Charlotte of Albret (1480 – 11 March 1514), Dame de

Châlus Châlus (; oc, Chasluç) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. History Richard I, King of England was besieging Châlus in 1199 when Pierre Basile wounded him with a crossbow bol ...

, was a wealthy French noblewoman of the

Albret The lordship (''seigneurie'') of Albret (Labrit), situated in the Landes, gave its name to one of the most powerful feudal families of France in the Middle Ages. History Its members distinguished themselves in the local wars of that epoch; and d ...

family. She was the sister of King

John III of Navarre John III (french: Jean d'Albret; 1469 – 14 June 1516) was ''jure uxoris'' King of Navarre from 1484 until his death, as husband and co-ruler with Queen Catherine. He was a son of Alain I, Lord of Albret and his wife Frances, Countess of Pér ...

and the wife of the widely notorious

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex-cardinal and ''condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major i ...

, whom she married in 1499. She was the mother of his only legitimate child,

Louise Borgia Louise Borgia (17 May 1500 – 1553) was a French noblewoman. She was the daughter of Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, who died when she was almost seven years old. She was also Dame de Chalus, a title she inherited from her mother Charlot ...

, to whom she acted as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

following the death of Cesare.

Family

Charlotte was born in 1480, the daughter of

Alain I of Albret Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), called "The Great", was a powerful French aristocrat. He was 16th Lord of Albret, Viscount of Tartas, the 2nd Count of Graves and the Count of Castres. He was the son of Catherine de Rohan and Jean I of Albret.Ach ...

, Lord of Albret, and

Frances, Countess of Périgord Frances de Châtillon (died 1481) was Countess of Périgord, Viscountess of Limoges, and Dame of Avesnes and Châlus. She was the eldest daughter of William, Viscount of Limoges and Isabelle de La Tour d'Auvergne. In 1470, she married Alain ...

. Her paternal grandparents were

Jean d'Albret John III (french: Jean d'Albret; 1469 – 14 June 1516) was ''jure uxoris'' King of Navarre from 1484 until his death, as husband and co-ruler with Catherine of Navarre, Queen Catherine. He was a son of Alain I of Albret, Alain I, Lord of Albret ...

and Charlotte de Rohan, and her maternal grandparents were William, Viscount of Limoges and Isabelle de La Tour d'Auvergne, daughter of Bertrand V de La Tour,

Count of Auvergne This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne. History In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The c ...

and

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

, and Jacquette du Peschin. Her paternal great-great-grandfather was

Charles d'Albret Charles I d'Albret (December 1368 – 25 October 1415) was the Lord of Albret and the Constable of France from 1402 until 1411, and again from 1413 until 1415. He was also the co-commander of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt where he ...

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 ...

, who was killed while commanding the French troops at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; french: Azincourt ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 ( Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numeric ...

in 1415. She had six siblings including John d'Albret, who became King of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

upon his marriage to

Catherine of Navarre Catherine ( eu, Katalina, oc, Catarina; 1468 – 12 February 1517), Queen of Navarre, reigned from 1483 until 1517. She was also Duchess of Gandia, Montblanc, and Peñafiel, Countess of Foix, Bigorre, and Ribagorza, and Viscountess of Béa ...

Marriage to Cesare Borgia

On arrival to the throne,

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the time ...

intended to establish strong bonds with

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

in order to incorporate it to the Kingdom of France, aiming to marry

Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the only woman to have been queen consort of France ...

for the purpose; however, he was married by then to Joan of Valois. The Foix-Albret, led by Alain de Albret, feared a French takeover of

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three B ...

, ''de facto'' sovereign, but claimed now by the French king. The Navarrese monarchs Catherine and John started a rapprochement to Louis XII in order to appease his ambitions in Béarn, by supporting Louis XII in his attempt to marry the Breton princess. Louis XII demanded the annulment of her marriage to the Pope. The latter responded in kind by requiring a princess of royal blood to marry his son Cesare. The monarchs of Navarre proposed in turn Charlotte for the bargain. The political move would get the monarchs Catherine and John peace of mind to the north of the Pyrenees, while at the same time establishing friendly diplomatic relations with Rome that could pave the way to solve their conflict over ecclesiastic appointments in Navarre, especially concerning the bishop of

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

Pallaviccini, a designation contested by the Navarrese monarchs. The conditions were set down on the contract of the wedding held in spring of 1499. On 10 May 1499, at the age of 19 at

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

, Charlotte married

, the notorious illegitimate son of

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

Borgia and Vannozza dei Cattanei. He had recently been created Duke of Valentinois by King Louis XII of France. The marriage was political, arranged with the purpose of strengthening Cesare's alliance with France. Cesare did not remain for long in the territories under the rule of the Foix-Albret, since Cesare departed to Italy soon after wedding and getting Charlotte pregnant, neither coming back to know the newborn daughter. Cesare accompanied King Louis in his invasion of Italy. Charlotte was described as having been "beautiful and rich". In 1504, she became the owner of the properties of Feusines, Néret, and La Motte-Feuilly. Cesare and Charlotte together had one daughter *

, ''suo jure'' Dame de Châlus, ''suo jure'' Duchess of Valentinois (17 May 1500 – 1553), she first married on 7 April 1517

Louis II de la Trémoille Louis II de la Trémoille (29 September 1460 – 24 February 1525), also known as La Trimouille, was a French general. He served under three kings: Charles VIII, Louis XII and Francis I. He was killed in combat at the Battle of Pavia. Milita ...

, Governor of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

; she married secondly on 3 February 1530, Philippe de Bourbon, Siegneur de

Busset Busset is a commune in the Allier department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Allier department The following is a list of the 317 communes of the Allier department of France. Intercommunalities The communes ...

, by whom she had issue. Cesare had at least eleven illegitimate children by various mistresses. After escaping from a Spanish prison, Cesare died at the siege of Viana on 12 March 1507 in the service of Charlotte's brother, the king of Navarre with whom he had sought refuge. Following his death, Charlotte acted as regent for their only daughter, Louise, who had succeeded her father as Duchess of Valentinois. Almost seven years after Cesare's death, on 11 March 1514, at the Chateau of La Motte-Feuilly, Charlotte died. She was buried in a tomb at the church at La Motte-Feuilly. As of the 21st century, there are many living descendants of Cesare Borgia and Charlotte of Albret, including

Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma ( es, link=no, Don Sixto Enrique de Borbón-Parma y Borbón-Busset; it, Sisto Enrico di Borbone Parma; born 22 July 1940), known as Enrique V by supporters, is considered Regent of Spain by some Carlists wh ...

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Of Albret 1480 births 1514 deaths House of Borgia Chalus, Lady of, Charlotte of Albret House of Albret Duchesses of Urbino Dukes of Valentinois 16th-century women rulers