Prince of Guémené is a title of

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

associated with the

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of Guémené-sur-Scorff in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and held within the

House of Rohan The House of Rohan () is a Bretons, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan, Morbihan, Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and is said to tr ...

. The fiefdom was bought on 26 May 1377, for 3,400 '' sous d'or'' by Jean de Rohan, Viscount of Rohan. From his second marriage to Jeanne de Navarre (daughter of

Philip III of Navarre Philip III (, , ; 27 March 1306 – 16 September 1343), called the Noble, the Wise, and of Évreux, was the king of Navarre with his wife Joan II from 1328 until his death in 1343. He was also the count of Évreux in France from 1319. Philip ...

) the couple had two children; the eldest Alain became the Viscount of Rohan. That branch became extinct in 1527. The younger child, Charles, was given the fiefdom of Guémené. Charles was the founder of the Guémené line of the

. From this line, stem the Princes of Soubise (founded by François de RohanYounger son of Hercule de Rohan, Duke of Montbazon) and the Princes of Rochefort (descended from Charles, Prince of Rochefort, son of Charles de Rohan). The present male line descendants live in Austria, and the family fled France due to the French Revolution.

Lords of Guémené

* Jean de Rohan * Charles de Rohan (1375–1438) * Louis Ier (d. 1457) * Louis II (d. 1508) * Louis III (d. 1498) * Louis IV(d. 1527) * Louis V (1513–1557) * Louis VI (1540–1611)

Princes of Guémené

* Louis VI (1540–1611) :married Éléonore de Rohan; :''After the creation of the Lordship of Montbazon to a Duchy-Peerage, the principality of Guémené was traditionally given to the heir of the Duke. However, most Dukes went by their princely title in later years'' * Louis VII (1562–1589), son of the above (1st Duke of Montbazon) * '' Hercule''; married Madeleine de Lenoncourt; * Charles II (1633–1699) son of the above; married Jeanne Armande de Schomberg, daughter of Henri de Schomberg; * Charles III de Rohan (1655–1727) son of the above; married firstly to Marie Anne d'Albert, then Charlotte Elizabeth de Cochefilet; * '' François Armand'' (1682d–1717) son of the above; :married Louise Julie de La Tour d'Auvergne, daughter of

Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon (21 June 1636 – 26 July 1721) was a French nobleman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne, one of the most important families in France at the time. He married Marie Anne Manc ...

and Marie Anne Mancini; * Hercule Mériadec (1688–1757) brother of the above; married Louise Gabrielle Julie de Rohan, daughter of Hercule Mériadec, Duke of Rohan-Rohan and Anne Geneviève de Lévis; *

Jules Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). In the anglosphere, it is also used for females although it is still a predominantly masculine name.One of the few notable examples of a femal ...

(1726–1800) son of the above; married

Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne (Marie Louise Henriette Jeanne; 15 August 1725 – 1793) was a French noblewoman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne. She was the Princess of Guéméné by marriage. Biography Early life and fami ...

, daughter of Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne and Maria Karolina Sobieska; * Henri Louis (1745-1809) married Victoire de Rohan, daughter of Charles de Rohan, Prince of Soubise and

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Anne Therese of Savoy; * Charles Alain Gabriel (1764–1836) son of the above; * Louis Victor Meriadec (1766–1846) brother of the above; * Camille Philippe Joseph (1800–1892) nephew of the above; * Alain Benjamin Arthur (1853–1914) great nephew of the above; * Alain Anton Joseph (1893–1976) son of the above; * Karl Alain Albert (1934–2008) nephew of the above. * Albert Maria (1936–2019) brother of the above. * Charles Raoul (1954-) 3rd cousin-once-removed of the above

Dukes of Bouillon

The present Prince of Guémené is also a claimant to the Duchy of Bouillon. In 1816, at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, it was decided that the family were the rightful heirs to the duchy which had been the property of the

House of La Tour d'Auvergne A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

. Through the marriage of Jules and

in 1743, the Princes of Guémené were descendants of the La Tour d'Auvergne family through Marie Louise, whose nephew Jacques de La Tour d'Auvergne (son of her brother the

Duke of Bouillon The Duchy of Bouillon () was a duchy comprising Bouillon, Belgium, Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium. The state originated in the 10th century as property of the Lords of Bouillon, owners of Bouillon Castle. Crusad ...

and Mademoiselle de Marsan) was the last Duke of Bouillon.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince of Guemene House of Rohan Princes of Guéméné Princesses of Guéméné Dukes of Bouillon