Charlotte Catherine de La Trémoille (1568 – 29 August 1629) was a French noblewoman and Princess of Condé

Princess of Condé

- Princess of Condé :-See also:*Duchess of Bourbon*Duchess of Guise*Duchess of Enghien*Duchess of Montmorency...

 by marriage. She was a member of the House of La Trémoille

La Trémoille

Members of the House of La Trémoille, were part of an old French family which derives its name from a village in the department of Vienne....

.

Biography

The youngest of five children born to the Duke and Duchess of Thouars, she was a member of the La Trémoille family, one of the oldest in France. Her father was closely tied with the royal's of France (the House of Valois) and the family was renowned. Her maternal grandfather Anne de Montmorency

Anne de Montmorency

Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France.-Early life:...

 was captured with his king, Francis I

Francis I of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

, at the Battle of Pavia

Battle of Pavia

The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–26.A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve...

 in February 1525.

Her future husband, Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé was the son of the late Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé and Eléanor de Roucy de Roye

Eléanor de Roucy de Roye

Eléanor de Roucy de Roye, princesse de Condé was the eldest daughter and heiress of Charles, seigneur de Roye and de Muret, comte de Roucy. Her mother, Madeleine de Mailly, dame de Conti, was the daughter of Louise de Montmorency and half-sister of Admiral Coligny, d'Andelot, and Cardinal de...

.

Henri was one of the most important men in the kingdom, holding the prestigious rank of First Prince of the Blood (Prince du Sang). The couple married on 16 March 1586, Henri completely enamoured by his attractive wife who was sixteen years younger than he.

As part of her dowry of 60,000 Livres, she bought numerous new property into the Bourbon family which helped settle the debts of her husband family.

At the death of her husband in March 1588, it was Charlotte Catherine who was accused of his alleged poisoning and the blame fell on her completely. At the time of her husband's death, she was three months pregnant and was imprisoned for six years during which time she gave birth to her son Henri de Bourbon.

Later on, after the extinction of the House of Valois in 1589, the Bourbon king Henry IV of France

Henry IV of France

Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

 recognised the infant Henri as the son of the late Condé giving the rank of First Prince back to the Condé's. Her son was Heir presumptive

Heir Presumptive

An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...

 to the throne till the birth of the future Louis XIII

Louis XIII of France

Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...

 in 1601.

She was buried at the Église des Religieuses de l'Ave Maria in Paris.

Issue

• Éléonore de Bourbon
  Éléonore de Bourbon
  Éléonore de Bourbon was the daughter of Henri de Bourbon and his second wife Charlotte Catherine de la Tremoille. Eleonora's father was a first cousin of King Henry IV of France. She was also the aunt of the scheming Madame de Longueville and le Grand Condé...
  
   (30 April 1587–20 January 1619) married Philip William, Prince of Orange
  Philip William, Prince of Orange
  Philip William, Prince of Orange was the eldest son of William the Silent, who played an important role during the Dutch Revolt, by his first wife Anna van Egmont...
  
  , no issue;
• Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (1 September 1588–26 December 1646) married Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency and had issue including le Grand Condé.

Ancestry

Titles and styles

• 1568 – 16 March 1586 Her Highness Mademoiselle de La Trémoille
• 16 March 1586 – 5 March 1588 Her Serene Highness the Princess of Condé
• 5 March 1588 – 29 August 1629 Her Serene Highness the Dowager Princess of Condé

See also