Françoise d'Orléans-Longueville
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Françoise d'Orléans (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
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
s during the
French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mi ...
.


Family

Her paternal grandparents were Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville, Sovereign Count of Neuchâtel, Prince of Chatel-Aillon, and Princess Johanna of Baden-Hachberg, Sovereign Countess of Neuchâtel and Margravine of Rothelin, and her maternal grandparents were Charles de Rohan, Viscount of Fronsac and Jeanne de Saint-Séverin. Françoise had an older brother,
Leonor Leonor or Léonor is a short form of the given name Eleanor. People bearing the name include: *Leonor Beleza (born 1948), Portuguese politician *Leonor Briones (born 1940), Filipino academic and civil servant *Leonor de Cisneros (died 1568), Sp ...
, Duke of Longueville, Duke of Estouteville, and Prince du Sang (1540–1573), who married, in 1563, Marie de Bourbon, Duchess d'Estouteville (1539–1601), by whom he had issue, including Henri I, himself later
Duke of Longueville Duke of Longueville (''Longueville-sur-Scie'') was a title of French nobility, though not a peerage of France. History The title was created in 1505 by King Louis XII of France for his first cousin once removed, François d'Orléans, Count of ...
. Françoise's cousin, François III d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville was the uterine half-brother of
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...
. Her maternal aunt, Claude de Rohan-Gié, was a mistress of King
Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 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 on ...
.


Infancy

Françoise was born on 5 April 1549 in Châteaudun, France. She was the only daughter of François d'Orléans, Marquis of Rothelin, and Jacqueline de Rohan. Her father had died on 25 October 1548, less than six months before her birth. From birth she was known as Mademoiselle de Longueville.


Marriage

On 8 November 1565, in the Château de
Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a subprefecture of the department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the main towns along the river Loir. The river divides itself at the ...
, Françoise married Louis I de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, the youngest brother of King
Antoine of Navarre Antoine de Bourbon, roi de Navarre (22 April 1518 – 17 November 1562) was the King of Navarre through his marriage ('' jure uxoris'') to Queen Jeanne III, from 1555 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Bourbon, of which he ...
and a Huguenot general. This made Francoise the sister-in-law of the powerful
Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret ( Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. Jeanne was the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and Margar ...
, who was queen regnant of Navarre and the spiritual leader of the Huguenots. Condé's first wife, Eléanor de Roucy de Roye, had died in 1564. Together Françoise and Louis had three sons, only one of whom lived to adulthood. The year before their marriage, Conde's mistress,
Isabelle de Limeuil Isabelle de la Tour, Lady of Limeuil (c. 1535 – 25 March 1609) was a French noblewoman and a Maid of Honour to the Queen Mother Catherine de' Medici. She also formed part of Catherine's notorious " flying squadron" (''L'escadron volant''), a ...
, a member of Queen Mother Catherine de' Medici's notorious '' escadron volant'' ("flying squadron"), had given birth to a child which she claimed was fathered by Condé, who staunchly denied the accusation.


Widowhood

On 13 March 1569, in the Third War of Religion, Françoise's husband was slain at the
Battle of Jarnac The Battle of Jarnac on 13 March 1569 was an encounter during the French Wars of Religion between the Catholic forces of Marshal Gaspard de Saulx, sieur de Tavannes, and the Huguenots led by Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé The two forces met ...
when the Huguenot army was defeated by the Catholic forces led by Marshal
Gaspard de Saulx Gaspard de Saulx, sieur de Tavannes (March 1509–June 1573) was a French Roman Catholic military leader during the Italian Wars and the French Wars of Religion. He served under four kings during his career, participating in the Siege of Calais (1 ...
, sieur de Tavannes, and the Duke of Anjou, who would later rule as King Henry III. Queen
Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
, herself being Protestant, promised to lend money to the Huguenot faction, however, Françoise was required to pledge her jewels as security. As one of Jeanne d'Albret's closest confidants, Françoise attended Jeanne on her deathbed. After Jeanne's death, Françoise stated "it is a terrible loss to us". After the night of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre on 23 August 1572, she and her son quickly converted to Roman Catholicism to avoid persecution and possible assassination. Françoise died in Paris on 11 June 1601 at the age of 52, and was buried at Gaillon.


Issue

Françoise and Louis had: *
Charles, Count of Soissons Charles de Bourbon (3 November 1566 – 1 November 1612) was a French '' prince du sang'' and military commander during the struggles over religion and the throne in late 16th century France. A first cousin of King Henry IV of France, he was the s ...
(3 November 1566 – 1 November 1612), married Anne de Montafié (1577–1644) *Louis de Bourbon (1567–1569), died in childhood. *Benjamin de Bourbon (1569–1573), died in childhood.


Ancestry


References


Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Orleans-Longueville, Francoise D' 1549 births 1601 deaths Francoise Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Francoise Francoise