Charles III (18 February 1543 – 14 May 1608), known as ''the Great'', was
Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death.
Life
He was the eldest surviving son of
Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and
Christina of Denmark
Christina of Denmark (; November 1521 – 10 December 1590) was a Denmark, Danish princess, the younger surviving daughter of Christian II, King Christian II of Denmark and Norway and Isabella of Austria. By her two marriages, she became List ...
.
In 1545, his father died, and his mother served as the regent during his minority. During his childhood, his aged great-grandmother,
Philippa of Gelderland, died in 1547, leaving also her inheritance to the young Charles. His dynasty claimed the
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...
and used also the title of
Duke of Calabria as symbol of their claims to the
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
. Additionally, they had a claim to the
Duchy of Gelderland, inherited from
Charles of Egmont, Duke of Gelderland.
In 1552, Lorraine was invaded by France, his mother's regency was terminated and Charles was removed from Lorraine to France, to be raised at the French royal court in accordance to the needs of French interests. According to Julio Alvarotto, envoy of
Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Charles paid for a
masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...
involving pageant ships with sails of silver cloth, designed by
Bartolomeo Campi, at the
wedding of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Francis, Dauphin of France, on 24 April 1558. During the pageant he danced with his future wife,
Claude of France.
[Herbert Van Scoy, Bernerd C. Weber, 'The Marriage of Mary Queen of Scots and the Dauphin', ''Scottish Historical Review'', 31:111, Part 1 (April 1952), pp. 48.] In 1559, they were married and he was allowed to depart to Lorraine and take control of his domain.
The reign of Charles III is regarded as a great age of peace and prosperity for Lorraine. He pursued a policy of neutrality between France and The Holy Roman Empire, as well as during the French Wars of Religion. He founded the . He also expanded his realm by the incorporation of
Pfalzburg from
George John I, Count Palatine of Veldenz, in 1590, and tried to conquer also Lützelstein, though George John I's widow,
Anna of Sweden, managed to negotiate a truce.
In 1589, he broke his policy of neutrality and allied himself with the French Catholic League because he, as a Catholic, could not accept Henry of Navarre as king of France. In his peace with Henry in 1594, he married his son to Henry's sister
Catherine de Bourbon.
Family
In 1559 Charles married
Claude of Valois, princess of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, daughter of king
Henry II and
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...
. They had the following children:
*
Henry II, Duke of Lorraine (1563–1624) married
Catherine de Bourbon and
Margerita Gonzaga
*
Christine (1565–1637), married
Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
*
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
(1567–1607), Cardinal of Lorraine and
Bishop of Metz
This is a list of bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Metz, which now lies in eastern France.
To 500
* Clement of Metz (c. 280–300)
* Celestius
* Felix I
* Patient
* Victor I 344–346
* Victor II
* Simeon
* Sambace
* Rufus of Metz
* Ad ...
(1578–1607),
Bishop of Strasbourg
Archbishops
*Charles Amarin Brand (16 July 1984 – 23 October 1997) (with rank of archbishop from 1988)
*Joseph Doré (23 October 1997 – 25 August 2006)
*Jean-Pierre Grallet (21 April 2007 – 18 February 2017)
*Luc Ravel (18 February 2017 ...
(1604–1607)
*
Antoinette (1568–1610), married
John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.
*Anne (10 October 1569 – 8 August 1576), died in early childhood.
*
Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (1572–1632) married
Christina of Salm
*
Catherine (1573 † 1648), Abess de Remiremont
*
Elisabeth Renata (1574–1635), married
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
* Claude, (20 February 1575 – 2 October 1576), died in early childhood.
Ancestors
See also
*
Dukes of Lorraine family tree
References
Sources
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 3, Duke Of Lorraine
Dukes of Lorraine
Dukes of Bar
Marquesses of Pont-à-Mousson
1543 births
1608 deaths
Lorraine, Charles 3
Child monarchs from Europe