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The French lordship of Montpensier (départment of Puy-de-Dôme), which became a countship in the 14th century, was sold in 1384 by Bernard and Robert de Ventadour to John, duke of Berry, whose daughter Marie brought the countship to her husband, John I, Duke of Bourbon, in 1400. The countship was subsequently held by Louis de Bourbon, younger son of Duke John, and by his descendants up to Charles de Bourbon-Montpensier, the famous constable, who became duke of Bourbon by his marriage with his cousin, Suzanne de Bourbon, in 1505.
Confiscated by King Francis I, the countship was restored in 1538 to Louise de Bourbon, sister of the constable, and widow of the prince de La Roche-sur-Yon, and to her son Louis (1513-1582), and was erected into a duchy in the peerage of France (duché-pairie) in 1539. Marie, daughter and heiress of Henry, Duke of Montpensier, brought the duchy to her husband Gaston, Duke of Orleans, brother of Louis XIII, whom she married in 1626, and their daughter and heiress, known as La Grande Mademoiselle was duchess of Montpensier.
The title subsequently remained in the Orléans family, and was borne in particular by Antoine Philippe (1775-1807), son of Philippe Egalité, and by Antoine Marie Philippe Louis (1824-1890), son of King Louis-Philippe and father-in-law of King Alphonso XII of Spain. Mademoiselle de Montpensier was a title conferred to some women of the royal family, namely during the years previous to the French Revolution.
Counts of Montpensier
Dukes of Montpensier (1539)
See also
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
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