Éléonore de Bourbon

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Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé
Princess consort of Orange
Tenure23 November 1606 – 20 February 1618 (1606-11-23 – 1618-02-20)
Born(1587-04-30)30 April 1587
St-Jean-d'Angély, Saintonge, France
Died20 January 1619(1619-01-20) (aged 31)
Château de Muret, Picardy, France
SpousePhilip William, Prince of Orange
HouseBourbon-Condé
FatherHenri I de Bourbon, prince de Condé
MotherCharlotte Catherine de La Trémoille

Éléonore de Bourbon-Condé (30 April 1587 – 20 January 1619)[1] was the daughter of Henri I de Bourbon[2] and his second wife Charlotte Catherine de la Tremoille. Éléonore's father was the first cousin of King Henry IV of France. She was also the aunt of Anne Geneviève de Bourbon and Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé.

Life[edit]

Eleonore was born 30 april 1587,the first born child from her parents marriage. Her father died in 1588 and her mother was accused of murdering him through the use of poison. Her mother Charlotte was only prevented from being executed by the fact that she turned out to be pregnant with Eleonores younger brother Henri and was then held without a trial.

Despite pleas to relatives to help them, Eleonore, and her mother and brother were held imprisoned in Saint-Jean de Angely for next 6 years. It was only through intercession of the french parlamentarian Jacques Auguste de Thou with Henry IV caused them to be released. Eleonore would remain deeply devoted to her brother through her life.

Éléonore married Philip William, Prince of Orange,[1] who was already 51 years old, first by proxy in Paris on 19 November and then in person on 23 November 1606, at the Palace of Fontainebleau.(other sources say Chateau de Vallery).[3][4][5] The marriage had been arranged by Henry IV who had supported the prince of Oranges acession and marrying him to a niece of the french king was a symbol of the strength of their alliance.

The couple then settled in Orange. The marriage of the two was however not welcomed by the brothers of Philip William on account of his having signed a will in 1603[6] wich would leave his lands to his brother Maurice and thus enabling him to finally unite his lands. This will would be void if Eleonore and Philip William had a child who would then inherit their fathers lands.

After the conclusion of the Twelve Year Truce and reconciliation between Philip William and his brothers, he and Eleonore made their home in Breda.

In November 1609 her brother Henri and his wife Charlotte de Montmorency arrived in Brussels seeking asylum at the court the archdukal couple Albrecht and Isabella from Henry IV who wanted to make Eleonores sister in-law his mistress. Eleonore brother and sister-in-law Charlotte remaining in Brussels however presented a political inconvenience for the archdukes and instead Eleonore and her husband took them and to their residence in Breda wich was considered more neutral ground.[6]

On 25 October 1611, it was revealed that the mother of Éléonore and her sister in law Charlotte-Marguerite de Montmorency, wife of Henri II de Bourbon, would travel to The Hague. The States-General of the Netherlands decided to present the ladies with a fitting gift, partly from politeness, and partly with the view of Henri II de Bourbon-Condé as a potential future ally.

It was decided to offer tableware to the value of 12,000 guilders. The linens were bought at the initiative of the burgomaster of Haarlem, who was also member of the States-General. This was partly due to Haarlem having an international reputation in the manufacturing of quality linen.[7] The linen damask was specially woven with flower motifs, hunting scenery, biblical representations and images from classical literature.

When her husband died after a failed medical treatment, Éléonore did not inherit anything, since Philip William had willed all his possessions to his half-brother Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange. She had no children, though raised her great-niece, Louise de Bourbon.

When her brother in an effort to be freed from imprisonment after being accused of treachery, he offered to influential courtier the Duke of Luynes, that his brother Honoré d'Albert, 1st Duke of Chaulnes could marry his widowed sister in exchange for his release ,but Eleonore rejected the marriage[8]and her brother didnt pressure her to accept.

She died at Muret-le-Château on the 20th of january 1619.

Eleonore and her husband dancing at a court ball in Brussels (c. 1611-1612) by Frans Francken the younger and Frans Pourbus the Younger[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Family tree of Éléonore de BOURBON-CONDÉ". Geneanet. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  3. ^ Kerrebrouck, Patrick Van (1987). La maison de Bourbon: 1256-2004 (in French). P. van Kerrebrouck. ISBN 978-2-9501509-0-5.
  4. ^ Dussieux, Louis (1872). Généalogie de la maison de Bourbon: de 1256 à 1871 (in French). Lecoffre fils et cie.
  5. ^ Malherbe, François “de” (1862). Oeuvres de Malherbe (in French). Hachette.
  6. ^ a b "Philippe-Guillaume, le fils prodigue de la lignée Orange-Nassau". lirias.kuleuven.be. 2023.
  7. ^ "The Dutch Economy in the Golden Age (16th – 17th Centuries)". eh.net. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  8. ^ Pardoe, Julia (28 October 2010). The Life of Marie de Medicis, Queen of France. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-02039-8.
  9. ^ Bryan, Michael (1898). Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical ... G. Bell & Sons.

External links[edit]

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