Claude de Lorraine (5 June 1578 – 24 January 1657), also called ''Claude de Guise'', was a French noble and husband of

Marie de Rohan Marie Aimée de Rohan (; December 1600 – 12 August 1679) was a French courtier and political activist, famed for being the center of many of the intrigues of the first half of the 17th century in France. In various sources, she is often kno ...

. He was the

Duke of Chevreuse Duke of Chevreuse ( French ''Duc de Chevreuse'') was a French title of nobility, elevated from the barony of Chevreuse in 1545. History The duchy of Chevreuse was originally created for Jean de Brosse, Duc d'Étampes, it was transferred in 155 ...

, a title which is today used by the

Duke of Luynes The Duke of Luynes ( ) is a territorial name belonging to the noble France, French house d'Albert. Luynes, Indre-et-Loire, Luynes is, today, a commune in France, commune of the Indre-et-Loire ''département in France, département'' in France. The ...

Biography

He was the third son of

Henry I, Duke of Guise Henri I de Lorraine, Duke of Guise, Prince of Joinville, Count of Eu (31 December 1550 – 23 December 1588), sometimes called ('Scarface'), was the eldest son of François, Duke of Guise, and Anna d'Este. His maternal grandparents were Ercole ...

and

Catherine de Clèves Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Christian sa ...

. First known as the Prince of Joinville, he was made

and

peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

in 1611,

Grand Chamberlain of France The Grand Chamberlain of France () was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France, a member of the ''Maison du Roi'' ("King's Household"), and one of the Great Offices of the Maison du Roi during the Ancien Régime. It is similar in name ...

in 1621, and

Grand Falconer of France The Grand Falconer of France ({{langx, fr, Grand Fauconnier de France) was a position in the King's Household in France from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. History The position first appeared in 1250 as "Master Falconer of the King" ...

in 1622. Claude visited England in May and June 1607, and was welcomed by the court of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

. The visit is said to have been prompted by his affair with Jacqueline de Bueil, a mistress of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

. The French ambassador

Antoine Lefèvre de la Boderie Antoine Lefèvre de la Boderie (1555-1615) was a French diplomat and ambassador to England. He was a son of Jacques Lefèvre de la Boderie and Anne de Montbray. Career Lefèvre de la Boderie was a master of household to Henry IV of France. In Ja ...

described his reception in England. Claude was entertained by

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

with a musical evening on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

Greenwich Palace Greenwich ( , , ) is an area in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian ...

. On another day, there was a tournament. A feast and a play, ''The Tragedy of Aeneas and Dido'', was hosted and produced by the

Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and it is used (along with the earldom of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title ...

. Claude visited Prince Henry and gave him a pair of horses. He also gave the Prince a diamond ring and Anne of Demark a huge pearl for an earring. New linen was bought to dress the cupboards of estate of the

Banqueting House The Banqueting House, on Whitehall in the City of Westminster, central London, is the grandest and best-known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting houses, constructed for elaborate entertaining. It is the only large surviving comp ...

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

. After his return to France, Claude sent Prince Henry a suit of armour, which survives in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

. Claude's visit to

Theobalds Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the England, English county of Hertfordshire, north of London, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Set in ex ...

on 22 May 1607 was included in the script of the

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

. James gave him jewels made by

Abraham der Kinderen Abraham der Kinderen was a London goldsmith who supplied jewels to the royal family. He was a member of the Dutch Church in London, a "merchant stranger". His wife Lucretia was English, and in 1617 they lived in Aldgate street with their two chil ...

and

Philip Jacobson Philip Samuel Jacobson (10 September 1938 – 1 January 2018) was a British journalist and war correspondent known for his reporting for ''The Sunday Times'' Insight team of the events of Bloody Sunday (1972), Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland i ...

, which were presented to Claude by

James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle Order of the Bath, KB (c. 1580March 1636) was a Scotland, Scottish courtier and English nobleman. Life He was the son of Sir James Hay of Fingask, second son of Peter Hay 3rd of Megginch Castle, Megginch (a branc ...

. English records refer to him as the "Prince de Joinville, brother of the Duke of Guise". Chevreuse stood as proxy for

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

in his marriage at Notre Dame to

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

on 1 May 1625.' He hosted the

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...

, who came to escort Henrietta to England, at the

Hôtel de Chevreuse The former Hôtel de Chevreuse (; later known as the Hôtel de Luynes ) was a Parisian ''hôtel particulier'' located at 33 Rue Saint-Dominique (on a site that now includes part of the Boulevard Saint-Germain), just south of the Église Saint-T ...

. The Duke and Duchess of Chevreuse accompanied Henrietta Maria to England. After their return to France, on 13 December 1625, Charles I made him a Knight in the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

Marriage and issue

In 1622, he married Princess

, who was 22 years younger than himself.
They had 3 daughters: * Anne Marie de Lorraine (1624–1652), abbesse of Pont-aux-Dames. * Charlotte Marie de Lorraine (1627–1652), Mademoiselle de Chevreuse, lover of

Jean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

. * Henriette de Lorraine (1631–1693), abbesse of Jouarre. He lived with his family in the

Château de Dampierre The Château de Dampierre () is a château in Dampierre-en-Yvelines, in the ''Vallée de Chevreuse'', France. History Built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1675–1683 for the Charles Honoré d'Albert, duc de Luynes, de Chaulnes et de Chevreuse, d ...

, near

Chevreuse Chevreuse () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Yvelines, Regions of France, administrative region of Île-de-France, north-central France. Geography Chevreuse is located south of Paris, in the m ...

. He commissioned the royal architect,

Clément Métezeau Clement or Clément may refer to: People * Clement (name), a given name and surname * Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People Places * Clément, French Guiana, a town * Clement, Missouri, U.S. * Clement Township, Michigan, U.S. * Clement's ...

, to design a Parisian townhouse, the

, constructed 1622–1623 on the Rue Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre on a site now part of the

Cour Napoléon The expansion of the Louvre under Napoleon III in the 1850s, known at the time and until the 1980s as the Nouveau Louvre or Louvre de Napoléon III, was an iconic project of the Second French Empire and a centerpiece of its ambitious transforma ...

of the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

.Alexandre Gady (2008), "Chevreuse (hôtel de), rue Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre", p. 309, in ''Les Hôtels particuliers de Paris du Moyen Âge à la Belle Époque''. Paris: Parigramme. . Living an inconspicuous life, Claude succeeded in distancing himself from his wife's plotting (as a favorite of Queen

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

she was involved in many political intrigues at the court of King

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

). He died without a male heir in 1657.

References

House of Guise House of Lorraine Princes of Joinville Princes of Lorraine Chevreuse, Claude de Lorraine duc de Chevreuse, Claude de Lorraine duc de Chevreuse, Claude de Lorraine duc de Dukes of Chevreuse Peers created by Louis XIII French hunters {{KingdomofFrance-stub