Pierre II, Duke de Bourbon: a husband of the formidable Anne de Beaujeu

Pierre II, Duke de Bourbon, breathed his last on the 10th of October 1503 in Moulins, France, at the age of 64 (he was born on the 1st of December 1438).  He was the son of Charles I, Duke de Bourbon, and Agnes de Bourgogne.   Although he was originally betrothed...

The religious catastrophe in France preceding the marriage of Henri III of Navarre and Marguerite de Valois

On the 18th of August 1572, a fateful wedding took place in Paris, France.  King Henri III of Navarre, a Huguenot monarch and the future Henri IV of France, married Princess Marguerite de Valois.  Henri was the only surviving son of Jeanne d’Albret, or Queen Jeanne III of Navarre, and...

Birth of Charles de Bourbon, Duke de Vendôme – King Henri IV of France’s grandfather

Charles de Bourbon, Duke de Vendôme, was born on the 2nd of June 1489.  He was a French noblewoman ranked as prince du sang – a person legitimately descended in dynastic line from any of a realm’s hereditary monarchs.  Born at the Château de Vendôme, his birth brought a profound...