The Counts of Dreux were a noble family of France, who took their title from the chief stronghold of their domain, the château of Dreux, which lies near the boundary between Normandy and the Île-de-France. They are notable for inheriting the Duchy of Brittany through Pierre de Dreux's marriage to Alix de Thouars in the early 13th century.

Coat of arms of the Counts of Dreux.

History

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In the tenth century the lands belonged to the forebears of the Capetians; they passed by marriage to Walter, Count of the Vexin, then to Richard I of Normandy. In 1017 the lands were given as dowry to Richard's illegitimate daughter Matilda, who married Odo II, Count of Blois.

King Robert II of France confiscated the lands of Dreux from Odo, and they formed part of the royal domain until Louis the Fat granted the county of Dreux as an appanage to his son Robert. The descendants of Robert held the county of Dreux until 1355, when the heiress, Countess Joan II of Dreux, married Simon de Thouars. Simon and Joan had three daughters and no sons; their daughters sold their interests in the county of Dreux to King Charles VI.

King Charles gave the county of Dreux as a dowry in the marriage of his kinswoman Marguerite de Bourbon, daughter of Peter, Duke of Bourbon and of Isabella de Valois, daughter of Charles of Valois, with Arnaud-Amanieu d'Albret in 1382. The county returned to the crown in 1556, and thereafter formed part of the royal domain, then the lands of François, Duke of Anjou, and after his death was sold to the Duke of Nemours. It returned to the royal domain in the reign of Louis XV.

List of counts of Dreux

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Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Robert I the Great
1137–1184
  c. 1123
fifth son of Louis VI of France and Adélaide of Maurienne
(1) Agnes of Garlande (1122–1143), daughter of Anseau de Garlande, Count of Rochefort; married 1139/41, one son
(2) Hawise of Salisbury (1118 – 13 Jan 1152), daughter of Walter Fitz Edward of Salisbury, Sheriff of Wiltshire; married 1144/45, one daughter
(3) Agnes of Baudemont (1130 – 24 July 1204), daughter of Guy de Baudement, Count of Braine; married 1152, ten children
11 October 1188
Braine
aged 64–65
Robert II
1184–1218
  c. 1154
eldest son of Robert and Agnes of Baudemont
(1) Matilda of Burgundy
1178
no issue
(2) Yolande of Coucy
1184
twelve children
28 December 1218
Braine
aged 63–64
Robert III Gasteblé
1218–1234
  c. 1185
eldest son of Robert II and Yolande of Coucy
Aénor of Saint-Valery
1210
four children
3 March 1234
Braine
aged 48–49
John I
1234–1249
  c. 1215
eldest son of Robert III and Aénor of Saint-Valery
Marie of Bourbon-Dampierre
April 1240
three children
c. 1249
Nicosia
aged 33–34
Robert IV
1249–1282
  c. 1241
eldest son of John I and Marie of Bourbon-Dampierre
Beatrice of Montfort
1260
six children
12 November 1282
Braine
aged 40–41
John II the Good
1282–1309
  c. 1265
eldest son of Robert IV and Beatrice of Montfort
(1) Joan of Montpensier
1292
five children
(2) Perrenelle of Sully
January 1308
one daughter
c. 1309
Braine
aged 43–44
Robert V
1309–1329
  c. 1293
eldest son of John II and Joan of Montpensier
Marie of Enghien
April 1321
no issues
22 March 1329
Braine
aged 35–36
John III
1329–1331
  c. 1295
second son of John II and Joan of Montpensier
Ida of Rosny
1329
no issues
c. 1331
Braine
aged 35–36
Peter I
1331–1345
  c. 1298
third son of John II and Joan of Montpensier
Isabeau de Melun
1341
one daughter
3 November 1345
Braine
aged 46–47
Joan I
1345–1346
under the regency of Countess Isabeau
  c. 1345
Chateau de Gamaches
only daughter of Peter I and Isabeau de Melun
never married c. 1346
Braine
aged 1
Joan II
1346–1355
with Louis I
  c. 1309
only daughter of John II and Perrenelle of Sully
Louis I of Thouars
Thouars
1330
five children
c. 1355
aged 45–46
Louis I
1346–1355
with Joan II
  c. 1310
Thouars
eldest son of John I of Thouars and Blanche of Brabant
(1) Joan II of Dreux
Thouars
1330
five children

(2) Isabeau d'Avaugour
Thouars
July 1361
no issues

7 April 1370
Talmont
aged 59–60

House of Thouars

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  • 1355-1365 : Simon (son of)
  • 1365-1377 : Péronelle (sister of)
  • 1365-1377 : Isabeau (sister of)
  • 1365-1377 : Margaret (sister of)

In 1377, the three sisters sold Dreux to the French crown.

