Countess Elisabeth of Nassau (Elisabeth Flandrika) (Middelburg

Middelburg

Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...

, 26 April 1577 - Sedan

Sedan, France

Sedan is a commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.-Geography:The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around from the Belgian border.-History:...

, 3 September 1642) was the second daughter of prince William of Orange

William the Silent

William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...

 and his third spouse Charlotte of Bourbon

Charlotte of Bourbon

Charlotte of Bourbon , was the fourth daughter of Louis, Duke of Montpensier and Jacqueline de Longwy, Countess of Bar-sur-Seine...

. She was Duchess of Bouillon

Duchess of Bouillon

-Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty, ?-1100:-House of La Marck, ?-1588 :-House of La Tour d'Auvergne, 1594-1794 :-House of La Tour d'Auvergne, 1794-1802 :-House of Rohan, since 1816 :...

 by marriage.

Biography

After her father was murdered in 1584, there was a shortage of money for Elisabeth, her siblings and her stepmother Louise de Coligny

Louise de Coligny

Louise de Coligny was the daughter of Gaspard de Coligny and Charlotte de Laval and the fourth and last spouse of William the Silent.-Biography:...

. In 1594 Louise took Elisabeth with her to France, where they met with several Protestant nobles. One of them, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, of the Duchy of Bouillon and the Principality of Sedan, sent her a proposal of marriage that she accepted. The couple had nine children.

Henri tried to keep his Duchy Sedan Protestant, but had to deal with hostility emanating from his catholic French neighbors.

During his absences Louise acted as regent, and after his death in 1623 she became regent for their son Frédéric Maurice de la Marck

Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon

Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon was prince of the independent principality of Sedan, and general in the French royal army....

. She kept in close contact with her stepmother and five sisters, two of whom also acted as regents at some point.

Issue

• Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne (August 1596 - November 1607) died in infancy;
• Marie de La Tour d'Auvergne (1599 - 24 May 1665) married Henri de La Trémoille
  Henri de La Trémoille
  Henri de La Trémoille was the Duke of Thouars, Duke of La Tremoille, and Prince of Talmond and Taranto....
  
  , Duke of Thouars, Prince of Talmont and had issue;
• Unnamed son (April 1603)
• Juliane Catherine de La Tour d'Auvergne (8 October 1604 - 6 October 1637) married François de La Rochefoucauld, Count of Roucy, Baron of Pierrepont and had issue;
• Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne (22 October 1605 – 9 August 1652) married Eleonora Catharina of the Bergh and had issue;
• Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne (1606 - 1 December 1685) married Guy Aldonce de Durfort, mother of Guy Aldonce de Durfort de Lorges
  Guy Aldonce de Durfort de Lorges
  Guy Aldonce de Durfort, duc de Lorges, marshal of France, , was a French nobleman and soldier.Guy Aldonce was the fourth son of Guy Aldonce de Durfort , marquis of Duras, count of Rozan and of Lorges, maréchal de camp, and Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne, daughter of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne and...
  
  ;
• Henriette Catherine de La Tour d'Auvergne (d.1677) married Amaury Gouyon, Marquis of La Moussaye, Count of Quintin and had issue;
• Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne
  Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
  Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne,often called simply Turenne was the most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family. He achieved military fame and became a Marshal of France...
  
  , known as the vicomte de Turenne (11 September 1611 - 27 July 1675) married Charlotte de Caumont daughter of Armand Nompar de Caumont
  Armand-Nompar de Caumont, duc de la Force
  Armand-Nompar de Caumont, duc de la Force was a Marshal of France and peer of France.He was the son of another Marshal of France, Jacques-Nompar de Caumont, duc de la Force and Charlotte de Gontaut, daughter of Marshal Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron...
  
  ; Armand Nompar was the uncle of the scheming Duke of Lauzun.

Ancestry

Countess Elisabeth's ancestors in three generations

Elisabeth of Nassau	Father: William the Silent William the Silent William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of... , Prince of Orange]] (1533–1584)	Paternal Grandfather: William I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg William I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg William of Nassau was a count of Nassau-Dillenburg from the House of Nassau. He was called William the Rich....   (1487–1559)	Paternal Great-grandfather: Count Johann V, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg and Vianden  (1455–1516)
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Landgravine Elisabeth of Hesse-Marburg (1466–1523)
		Paternal Grandmother: Countess Juliana of Stolberg-Wernigerode Juliana of Stolberg Juliana, Countess of Stolberg-Wernigerode was the mother of William the Silent, the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish in the 16th century....   (1506–1580)	Paternal Great-grandfather: Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode Count Bodo VIII of Stolberg-Wernigerode was Count of Stolberg and Hohnstein and Lord of Wernigerode from 1511 until his death.- Life :...   (1467–1538)
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Anna of Epstein-Königstein (1482–1538)
	Mother: Charlotte of Bourbon Charlotte of Bourbon Charlotte of Bourbon , was the fourth daughter of Louis, Duke of Montpensier and Jacqueline de Longwy, Countess of Bar-sur-Seine...   (1547–1582)	Maternal Grandfather: Louis, Duke of Montpensier  (1513–1582)	Maternal Great-grandfather: Louis, Prince de La Roche-sur-Yon  (1473–1520)
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Louise de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier Louise de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier Louise de Bourbon was the Duchess of Montpensier, suo jure from February 1538 to 1561. She was the great great great grandmother of La Grande Mademoiselle.- Inheritance :...   (1482–1561)
		Maternal Grandmother: Jacqueline de Longwy Jacqueline de Longwy Jacqueline de Longwy, Countess of Bar-sur-Seine , Duchess of Montpensier, Dauphine of Auvergne was a French noblewoman, and a half-niece of King Francis I of France. She was the first wife of Louis III de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier, and the mother of his six children...   (before 1524-1561)	Maternal Great-grandfather: Jean IV de Longwy, Seigneur de Givry, Baron de Pagny et Mirebeau
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Jeanne d'Angoulême, Countess of Bar-sur-Seine