Duke of Nemours was a title in the Peerage of France. The name refers to Nemours in the Île-de-France region of north-central France.

History

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In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Lordship of Nemours, in the Gatinais, France, was a possession of the house of Villebéon, a member of which, Gautier, was marshal of France in the middle of the 13th century. The lordship was sold to King Philip III of France in 1274 and 1276 by Jean and Philippe de Nemours. It was then made a county and given in 1364 to Jean III de Grailly, captal de Buch.

In 1404, Charles VI of France gave it to Charles III of Navarre and elevated it into a duchy in the peerage of France, in exchange to his ancestral county of Évreux in Normandy.

After being confiscated and restored several times, the duchy reverted to the French crown in 1504, after the extinction of the house of Armagnac-Pardiac. In 1507, it was given by Louis XII of France to his nephew, Gaston de Foix, who was killed at the Battle of Ravenna in 1512.

The duchy then returned to the royal domain and was detached from it successively for Giuliano de Medici and his wife Philiberta of Savoy in 1515, for Louise of Savoy in 1524, and for Philip of Savoy, Count of Genevois, in 1528. The descendants of Philip of Savoy held the duchy until its sale to Louis XIV of France.

In 1672, Louis XIV gave it to his brother Philippe de France, Duke of Orléans, whose descendants held it until the French Revolution. It was one of the many subsidiary titles held by the House of Orléans. The title of Duke of Nemours was afterwards given to Louis Charles d'Orléans, the second son of King Louis Philippe of the French.[1]

List of lords

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House of Château-Landon
  • Orson (1120–1148)
  • Aveline (1148–1174), died 1196

Aveline married Walter of Villebéon, lord of Beaumont-du-Gâtinais, in 1150 and shared the lordship with him. They left it to their son in 1174.

House of Villebéon
  • Walter I [Gautier I] (1150–1174), died 1205
  • Philip I [Philippe I] (1174–1191)
  • Walter II [Gautier II] (1191–1222)
  • Philip II [Philippe II] (1222–1255)
  • Walter III [Gautier III] (1255–1270)
  • Philip III [Philippe III] (1270–1274)

The lordship was sold to the king in 1274.

List of dukes

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House of Evreux (1404–1504)

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After the death of Charles III in 1425, the Duchy was claimed by the descendants of both his younger daughter, Beatrice, and his elder daughter and heiress, Blanche I of Navarre. Louis XI settled the claim on Jacques d'Armagnac, grandson of Beatrice, in 1462, though Blanche's descendants, the Kings of Navarre, claimed the title until 1571.

confiscated from Jacques at his execution for treason in 1477, restored to his son Jean in 1484
The last descendant of Béatrix d'Évreux, she died without issue.

House of Foix (1507–1512)

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House of Medici (1515–1524)

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House of Savoy (1524–1672)

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She received the duchy of Nemours in 1524 with the duchy of Anjou. It was later transferred to her half-brother in 1528 and she received the duchy of Touraine in exchange.[2][3] She also received later the Duchy of Auvergne.

House of Orléans (1672–1848)

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Titular Dukes of the House of Orléans

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Potential claimants of the House of Orléans-Braganza

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In 1909, members of the House of Orléans and the House of Orléans-Braganza signed the Pact of Brussels (also known as the Declaration of Brussels), the Duke of Orléans being present. The dynastic pact created the title of Prince of Orléans-Braganza for the Count d'Eu and his descendants, thus maintaining the princely status of his house, although this is considered a house distinct from the Royal House of France, and the Count d'Eu did not in fact recover his former position in the line of Orleans succession to the French throne.[4]

Under the Pact of Brussels the Count d'Eu and his sons equally undertook in his name and the name of his descendants not to contest in any way to the branch of the Duke d'Alençon the possession of the title of Duke of Nemours.[5][6]

Nevertheless, Charles Philippe d'Orléans, the last Duke of Nemours and only descendant of the Alençon, died without heirs. His death opened the theoretical possibility for the Head of the House of Orléans-Braganza to claim said title without violating the family pact.

List of duchesses

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This is a list of duchesses of Nemours and their original houses.

