Henriette de La Marck (31 October 1542 – 24 June 1601), also known as Henriette of Cleves, was a French noblewoman and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...

. She was the 4th Duchess of Nevers, ''suo jure''

Countess of Rethel This is a list of counts and dukes of Rethel. The first counts of Rethel ruled independently, before the county passed first to the Counts of Nevers, then to the Counts of Flanders, and finally to the Dukes of Burgundy. In 1405 the County became par ...

, and Princess of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

by her marriage with

Louis I of Gonzaga-Nevers Louis de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers ( it, Ludovico, italic=no or Luigi di Gonzaga-Nevers; 18 September 1539 – 23 October 1595) was a soldier, governor and statesman during the French Wars of Religion. Of Italian extraction, his father and b ...

. A very talented landowner, she was one of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

's chief

creditor A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property ...

s until her death.

Early life

Henriette was born in

La Chapelle-d'Angillon La Chapelle-d'Angillon () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A village of lakes, forestry and farming situated in the valley of the river Sauldre, some north of Bourges at the junction of t ...

, in the department of

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, France, on 31 October, 1542. She was the eldest daughter and second child of Francis I of Cleves, 1st

Duke of Nevers The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the County of Nevers, which became a French duchy in 1539, with the rulers of the duchy calling themselves dukes. History The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected to the Duchy of Burgundy. ...

Count of Rethel This is a list of counts and dukes of Rethel. The first counts of Rethel ruled independently, before the county passed first to the Counts of Nevers, then to the Counts of Flanders, and finally to the Dukes of Burgundy. In 1405 the County became p ...

, and Marguerite of Bourbon-La Marche. Dauphin Henry (future King

Henry II of France Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...

) acted as her godfather at her baptism. She had many siblings, including her brothers Francis and James, her father's heirs as rulers of Nevers and Rethel, Henri (who died young),

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, and Marie. Henriette soon obtained an office at court as the lady-in-waiting of Queen

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...

. She became the intimate personal friend and confidant of Princess Marguerite. On 4 March 1565, 22-years old Henriette married Louis I Gonzaga, Prince of Mantua in Moulins,

Bourbonnais Bourbonnais () was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''département'' of Cher. Its capital was Moulins. History The title of the ruler of Bourbonnais ...

Duchess of Nevers and Rethel

After her eldest brother Francis had died in 1562 and brother James in 1564 without leaving heirs, Henriette became the suo jure 4th Duchess of Nevers and Countess of Rethel. She had been left with enormous

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

s from her late father and brothers, but managed well her lands and brought the financial situation back in order. Her

profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

s were such that she eventually became one of the chief

s of France's unstable state during the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

. Henriette died at the Hôtel de Nevers in Paris, on 24 June 1601 at the age of 58. She was buried in

Nevers Cathedral Nevers Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte de Nevers) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Nevers, Nièvre, France, and dedicated to Saints Cyricus and Julitta. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of N ...

at the side of her husband, who had preceded her in death in 1595.

Issue

* Catherine (21 January 1568 - 1 December 1629): Married

Henry I, Duke of Longueville Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

, by whom she had one son,

Henri II d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville or Henri de Valois-Longueville (6 April 1595 – 11 May 1663), a legitimated prince of France (of royal descent) and peer of France, was a major figure during the Fronde, and served as governor of Picardy, th ...

. * Maria Henrietta (3 September 1571 - 3 August 1601): Married Henry of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne. * Frederick (11 March 1573 - 22 April 1574): Died in infancy. * Francis (17 September 1576 - 13 June 1580): Died in childhood. *

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

(6 May 1580- 20 September 1637): Succeeded his parents as Duke of Nevers, Rethel, Mantua, and Montferrat. Married Catherine Mayenne, daughter of

Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne (26 March 1554 – 3 October 1611), or Charles de Guise, was a French nobleman of the house of Guise and a military leader of the Catholic League, which he headed during the French Wars of Religion, follow ...

and Henriette of Savoy, Marquise of Villars, by whom he had six children, including

Charles II Gonzaga Charles II Gonzaga (22 October 1609 – 30 August 1631) was the son of Charles I, Duke of Mantua, and Catherine de Lorraine-Guise (also known as Catherine de Mayenne). He was the Duke of Nevers and Rethel, together with his father. In 1621, he s ...

and

Anna Gonzaga Anna Gonzaga (Anna Marie; 1616 – 6 July 1684) was an Italian French noblewoman and salonist. The youngest daughter of Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, and Catherine de Mayenne (herself daughter of Charles, Duke of Mayenne), An ...

Rumors

It was rumoured that Henriette became lovers with , a

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

ese adventurer who was beheaded in 1574, along with

Joseph Boniface de La Môle Joseph Boniface de La Môle (c. 1526 – 30 April 1574) was a French nobleman. He was the son of Jacques Boniface, seigneur de la Môle et de Colobrières, of Marseille. Life La Môle was the Provençal lover of Marguerite de Valois, among others, ...

, for participating in a conspiracy against King Charles IX which was supported by the

Duke of Alençon 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 sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

. It was alleged that she and Marguerite (now Queen of Navarre) woke up the middle of the night, removed the heads which had been placed on public display, embalmed them, and buried them in consecrated ground.

In fiction

* Henriette of Cleves is a character in the book '' La Reine Margot '' by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

. * Henriette of Cleves, played by

Dominique Blanc Dominique Blanc (born 25 April 1956) is a French actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''May Fools'' (1990), '' Indochine'' (1992), '' La Reine Margot'' (1994), '' Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train'' (1998), and '' The Other One' ...

, has an important role in the movie '' La Reine Margot''.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleves, Henriette of 1542 births 1601 deaths 16th-century women rulers 17th-century women rulers House of La Marck People from Cher (department) French duchesses French countesses Italian nobility House of Gonzaga 16th-century peers of France 17th-century peers of France 16th-century French women 17th-century French women Household of Catherine de' Medici