke's sister, Marie d'Orleans-Longueville, Duchess de Nemours (1625–1707) whose closest relatives were remote cousins descended through daughters of the Longueville. After her death Estouteville was inherited, because of the principle of

proximity of blood Proximity of blood, or proximity by degree of kinship, is one of the ways to determine hereditary succession based on genealogy. In effect, the application of this rule is a refusal to recognize the right of representation, a component of primogen ...

, by the family of Goyon de Matignon, who were descended from Eléonore, youngest daughter of Léonor de Longueville and Marie d'Estouteville. Primogeniture heir would have been the Duchess of Retz, but she was one step further genealogically even if she descended from Eleonore's older sister. Eleonore's descendant Jacques François Léonor Goyon de Matignon (1689–1751), count of Thorigny and lord of the duchy of Estouteville, married in 1715 Louise Hippolyte, heiress-presumptive to the

Principality of Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria ...

, and adopted the name Grimaldi. The claim to Estouteville was inherited by their descendants, the Princes of Monaco, until their legitimate line became extinct on the death of Prince Louis II in 1949. However, along with the other titles associated with the Monegasque crown, it was assumed by subsequent Princes of Monaco (descended from Louis II's legitimated daughter

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

) and is borne today by

Albert II, Prince of Monaco Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005. Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...

. The legitimate succession of Estouteville passed in theory to the Urach descendants of Florestine of Monaco, and is currently held by

Patrick Guinness Patrick Desmond Carl Alexander Guinness, KCEG KLJ (born 1 August 1956 in Dublin) is an Irish historian and author and one of the heirs of the Guinness business dynasty. Son of Desmond and Mariga Guinness (born Hermione Maria-Gabrielle von U ...

References

{{Reflist, 2 Estouteville