Francis I, Duke of Lorraine

Francis I (French: François Ier de Lorraine) (23 August 1517 – 12 June 1545) was Duke of Lorraine from 1544–1545.

Francis I
Duke of Lorraine and Bar
Reign14 June 1544 – 12 June 1545
PredecessorAntoine
SuccessorCharles III
Born(1517-08-23)23 August 1517
Nancy
Died12 June 1545(1545-06-12) (aged 27)
Remiremont
Spouse
(m. 1541)
Issue
HouseLorraine
FatherAntoine, Duke of Lorraine
MotherRenée of Bourbon

History edit

Born in Nancy, Francis was the eldest son of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine and Renée de Bourbon,[1] daughter of Gilbert de Bourbon, Count of Montpensier. He was briefly engaged in the mid-1530s to Anne of Cleves,[2] who in 1540 would become the fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Their betrothal would be used by Henry to break his marriage to Anne after six short months.

On 10 July 1541, Francis married Christina of Denmark in Brussels.[1] Christina was a daughter of King Christian II and Isabella of Austria. Francis died at Remiremont in 1545, leaving Duchess Christina as the regent of Lorraine and as the guardian of their young children.

Children edit

By Christina of Denmark (c.1521 – 1590; married in 1541)

Name Birth Death Notes
Charles 1543 1608 married Claude of Valois and had issue.[1]
Renata 1544 1602 married William V, Duke of Bavaria and had issue.[3]
Dorothea 1545 1621 married in 1575, Eric II, Duke of Calenberg[4]

Ancestry edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Carroll 2009, p. 310.
  2. ^ Warnicke 2017, p. 34.
  3. ^ Thomas 2010, p. 148.
  4. ^ Sidney 2012, p. 513.

Sources edit

  • Carroll, Stuart (2009). Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and the Making of Europe. Oxford University Press.
  • Sidney, Philip (2012). Kuin, Roger (ed.). The Correspondence of Sir Philip Sidney. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press.
  • Thomas, Andrew L. (2010). A House Divided: Wittelsbach Confessional Court Cultures in the Holy Roman Empire, c.1550-1650. Brill.
  • Warnicke, Retha M. (2017). Elizabeth of York and Her Six Daughters-in-Law: Fashioning Tudor Queenship, 1485-1547. Palgrave Macmillan.

See also edit

Francis I, Duke of Lorraine
Born: 23 August 1517 Died: 12 June 1545
Regnal titles
Preceded by Duke of Lorraine and Bar
Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson

1544–1545
Succeeded by