Henri, Prince of Condé (1552–1588)

Henri I de Bourbon ( * December 29, 1552 in La Ferté -sous -Jouarre, † March 5, 1588 in Saint -Jean- d'Angély ) was a French military leader and leader of the Protestants during the Wars of Religion. He was a son of Louis I de Bourbon, and thus the second prince of Condé.

Life

He fought as a Huguenot leader on the side of his cousin Henry of Navarre, the future Henry IV

After the Peace of St. Germain in 1570 he retired to Castle Béarn and married in 1572 Marie de Clèves ( 1553-1574 ), daughter of Duke François I de Clèves. In the night of St. Bartholomew, he was captured and forced to convert to Catholicism.

In 1574 he fled to Alsace and gained new Huguenot troops. In the next civil war is unsuccessful, he was eventually expelled in 1585 to Guernsey. After his return to France, he married his second wife in 1586 Charlotte de la Trémoille ( 1568-1629 ), daughter of Louis III. , Duke of Thouars for his sake, renounced the Catholic faith. In 1587 he was wounded at the Battle of Coutras and died a year later of his injuries. But it is rumored to have poisoned his wife Charlotte.

Progeny

From his first marriage to Marie de Clèves, a daughter emerged:

• Catherine (1575-1595), Marquess of Isles

From his second marriage to Charlotte de la Trémouille came from:

• Éléonore (1587-1619), ∞ 1606 Philip William of Orange-Nassau
• Henri II (1588-1646), Prince of Condé