Antoine of Navarre

Antoine (in English, Anthony; 22 April 1518 – 17 November 1562) was the King of Navarre through his marriage (jure uxoris) to Queen Jeanne III, from 1555 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Bourbon, of which he was head from 1537. He was the father of Henry IV of France.

Antoine
King of Navarre
Reign	25 May 1555 – 17 November 1562
Predecessor	Henry II
Successor	Jeanne III
Co-monarch	Jeanne III
Born	22 April 1518 La Fère, Picardy, France
Died	17 November 1562 (aged 44) Les Andelys, Eure
Burial	Vendôme
Spouse	Jeanne III, Queen of Navarre ​ ​ (m. 1548)​
Issue among others...	Henry IV, King of France Catherine, Hereditary Princess of Lorraine
Full name French: Antoine de Bourbon
House	Bourbon
Father	Charles, Duke of Vendôme
Mother	Françoise of Alençon
Religion	See details

Family

Coat of Arms of Antoine de Bourbon and the Kings of Navarre

Antoine was born at La Fère, Picardy, France, the second son of Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (1489–1537), and his wife, Françoise d'Alençon (died 1550).[1] He was the older brother of Louis, Prince of Condé (1530–1569), leader of the Huguenots.[2] In February 1557, Antoine, Jeanne and their son Henry traveled to the French court in Paris, while there King Henry II suggested a betrothal between his daughter Margaret and Henry.[3]

Marriage and children

A detailed portrait of Antoine by Corneille de Lyon (1548). Royal Castle, Warsaw

On 20 October 1548, at Moulins, Antoine married Jeanne d'Albret, the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and his wife Marguerite de Navarre.[1] After his father-in-law's death in May 1555,[4] he became King of Navarre, Count of Foix, of Bigorre, of Armagnac, of Périgord, and Viscount of Béarn.[5] It was reported that Jeanne was much in love with him.[6]

Antoine and Jeanne had:

• Henry (1551–1553), Duke of Beaumont
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610)[7]
• Louis (1555–1557), Count of Marle
• Madeleine (1556)
• Catherine (1559–1604), married Henry II, Duke of Lorraine in 1599[8]

With his mistress, Louise de La Béraudière de l'Isle Rouhet,[9] Antoine had:

• Charles, Archbishop of Rouen from 1554 until 1610.[9]

Religion

Antoine does not appear to have had any real religious conviction and officially changed religions several times.[10] His reconversion to Catholicism separated him from his wife and he threatened to repudiate her.[11] He had an affair with Louise de La Béraudière de l'Isle Rouhet, "la belle Rouet," with whom he had a son, Charles III de Bourbon (1554–1610) who became archbishop of Rouen.[12]

War of Religion

Catherine de' Medici, regent for her son Charles IX, named him lieutenant general of the kingdom in 1561.[13] When his wife, Jeanne d'Albret, allowed the Huguenots to sack the chapel and the churches of Vendôme in 1562, he threatened to send her to a convent.[14] She took refuge in Béarn. Antoine was killed during the Siege of Rouen (1562) fighting for the Catholics.[15]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Antoine of Navarre

16. Louis, Count of Vendôme 8. John VIII, Count of Vendôme 17. Jeanne de Laval 4. Francis, Count of Vendôme 18. Louis, Lord of Beauvau 9. Isabelle de Beauvau 19. Marguerite de Chambley 2. Charles, Duke of Vendôme 20. Louis, Count of Saint-Pol 10. Peter II, Count of Saint-Pol 21. Jeanne, Countess of Marle and Soissons 5. Marie of Luxembourg 22. Louis, Duke of Savoy 11. Margaret of Savoy 23. Anne of Cyprus 1. Antoine of Navarre 24. John I, Duke of Alençon 12. John II, Duke of Alençon 25. Marie of Brittany 6. René, Duke of Alençon 26. John IV, Count of Armagnac 13. Marie of Armagnac 27. Isabella of Navarre 3. Françoise of Alençon 28. Antoine, Count of Vaudémont 14. Frederick II, Count of Vaudémont 29. Marie, Countess of Harcourt 7. Margaret of Lorraine 30. René, Duke of Anjou 15. Yolande, Duchess of Lorraine 31. Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine

Notes

1. Louisa 1992, p. 98.
2. Holt 2005, p. 50.
3. Pitts 2009, p. 8-9.
4. Commire 2000, p. 251.
5. Pitts 2009, p. 8.
6. Robin, Larsen & Levin 2007, p. 2.
7. Holt 2005, p. 218.
8. Roelker 1968, p. xiv.
9. Bergin 1996, p. 581.
10. Holt 2005, p. 52.
11. Robin, Larsen & Levin 2007, p. 3.
12. Bryson 1999, p. 219.
13. Bryson 1999, p. 111.
14. Bryson 1999, p. 299.
15. Holt 2005, p. 54.

References

• Bergin, Joseph (1996). The Making of the French Episcopate, 1589–1661. St. Edmundsbury Press Ltd.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Bryson, David (1999). Queen Jeanne and the Promised Land. Koninklijke Brill.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Commire, Anne (2000). Women in World History. Volume 10.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Holt, Mack P. (2005). The French wars of religion, 1562–1629. Cambridge University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Louisa, Angelo (1992). "Antoine de Bourbon". In Dupuy, Trevor; Johnson, Curt; Bongard, David L. (eds.). The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography. Castle Books.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Pitts, Vincent J. (2009). Henri IV of France: His Reign and Age. The Johns Hopkins University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Robin, Diana Maury; Larsen, Anne R.; Levin, Carole (2007). Encyclopedia of women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, and England. ABC-CLIO, Inc.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Roelker, Nancy Lyman (1968). Queen of Navarre, Jeanne d'Albret, 1528-1572. Harvard University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Media related to Antoine of Navarre at Wikimedia Commons