Anne de Laval princesse de Tarente, was a French noblewoman and nominal pretender

Pretender

A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....

 to the Kingdom of Naples

Kingdom of Naples

The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...

. She was the daughter of Guy XVI de Laval, count of Laval

Laval, Mayenne

Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:...

, and of Charlotte of Aragon

Charlotte of Naples

Charlotte of Naples , also known as Charlotte of Aragon and Princess of Taranto, was the eldest daughter and eventual heiress of Federigo IV, King of Naples...

, Princess of Taranto

Principality of Taranto

The Principality of Taranto was a state in southern Italy created in 1088 for Bohemond I, eldest son of Robert Guiscard, as part of the peace between him and his younger brother Roger Borsa after a dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Apulia....

.

She was the only child of Charlotte to marry and leave heirs, thereby keeping alive in her descendants the claim of the exiled king, Federigo IV

Frederick IV of Naples

Frederick IV , sometimes known as Frederick I or Federico d'Aragona, was the last King of Naples of the House of Trastámara, ruling from 1496 to 1501...

, to Naples. On 23 January 1521 she married François de la Trémoïlle

François II de La Trémoille

François de La Trémoille was a French nobleman of the La Tremoille family. He was the son of Charles I de la Trémoille and of Louise de Coëtivy, and the grandson of Louis II de la Trémoille and of Gabrielle de Bourbon.-Titles:He held the title of 36th vicomte of Thouars...

, vicomte

Viscount

A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...

de Thouars

Thouars

Thouars is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France.It is on the River Thouet. Its inhabitants are known as Thouarsais.-History:...

. The marriage not only brought the La Trémoïlles the count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

ship of Laval

Laval, Mayenne

Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:...

 and the Neapolitan

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

 claim in 1521, but also the rank of princes étrangers

Foreign Prince

Foreign Prince is the English translation of prince étranger, a high, though somewhat ambiguous, rank at the French royal court of the ancien régime.-Terminology:...

at the French court

Noble court

The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...

. It is also said that she inherited the baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

y of Laz

Laz, Finistère

Laz is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Geography:The commune is situated at the heart of a hilly and forest-covered region called the Montagnes Noires which extends for approximately 30 kilometres between the communes of Gourin to the east and Gouezec in...

, as well, although Père Anselme

Père Anselme

Père Anselme was a French genealogist.He was born in Paris in 1625. As a layman his name was Pierre Guibours...

's genealogy of her family makes no mention of it.

Her eldest son, Louis III de La Trémoille

Louis III de La Trémoille

Louis III de La Trémoille , 1st Duke of Thouars, was a sixteenth-century French nobleman of the La Tremoille family. He was the son of François II de La Trémoille and his wife, Anne de Laval....

, became the first duc de Thouars in 1599, while her second son, Georges, and third son, Claude, founded the cadet branch

Cadet branch

Cadet branch is a term in genealogy to describe the lineage of the descendants of the younger sons of a monarch or patriarch. In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets – titles, realms, fiefs, property and income – have...

es of the marquises de Royan and the ducs de Noirmoutier

Noirmoutier-en-l'Île

Noirmoutier-en-l'Île, commonly referred to as Noirmoutier, is a commune located in the northern part of the island of Noirmoutier, just off the coast of the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France....

, respectively.