Charles II, Duke of Elbeuf

Charles de Lorraine (5 November 1596 – 5 November 1657) was a French nobleman, the son of Charles I of Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf by his wife, Marguerite de Chabot. He succeeded his father in the Elbeuf dukedom (Elboeuf is an alternate, anglicized spelling) in 1605.

Biography

He joined the French royal court in 1607, becoming a playmate to the future King Louis XIII. When the latter reached majority, Charles was appointed Grand Chamberlain of France. He was a loyal servant to the King, of assistance in conflicts with Marie de' Medici, Cardinal Richelieu, and the Huguenots. The Duke of Longueville, governor of Normandy, and loyal to Queen Marie, led a revolt against the king and established camps at Orival, near Elbeuf. The king and Richelieu were the main targets of the revolt, and Charles was appointed governor of Normandy. He took part in the siege of Rochelle, but was wounded at Saint-Jean-d'Angély. He was given the additional post of governor of Picardie.

He died at Paris in 1657.

Marriage and children

On 20 June 1619 he married Catherine Henriette de Bourbon, called Mademoiselle de Vendôme,² an illegitimate daughter of King Henry IV of France by Gabrielle d'Estrées. They had six children:

• Charles de Lorraine (1620–4 May 1692), Duke of Elbeuf; had issue by –

(1) Anne Elisabeth de Lannoy (1626–1654);

(2) Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne (11 May 1635 – 23 October 1680);

(3) Françoise de Montault de Navailles (?–11 June 1717);

(4) children by an unknown mistress

• Henri de Lorraine (1622–3 April 1648) never married; Abbe of Hombieres
• François Louis de Lorraine (1623–27 June 1694) Count of Harcourt, married Anne d'Ornano and had issue;
• François Marie de Lorraine (4 April 1624 – 19 January 1694) Prince of Lillebonne; married;

(1) Christine d'Estrées (no issue)

(2) Anne de Lorraine, had issue; were the parents of Béatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine, Abbess of Remiremont and great grandparents of Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise; they were also the ancestors of the murdered duc d'Enghien

• Catherine de Lorraine (1626–1645)
• Marie Marguerite de Lorraine (1629–7 August 1679) known as Mademoiselle d'Elboeuf. She died unmarried and childless.

Footnotes

Most of the initial information here was translated directly from the French Wikipedia pages.

References and notes

• The Peerage