Anne de Montafié, Countess of Clermont-en-BeauvaisisLeo van de Pas, www.Worldroots.com (21 July 1577 – 17 June 1644), was a French heiress and the wife of Charles de Bourbon, Count of Soissons, a Prince of the Blood, and military commander during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

. Following her marriage in 1601, she was styled Countess of Soissons. She was the Countess of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, Countess of Montafié, Lady of Lucé and Bonnétable in her own right.

Family

Anne was born in Lucé, France, the daughter and co-heiress of Louis de Montafié, Count of Montafié, Lord of Piedmont, Prince of Carignano and Jeanne de Coesme, Dame de Lucé and de Bonnétable, herself the daughter of Louis de Coesme, Seigneur of Lucé and Anne de Pisseleu. Her paternal grandfather, Georges II, Count of Montafié was a Knight of Malta, and the owner of the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...

; and her maternal grandmother was the niece of Anne de Pisseleu,

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

, the celebrated mistress of King

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 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 removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

. Anne had one sister, Urbaine who would later marry Louis de La Chatre, Baron of Maisonfort,

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

, by whom she had one daughter, Louise Henriette. On 6 October 1577, when Anne was less than three months old, her father was assassinated at

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

while in the service of King

Henry III of France Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...

as his

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. Her mother required the intervention of the King and

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

to ensure that she regained the succession to her father's estate of Bonnétable. Several years later in 1581, her mother married secondly François, Prince of Conti.

Marriage and issue

On 27 December 1601, she married Charles de Bourbon, Count of Soissons, son of Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé and

Françoise d'Orléans-Longueville Françoise d'Orléans-Longueville, Princess of Condé (5 April 1549 – 11 June 1601) was the second wife of Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, a " Prince du Sang" and leader of the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion. Family Her pate ...

, a '' Prince of the Blood'', who was also a military commander during the French Wars of Religion. Anne brought her inheritance of the countship of Montafié in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

as well as her mother's seigneuries of

Bonnétable Bonnétable () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire, northwestern France. In February 1965, it absorbed the former commune Aulaines.Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

on the day of Anne's wedding. Together Charles and Anne had five children, three of whom lived to adulthood: * Louis de Bourbon, Count of Soissons (1 May 1604- 6 June 1641), died in battle without legitimate issue; he had one illegitimate son, Louis Henri, Count of Noyers by his mistress Élisabeth des Hayes; * Louise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Soissons (11 May 1603- 1637), married Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville, with one surviving daughter, Marie de Nemours. *

Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons Marie de Bourbon (3 May 1606 – 3 June 1692) was the wife of Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano, and thus a princess of Savoy by marriage. At the death of her brother in 1641, she became Countess of Soissons in her own right, passing the titl ...

(3 May 1606 - 3 June 1692), married

Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano Thomas Francis of Savoy, 1st Prince of Carignano (; ; 21 December 1596 – 22 January 1656) was an Italian military commander and the founder of the Carignano branch of the House of Savoy, which reigned as kings of Piedmont–Sardinia from 1 ...

, by whom she had issue * Charlotte Anne de Bourbon (1608–1623) * Élisabeth de Bourbon (1610–1611) Her husband had two illegitimate daughters by his mistress Anne Marie Bohier, with whom he had a relationship before his marriage to Anne.

Death

Anne died on 17 June 1644 at the ''Hotel de Soissons'' in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, shortly before her 67th birthday. She was buried alongside her husband and children in the Soissons family tomb in the charterhouse of

Gaillon Gaillon () is a commune in the Eure department in northern France. History The origins of Gaillon are not really known. In 892, Rollo, a Viking chief, might have ravaged Gaillon and the region, before he became the first prince of the Normans ...

. Her only son, Louis had been killed in battle three years earlier without having had legitimate issue; therefore, the countship of Soissons passed ''

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 ...

'' to her youngest surviving daughter, Marie, wife of the

Prince of Carignano The House of Savoy-Carignano (; ) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Savoy. It was founded by Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano (1596–1656), an Italian military commander who was the fifth son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. ...

. The present

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

are direct descendants of Anne through her daughter Marie,

Princess of Carignano The ''Princess of Carignano'' was a woman married to the Prince of Carignano of the House of Savoy. The list ends with Charles Albert, in 1831, after he became King of Sardinia. But the Queens of Sardinia and later Italy used the title "Princess of ...

Ancestry

Notes

References

* Pére Anselm, ''Histoire des Rois de France'' * Leo van de Pas, www.Worldroots.com *

Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montafie, Anne De, Countess Of Clermont-En-Beauvaisis 1577 births 1644 deaths French countesses 16th-century French nobility 16th-century French women 17th-century French nobility 17th-century French women

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, Countess of, Anne de Montafie