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 above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

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.

Inheritance

Louise was the eldest daughter of Gilbert, Count of Montpensier, 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 ...

. 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-Ferrand, Clermont-en-Auvergne and Sancerre and Rulers of Auvergne, Dauphin of Auvergne an ...

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

Federico I Gonzaga Federico I Gonzaga (25 June 1441 – 14 July 1484) was marquis 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 cou ...

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

Charles III, Duke of Bourbon Charles III de Bourbon comte de Montpensier then duc de Bourbon (17 February 1490 – 6 May 1527) was a French military commander, governor, prince of the royal blood and rebel during the early Italian Wars. The son of Gilbert de Bourbon and Cl ...

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

Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

against Pope

Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano 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 most unfortunate of ...

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 (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 (province), Auvergne and House of Bourbon, Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours and the mother of King Francis I of France, Francis I ...

) when her brother Charles, Duke of Bourbon and

Constable of France The Constable of 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 chancellor) and the commander-in ...

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 by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

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 Countess of Montpensier House of Valois, 1362?–1434 House of Bourbon-Montpensier, 1434–1523 Duchess of Montpensier House of Bourbon-Vendôme, 1561–1627 House of Bourbon-Orléans House of Bourbon-Orléans (in pretence) ...

, 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. Louise married secondly on 21 March 1504, her cousin Louis de Bourbon, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon. They had: * 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). His second wife was Catherine of Lorraine * Charles, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon (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 Champigny-sur-Veude () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. The castle features in Madame de Lafayette's short novel ''Histoire de la Princesse de Montpensier'' (1662). Population See also *Communes of the Indre- ...

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.

References

Sources

* * {{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 Duchesses regnant