Louise de Bourbon (1482 – 15 July 1561) was the

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

of Montpensier,

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

from February 1538 to 1561. She was the great great great grandmother of ''

La Grande Mademoiselle LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

''.

Inheritance

The eldest daughter of

Gilbert, Count of Montpensier Gilbert of Bourbon-Montpensier (1443 – 15 October 1496, Pozzuoli), Count of Montpensier, was a member of the House of Bourbon. He was the son of Louis I, Count of Montpensier and Gabrielle La Tour, Count of Montpensier and Dauphin d'Auvergne. He ...

, and

Clara Gonzaga Clara Gonzaga, Countess of Montpensier, Dauphine of Auvergne, Duchess of Sessa (Italian: ''Chiara Gonzaga''; French: ''Claire (de) Gonzague''; 1 July 1464 – 2 June 1503) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Gonzaga. She was the daughter of ...

, her paternal grandparents were

Louis I, Count of Montpensier Louis de Bourbon (1405 – May 1486) was the third son of John I, Duke of Bourbon and Marie, Duchess of Auvergne. He was Count of Montpensier, Clermont-en-Auvergne and Sancerre and Dauphin of Auvergne and was a younger brother of Charles I ...

and Gabriele de La Tour d'Auvergne. Her maternal grandparents were

Federico I Gonzaga Federico I Gonzaga (25 June 1441 – 14 July 1484) was marquess of Mantua from 1478 to 1484, as well as a condottiero. Biography Federico was born in Mantua in 1441, son of Ludovico III and Barbara of Brandenburg. He was a good friend of the ...

, Marquess of Mantua and Margaret of Bavaria. Her five younger siblings included

Charles III, Duke of Bourbon Charles III, Duke of Bourbon (17 February 1490 – 6 May 1527) was a French military leader, the count of Montpensier, Clermont and Auvergne, and dauphin of Auvergne from 1501 to 1523, then duke of Bourbon and Auvergne, count of Clermo ...

. He was killed in battle in May 1527 when he led the Imperial troops sent by

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

against Pope

Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

in what became the Sack of Rome. By dint of her three brothers having died childless, Louise became the heiress to the county of Montpensier and the dauphinate of Auvergne. The estates, however, had been sequestered by the French King

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

(at the instigation of his mother,

Louise of Savoy Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess ''suo jure'' of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours, and the mother of King Francis I. She was politically active and served as the regent of F ...

) when her brother Charles, Duke of Bourbon and

Constable of France The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...

formed an alliance with Charles V. After the Duke's death at the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

of Rome, his fiefs were confiscated by the King. On 17 May 1530, she became the ''

'' Duchess of Châtellerault, Countess of Forez, Baroness de Beaujeu, which had formed part of her brother Charles' inheritance, however the titles were revoked by the King in January 1532. Eventually some of her late brother's inheritance was restored to her. In February 1538, Louise was invested as Duchess of Montpensier, Dauphine of Auvergne, Baroness de La Tour and de la Bussière by King Francis.

Marriages and children

In 1499, Louise married her first husband, Andre III de Chauvigny, prince of Deols and vicomte de Brosse (d.1503). The marriage was childless. She married secondly on 21 March 1504, her cousin Louis de Bourbon, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon, by whom she had three children: * Suzanne de Bourbon (1508–1570), married Claude de Rieux, Count of Harcoute and Aumale, by whom she had issue. * Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier, (10 June 1513- 23 September 1582) married firstly in 1538, Jacqueline de Longwy, Countess of Bar-sur-Seine (died 28 August 1561), by whom he had a son and five daughters, including Charlotte de Bourbon. His second wife was Catherine of Lorraine. *

Charles, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon Charles de Bourbon, Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon, (-10 October 1565), was a Prince of the Blood and provincial governor under three French kings. He fought in the latter Italian wars during the reign of Henri II, commanding an army during the 155 ...

(1515–1565), married Philippe de Montespédon, Dame de Beaupreau (died 1575), by whom he had a son, Henri, and a daughter, Jeanne. Louise died on 5 July 1561. She was buried at , Champigny-sur-Veude in

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...

. Her eldest son Louis succeeded her as Duke of Montpensier. Through her daughter Suzanne, Louise was an ancestress of King

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

. Through her granddaughter

Charlotte of Bourbon Charlotte of Bourbon (1546/1547 – 5 May 1582) was a Princess consort of Orange as the third spouse of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish. She was the fourth daughter of Louis III de Bo ...

, Louise was an ancestress of the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house or ...

, which reigned in Great Britain from 1714 to 1901, and from which descends the current British Royal Family.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montpensier, Louise de Bourbon, Duchess of 1482 births 1561 deaths French suo jure nobility Louise Louise Place of birth missing Place of death missing Date of birth unknown House of Bourbon-Montpensier