Anne of Alençon

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Anne d'Alençon
Marquise of Montferrat
René of Alençon
MotherMargaret of Lorraine

Anne d'Alençon (Italian: Anna d'Alençon) (30 October 1492 – 18 October 1562), Lady of La Guerche, was a French noblewoman and a

Marquisate
of Montferrat for her son, Boniface from 1518 to his death in 1530.

Life

Anne was the third child of

Yolande of Anjou
. Her father died two days after her birth.

Portrait of Anne's husband, William IX of Montferrat, by Macrino d'Alba

Marriage

She was betrothed to

Boniface IV of Montferrat
.

In 1517, her eldest daughter, Maria, was betrothed to

Marquis and Duke of Mantua. The marriage contract was annulled, however, after Federico accused Maria of attempting to poison his mistress Isabella Boschetti, wife of the Count of Calvisano
.

Regency

On the death of William in 1518, the infant Boniface inherited the Marquisate. Anne, however, acted as

Bishop of Casale
.

Later life

Boniface's death also rekindled Federico II Gonzaga's interest in marrying Maria. On the latter's unexpected death in September 1530, his attentions turned to the second daughter,

Margherita. Having weighed up the various proposals for Margherita's hand, Anne opted for the link with the House of Gonzaga and the marriage was concluded in October 1531.[3]

In 1533 the Marquis John George died, leaving one natural son, but no heir. A dispute over the succession to the Marquisate, an imperial

Francesco as Marquis of Montferrat and Duke of Mantua. Margherita Paleologo Gonzaga became regent, together with her brother-in-law Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga
.

On retiring from public life Anne d'Alençon entered the convent of

. She died on 18 October 1562, shortly before her seventieth birthday.

The Alençon inheritance

In 1525, following the

Duke of Nevers and founder of the Gonzaga Nevers
branch of the House of Gonzaga.

References

  1. ^ a b Potter 1995, p. 375.
  2. ^ Hickson 2016, p. 99.
  3. ^ Hickson 2016, p. 101.

Sources

  • Hickson, Sally Anne (2016). Women, Art and Architectural Patronage in Renaissance Mantua: Matrons, Mystics, and Monasteries. Routledge.
  • Potter, David (1995). Keen, Maurice (ed.). A History of France, 1460–1560: The Emergence of a Nation State. Macmillan.

Further reading

  • Piano, Pierluigi, Anne d'Alençon (in Italian), Circolo culturale "I Marchesi del Monferrato", retrieved 2008-07-07