The House of Bourbon is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg have monarchs of the House of Bourbon.
The Capetian house of Valois was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet to the French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the family founded cadet branches in Orléans, Anjou, Burgundy, and Alençon.
The Most Serene House of Bourbon-Condé, named after Condé-en-Brie now in the Aisne département, was a French princely house and a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. The name of the house was derived from the title of Prince of Condé that was originally assumed around 1557 by the French Protestant leader, Louis de Bourbon (1530–1569), uncle of King Henry IV of France, and borne by his male-line descendants.
Suzanne de Bourbon was suo jure Duchess of Bourbon and Auvergne from 1503 to her death alongside her husband Charles III.
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon was a French military leader, the count of Montpensier, Clermont and Auvergne, and dauphin of Auvergne from 1501 to 1523, then duke of Bourbon and Auvergne, count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, Forez and La Marche, and lord of Beaujeu from 1505 to 1521. He was also the constable of France from 1515 to 1521. Also known as the Constable of Bourbon, he was the last of the great feudal lords to oppose the king of France. He commanded the troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in what became known as the Sack of Rome in 1527, where he was killed.
Duke of Berry or Duchess of Berry was a title in the Peerage of France. The Duchy of Berry, centred on Bourges, was originally created as an appanage for junior members of the French royal family and was frequently granted to female royals. The style Duke of Berry was later granted by several Bourbon monarchs to their grandsons. The last official Duke of Berry was Charles Ferdinand of Artois, son of Charles X. The title Duke of Berry is currently used as a courtesy title by Prince Alphonse de Bourbon, son of the Legitimist Pretender to the French Throne Louis Alphonse de Bourbon.
Duke of Châtellerault is a French noble title that has been created several times, originally in the Peerage of France in 1515. It takes its name from Châtellerault, in the Vienne region.
Fils de France was the style and rank held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France.
In the 11th and 12th centuries the Countship of Penthièvre in Brittany belonged to a branch of the sovereign House of Brittany. It initially belonged to the House of Rennes. Alan III, Duke of Brittany, gave it to his brother Eudes in 1035, and his descendants formed a cadet branch of the ducal house.
The counts of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis first appeared in the early 11th century. Their principal town was Clermont, now in the Oise department but then within the ancient county of Beauvaisis in the province of Île-de-France. Following the death of the childless Theobald VI of Blois, Philip II of France bought the county from his heirs in 1218 and added it to the French crown. It was first granted as an appanage in 1218 to Philip Hurepel; with the extinction of his line, it was granted in 1268 to the House of Bourbon, and was confiscated with the Duchy of Bourbon in 1527.
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.
Bourbon-Vendôme refers to two branches of the House of Bourbon, the first of which became the senior legitimate line of the House of Bourbon in 1527, and succeeded to the throne of France in 1589 with Henry IV. He created the second house by granting the dukedom of Vendôme to one his legitimized sons.
A prince du sang is a person legitimately descended in male line from a sovereign. The female equivalent was princess of the blood, being applied to the daughter of a prince of the blood. The most prominent examples include members of the French royal line, but the term prince of the blood has been used in other families more generally, for example among the British royal family and when referring to the Shinnōke in Japan.
The House of Bourbon-Montpensier or Maison de Bourbon-Montpensier was a semi royal family. The name of Bourbon comes from a marriage between Marie de Valois, comtesse de Montpensier (1375–1434) who married Jean de Bourbon - the duc de Bourbon. The second name of Montpensier, comes from the title of the family.
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. She had the office of Première dame d'honneur to the queen dowager regent of France, Catherine de' Medici, from 1560 until 1561.
Françoise of Lorraine was a princess of Lorraine and daughter-in-law of Henry IV of France. Sometimes known as Françoise de Mercœur, she belonged to the Mercœur cadet branch of the sovereign Dukes of Lorraine and was a niece of Louise of Lorraine, wife of the previous King Henry III. Françoise was the heiress of her father and, as such, was the Duchess of Mercœur and Penthièvre suo jure.
François de Bourbon, Duke of Châtellerault was a French prince du sang from the House of Bourbon-Montpensier, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. He was the brother of Louis II, Count of Montpensier, Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Louise de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier, and Renée of Bourbon.
