Nicole (Lorraine)

Nicole de Lorraine

Nicole (born October 3, 1608 in Nancy , † February 2, 1657 in Paris ) was Duchess of Lorraine and Bar from August 1, 1624 to November 21, 1625. She was the daughter of Duke Heinrich II and Margarita Gonzaga .

biography

Since her father had no sons, he intended to leave the Duchy of Nicole, which was in contradiction to the will of his predecessor, Duke René II , in which male succession was prescribed. His nephew Karl von Vaudémont , son of his brother Franz von Vaudémont , consequently claimed the successor for himself. After negotiations they agreed to marry Nicole and Karl; the marriage was concluded on May 23, 1621 and remained childless. Before Henry II accepted this solution, he had tried to make one of his favorites, Louis de Guise, baron d'Ancerville , an illegitimate member of the house of Guise , the husband of Nicole, but had failed because of the resistance of the Lorraine nobility ( Louis was then "compensated" with Henriette von Vaudémont, a niece of Heinrich, and the title of Prince of Pfalzburg and Lixheim ).

Nicole's situation became complicated with the death of her father on July 31, 1624. Heinrich's last regulations stipulated that Karl von Vaudémont could only become Duke as Nicole's husband. In November 1625, however, Franz von Vaudémont appeared before the Lorraine General Estates , claimed the duchy for himself and was awarded it on November 21, 1625. Five days later he resigned in favor of Charles, who had now pushed his wife aside and acted as the sole duke in his own right. Then in 1631 Charles IV tried to have his marriage declared null and void by accusing the priest Melchior de la Vallée , who had baptized Nicole, of sorcery. In 1634 Nicole was the only member of the ducal family to remain in the duchy after the French invasion. She was arrested and taken to Fontainebleau on April 21, 1634 . In 1635 Charles separated from her on the pretext that he had not acted of his own free will during the marriage, but the Pope refused to annul the marriage. Nicole spent her final years in Paris, where she died on February 2, 1657.

literature

• Henry Bogdan: La Lorraine de ducs, sept siècles d'histoire . 2005
• Georges Poull: La maison ducale de Lorraine . 1991

predecessor	Office	successor
Henry II	Duchess of Lorraine 1624–1625	Francis II