House of Évreux

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Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became Duchess Ceased to be Duchess Death Spouse
  Eleanor of Castile Henry II of Castile
(Trastamara)
circa 1363 1375 27 February 1416 Charles III of Navarre
  Louise d'Anjou Charles, Count of Maine
(Anjou)
1445 1462 1477 Jacques, Duke of Nemours
  Yolande de La Haye (La Haye) unknown 24 April 1492 1500 1517 Jean, Duke of Nemours
Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became Duchess Ceased to be Duchess Death Spouse

House of Medici

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Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became Duchess Ceased to be Duchess Death Spouse
  Philiberta of Savoy Philip II, Duke of Savoy
(Savoy)
1498 25 January 1515 4 April 1524 Giuliano de' Medici
Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became Duchess Ceased to be Duchess Death Spouse

House of Savoy

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Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became Duchess Ceased to be Duchess Death Spouse
  Charlotte d'Orléans Louis, Duke of Longueville
(Orléans)
1 November 1512 8 September 1549 25 November 1533 8 September 1549 Philippe
  Anna d'Este Ercole II, Duke of Ferrara
(Este)
16 November 1531 29 April 1566 15 June 1585 15 May 1607 Jacques
  Anne of Lorraine Charles, Duke of Aumale
(Lorraine)
1600 18 April 1618 10 July 1632 10 February 1638 Henri I
  Élisabeth de Bourbon César, Duke of Vendôme
(Bourbon)
August 1614 11 July 1643 30 July 1652 19 May 1664 Charles Amadeus
  Marie d'Orléans Henri II, Duke of Longueville
(Orléans)
5 March 1625 22 May 1657 14 January 1659 16 June 1707 Henri II
Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became Duchess Ceased to be Duchess Death Spouse

House of Orléans

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Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became Duchess Ceased to be Duchess Death Spouse
  Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
(Palatinate)
27 May 1652 16 November 1671 1672
peerage awarded to husband
9 June 1701
husband's death
9 December 1722 Philippe, Duke of Orléans
  Françoise Marie de Bourbon, Légitimée de France Louis XIV of France
(Bourbon (Illegitimate))
25 May 1677 18 February 1692 9 June 1701
husband's accession
2 December 1723
husband's death
1 February 1749 Philippe, Duke of Orléans
  Margravine Johanna of Baden-Baden Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden
(Zähringen)
10 November 1704 13 July 1724 8 July 1726 Louis, Duke of Orléans
  Louise Henriette de Bourbon Louis Armand, Prince of Conti
(Bourbon)
20 June 1726 17 December 1743 4 February 1752
husband's accession
9 February 1759 Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans
  Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon Louis Jean Marie, Duke of Penthièvre
(Bourbon)
13 March 1753 8 May 1768 18 November 1785
husband's accession
6 November 1793
husband's execution
23 June 1821 Philippe, Duke of Orléans
  Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
(Two Sicilies)
26 April 1782 25 November 1809 9 August 1830
became Queen consort
24 March 1866 Louis Philippe I
  Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(Wettin)
14 February 1822 27 April 1840 10 December 1857 Prince Louis
Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became Duchess Ceased to be Duchess Death Spouse

References

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  1. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nemours, Lords and Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 369–370.
  2. ^ Pères Anselme & Ange, Histoire de la Maison Royale de France & des grands officiers, 1728, Tome III, p. 229-232 (Duchy of Touraine).
  3. ^ Pères Anselme & Ange, Histoire de la Maison Royale de France & des grands officiers, 1728, Tome III, p. 247 (Duchy of Nemours)
  4. ^ "The 1909 "Pacte de Famille" of the House of Orléans". www.heraldica.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  5. ^ Montjouvent, Philippe de (1998). Le comte de Paris et sa descendance. Charenton (France): Chaney. pp. 432–35. ISBN 2-913211-00-3. OCLC 43799229.
  6. ^ Malatian, Teresa Maria (2010). Dom Luís de Orléans e Bragança : peregrino de impérios. São Paulo, SP: Alameda. ISBN 978-85-98325-96-5. OCLC 695282394.