Francis Joseph, Duke of Guise
Encyclopedia
Suo jure
Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....
duchess of Alençon.
Biography
Born at the Hôtel de GuiseHôtel de Soubise
The Hôtel de Soubise is a city mansion entre cour et jardin , located at 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, in the IIIe arrondissement of Paris....
in Paris to the daughter of Gaston d'Orléans
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Gaston of France, , also known as Gaston d'Orléans, was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his wife Marie de Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a Fils de France. He later acquired the title Duke of Orléans, by which he was generally known during his adulthood...
and the head of the Princely House of Guise, Francis Joseph would be their only child. He was a first cousin of the last Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany Gian Gastone de' Medici
Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Gian Gastone de' Medici was the seventh and last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, Princess of France...
; he was also of second cousin of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and nephew of the famous La Grande Mademoiselle.
He was also a double descendant of Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
and her husband Henry II
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
.
Upon the premature death of his father in 1671, he became Duke of Guise and Joyeuse
Joyeuse
Joyeuse , was the name of Charlemagne's personal sword. The name translates as "joyful".-Joyeuse in legend:Some legends claim that it was forged to contain the Lance of Longinus within its pommel; others state it was smithed from the same materials as Roland's Durendal and Ogier's Curtana.The 11th...
, but was styled the Duke of Alençon, in right of his mother.
At the death of his maternal grandmother Marguerite of Lorraine in 1672 Francis Joseph and his mother moved into the Luxembourg Palace
Luxembourg Palace
The Luxembourg Palace in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden , is the seat of the French Senate.The formal Luxembourg Garden presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and provided with large basins of water where children sail model...
in Paris.
The last male of the senior line of the House of Guise
House of Guise
The House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.The Guises were Catholic, and Henry Guise wanted to end growing Calvinist influence...
, he was unfortunately sickly. Still unable to walk unaided at age four, he was dropped by his nurse and died from a head injury in 1675. He died at the Luxembourg Palace. He was succeeded by his great-aunt Marie de Lorraine.
Ancestry
Titles and styles
- 28 August 1670 - 30 July 1671 His HighnessHighnessHighness, often used with a possessive adjective , is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty in an address...
the Duke of Alençon (duc d'Alençon) - 30 July 1671 - 16 March 1675 His HighnessHighnessHighness, often used with a possessive adjective , is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty in an address...
the Duke of Guise, Joyeuse and Prince of Joinville