Claude-Françoise of Lorraine

Claude-Françoise of Lorraine (6 October 1612 – 2 August 1648) was Duchess consort of Lorraine as the wife of Nicholas II, Duke of Lorraine. A daughter of Henry II, Duke of Lorraine, she married her first cousin Nicholas in 1634 and was the mother of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine.

Claude
Anonymous 17th-century portrait
Duchess consort of Lorraine
Tenure18 February 1634 – 2 August 1648
Born(1612-10-06)6 October 1612
Ducal Palace of Nancy, Lorraine
Died2 August 1648(1648-08-02) (aged 35)
Vienna, Austria
Burial
Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers, Nancy
Spouse
(m. 1634)
Issue
Details...
Charles V, Duke of Lorraine
Anne Marie Thérèse, Abbess of Remiremont
Names
Claude-Françoise de Lorraine
HouseLorraine
FatherHenry II, Duke of Lorraine
MotherMargherita Gonzaga
ReligionRoman Catholic

Early life

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Portrait of a young child in a dark dress holding a rosary
Claude Françoise aged 21 months, 1614

Born into an illustrious House of Lorraine, she was the younger daughter of Henry II, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife, Princess Margherita Gonzaga. Her elder sister was Nicole, Duchess of Lorraine.[1]

Marriage and exile

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Double portrait of a man and a woman in 17th-century dress
Claude Françoise with her husband Nicholas Francis, 1634

Her marriage was shaped by a succession crisis in the Duchy of Lorraine. In January 1634 her brother-in-law Charles IV abdicated in favour of his younger brother Nicholas Francis, seeking to forestall French claims to the duchy advanced through Charles's wife, Claude-Françoise's sister Nicole. Nicholas Francis, who had been made a cardinal but had not taken major holy orders, married his first cousin Claude-Françoise at Lunéville on 18 February 1634.[1] The couple had the following children:

After French forces under Cardinal Richelieu occupied Lorraine, Nicholas Francis and Claude-Françoise went into exile, settling at the imperial court in Vienna, where she remained until her death.[1]

Death

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Claude Françoise died in Vienna, aged 35, having given birth to twins, Anne Marie Thérèse and Marie Anne. She was buried at the Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers, Nancy, Lorraine.[1]

Ancestry

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 Carolus-Curien, Jacqueline (2007). Pauvres duchesses (in French). Metz: Serpenoise. pp. 179–181. ISBN 978-2-87692-715-5.

Further reading

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  • Poull, Georges (1991). La maison ducale de Lorraine devenue la maison impériale et royale d'Autriche, de Hongrie et de Bohême (in French). Nancy: Presses universitaires de Nancy. ISBN 2-86480-517-0.
  • Spangler, Jonathan (2009). The Society of Princes: The Lorraine-Guise and the Conservation of Power and Wealth in Seventeenth-Century France. Farnham: Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-5860-3.
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