Guillemette de Sarrebruck, dame de La Marck, duchesse de Bouillon, comtesse de Braine

Guillemette de Sarrebruck (circa 1490–1571) was a French court official. She served as

Governess of the Children of France The Governess of the Children of France (sometimes the Governess of the Royal Children) was office at the royal French court during pre-Revolutionary France and the Bourbon Restoration. She was charged with the education of the children and grandchi ...

, and ''

Première dame d'honneur ''Première dame d'honneur'' ('first lady of honour'), or simply ''dame d'honneur'' ('lady of honour'), was an office at the royal court of France. It existed in nearly all French courts from the 16th-century onward. Though the tasks of the post ...

'' to the queen of France, Mary Stuart, from 1559 until 1560. She had the title comtesse de Braine ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' after 1525, when she inherited the County of Braine from her childless brother.

Life

Guillemette de Sarrebruck was the daughter of Robert II de Sarrebruck-Commercy and Marie d'Amboise. She married

Robert III de La Marck Robert III de La Marck (1491, Sedan, Ardennes – 1537), ''Seigneur'' of Fleuranges, was a Marshal of France and historian. Self-styled "The Young Adventurer," he was one of Francis I's close companions in the last years of Louis XII's life, and re ...

in 1510, with whom she had a son,

Robert IV de La Marck Robert IV de La Marck (15 January 1512 – Guise, 1556), was Duke of Bouillon, Seigneur of Sedan and a Marshal of France. He rose to prominence during the reign of Henri II of France as a favourite of both the king and his mistress Diane de Poiti ...

(1512–1556), Duke of Bouillon, Prince of Sedan and Marshal of France.

Court career

Guillemette de Sarrebruck had a long career at the royal court of France. She served as ''dame'' or ''dame d'honneur'' (

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

) to three queens of France,

Anne de Bretagne Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the only woman to have been queen consort of France ...

Eleanor of Austria Eleanor of Austria (15 November 1498 – 25 February 1558), also called Eleanor of Castile, was born an Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg, and subsequently became Queen consort of Portugal (1518–152 ...

, and

Catherine de Médici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King H ...

. She served as

to the children of Francis I. In 1559, she was appointed head lady-in-waiting or ''Première dame d'honneur'' to queen Mary Stuart of France. Her tenure ended after Mary Stuart was widowed in 1560, and returned to Scotland the following year.

References

* Alain Sartelet, La Principauté de Sedan, Éditions Terres Ardennaises, 1991, 180 p. (), p. 11. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarrebruck, Guillemette de 1490 births 1571 deaths French ladies-in-waiting Governesses to the Children of France Burials at the Abbey of Saint-Yved de Braine 15th-century French people 15th-century French women 16th-century French people 16th-century French women Court of Mary, Queen of Scots Court of Francis I of France Household of Catherine de' Medici