John III, Count of Ligny (died 1 July 1576) was the eldest son of Count Anthony II and his wife Margaret of Savoy. He succeeded his father as Count of

Brienne The County of Brienne was a medieval county in France centered on Brienne-le-Château. Counts of Brienne * Engelbert I * Engelbert II * Engelbert III * Engelbert IV * Walter I (? – c. 1090) * Erard I (c. 1090 – c. 1120?) * Walter II ...

and

Ligny Ligny ( wa, Lignè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune'' ...

in 1557. He arrived in Edinburgh on 2 November 1566 as the ambassador of Savoy and was lodged in Henry Kinloch's house in the Canongate near

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...

. He visited

Craigmillar Castle Craigmillar Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is south-east of the city centre, on a low hill to the south of the modern suburb of Craigmillar. The Preston family of Craigmillar, the local feudal barons, began build ...

to meet

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

on 20 November, and went to

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

on 12 December for the baptism of Prince James, escorted by

George Seton, 7th Lord Seton George Seton V, 7th Lord Seton (1531–1586), was a Lord of the Parliament of Scotland, Master of the Household of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Provost of Edinburgh. He was the eldest son of George Seton, 6th Lord Seton, and Elizabeth Hay, a daughter ...

. He gave the queen a necklace of pearl and rubies and earrings.Thomas Thomson, ''A Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents in Scotland'' (Bannatyne Club, 1833), pp. 102-3.

Marriage and family

John married Wilhelmina (d. 1592), the daughter of Duke

Robert IV of Bouillon 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 ...

. Together, they had the following children: * Anthony * Charles II (1562-1608), his successor, elevated to ''Duke'' of Brienne in 1587 * Margaret (1562-1566) * Francis (1563-1576), succeeded Charles II as Count of Ligny. He married in 1576 Diane of Lorraine (1558-1597): **Henry III (1582-1616),

Duke of Piney-Luxembourg Duke of Piney (french: Duc de Piney) was a title in the Peerage of France. The holders were also sometimes called duc de Luxembourg, after the House of Luxembourg, from whom they were descended. History The duchy-peerage was created in 1581 for ...

and Count of Ligny. He married in 1597 Madeleine de Montmorency (1582-1615): ***Marguerite-Charlotte de Ligny (1607-1680), Duchess of Piney-Luxembourg and Countess of Ligny, married in Charles-Henri de Clermont-Tonnerre († 1674): ****Madeleine-Charlotte de Clermont-Tonnerre (1635-1701), Duchess of Piney-Luxembourg and Countess of Ligny, married in 1661 François-Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, Count of Luxembourg (1628-1695): ***** Charles de Montmorency (1662-1726), Duke of Piney-Luxembourg and Count of Ligny, married in 1696 Marie-Gilonne Gillier de Clérembault (1677-1709), with issue. ***** Christian-Louis de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1675-1746), Prince of Tingry, married in 1711 Madeleine de Harlay de Beaumont (1694-1749), with issue. * Diana (d. 1624), married: *#Louis of Plusquelec, Count of Kerman *#Justus of Pontailler, Baron of Pleurs * Louise (1567-1647), married: *# Baron George of Casaubon *# Bernard of Béon, Seigneur de Massez

References

Counts of Ligny House of Luxembourg Year of birth unknown 1576 deaths Counts of France 16th-century French people {{France-noble-stub