  • 1382-1401 : Arnaud Amanieu (also lord of Albret)
  • 1401-1415 : Charles I (son of, also lord of Albret)
  • 1415-1471 : Charles II (son of, also lord of Albret)
    • John IV (associated, also viscount of Tartas)
  • 1471-1522 : Alain - Alain the Great (son of)
  • 1522-1555 : Henry I (son of, also king of Navarre)
  • 1555-1572 : Jeanne (daughter of, also queen of Navarre)
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Catherine
1559–1569
  13 April 1519
Florence
only daughter of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne
Henry II of France
Marseille
28 October 1533
ten children
5 January 1589
Château de Blois
aged 69
Hercule-François
1569–1584
duc de Dreux
  18 March 1555
Château de Fontainebleau
fifth son of Henry II of France and Catherine
never married 19 June 1584
Château-Thierry
aged 29
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Charles III
1594–1612
  3 November 1566
Nogent-le-Rotrou
sixth son of Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé and Françoise d'Orléans-Longueville
Anne de Montafié
27 December 1601
five children
1 November 1612
Château de Blandy
aged 45
Louis III
1612–1641
  1 May 1604
Hôtel de Soissons
only son of Charles III and Anne de Montafié
never married 6 July 1641
Sedan
aged 36
Marie
1641–1656
  3 March 1606
Hôtel de Soissons
second daughter of Charles III and Anne de Montafié
Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano
Paris
6 January 1625
seven children
3 June 1692
Hôtel de Soissons
aged 86
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Eugene Maurice, Count of Soissons
1656–1673
  2 May 1635

Chambéry, Savoie, Rhone-Alpes, France

Olympia Mancini
Paris
21 February 1657
eight children
6 June 1673
Unna
aged 38
Emmanuel Philibert of Carignano
1673–1676
  16 October 1662
fourth son of Eugene Maurice and Olympia Mancini
never married 12 June 1676
Turin
aged 13
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Marie
1676–1707
  5 March 1625
Paris
eldest daughter of Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville and Louise de Bourbon
Henri II, Duke of Nemours
Trie
22 May 1657
no issues
16 June 1707
Paris
aged 82
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Louis Joseph
1707–1712
  1 July 1654
Paris
eldest son of Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme and Laura Mancini
Marie Anne de Bourbon
Chateau de Sceaux
21 May 1710
no issues
11 June 1712
Vinaros
aged 57
Marie Anne
1712–1718
  24 February 1678
Hôtel de Condé
fifth daughter of Henri Jules de Bourbon, prince de Condé and Anne Henriette
Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme
Chateau de Sceaux
21 May 1710
no issues
11 April 1718
Hôtel de Vendôme
aged 40
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Anne Henriette
1718–1723
  13 March 1648
Paris
second daughter of Edward of the Palatinate-Simmern and Anna Gonzaga
Henri Jules de Bourbon, prince de Condé
Chateau de Sceaux
11 December 1663
ten children
23 February 1723
Petit Luxembourg
aged 74
Name Portrait Birth Marriage(s) Death
Anne Louise Bénédicte
1723–1753
  8 November 1676
Hôtel de Condé
fourth daughter of Henri Jules de Bourbon, prince de Condé and Anne Henriette
Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine
Palace of Versailles
19 May 1692
seven children
23 January 1753
Hôtel du Maine
aged 76
Louis Auguste
1753–1755
  4 March 1700
Palace of Versailles
second son of Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine and Anne Louise Bénédicte
never married 1 October 1755
Palace of Fontainebleau
aged 55
Louis Charles
1755–1775
  5 October 1701
Château de Sceaux
third son of Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine and Anne Louise Bénédicte
never married 13 July 1775
Château de Sceaux
aged 73
Louis Jean Marie
1775–1793
  16 November 1725
Château de Rambouillet
only son of Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse and Marie Victoire de Noailles
Maria Teresa d'Este
Palace of Versailles
29 December 1744
seven children
4 March 1793
Château de Bizy
aged 67