Antoinette de Bourbon

Antoinette de Bourbon-Vendôme
Duchess of Guise
Antoinette de Bourbon, by Léonard Limousin
Born	(1493-12-25)25 December 1493 Chateau de Ham, Somme department, Picardy, France
Died	22 January 1583(1583-01-22) (aged 89) Chateau de Joinville
Spouse	Claude, Duke of Guise (m. 1513–50; his death)
Issue	Marie, Queen consort of Scotland Francis, Duke of Guise Renée, Abbess of St. Pierre Charles Archbishop of Reims Claude, Duke of Aumale Louis I, Cardinal of Guise Antoinette, Abbess of Faremoutier Francis, Grand Prior of the Order of Malta René, Marquis of Elbeuf
Full name Antoinette de Bourbon
Father	François, Count of Vendôme
Mother	Marie de Luxembourg

Antoinette de Bourbon (25 December 1493 – 22 January 1583) was a French noblewoman of the House of Bourbon. She was the wife of Claude de Lorraine, Duke of Guise. Through her eldest daughter, Mary of Guise, Queen consort of King James V of Scotland, she was the maternal grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Antoinette de Bourbon was born on 25 December 1493 at the Chateau de Ham, in the Somme department, Picardy, France. She was the child of Francis, Count of Vendôme and Marie de Luxembourg. Her paternal grandparents were John VIII, Count of Vendôme and Isabelle de Beauveau, and her maternal grandparents were Peter II, Count of Saint-Pol, and Margaret of Savoy.

She married Claude of Lorraine on 9 June 1513; they had 12 children:

Antoinette was described as having been a remarkable woman, combining a strong sense of family pride with a wry sense of humour. She exhibited considerable administrative talent at domestic economy as well as in the running of the vast Guise dominions surrounding their chateau of Joinville.

She exerted a powerful influence on the childhood of her granddaughter Mary, Queen of Scots, during the latter's thirteen-year sojourn in France, and was one of her principal advisors. Antoinette acted as proxy for her daughter, Mary of Guise, during the betrothal ceremony of the Queen of Scots and the Dauphin Francis in 1558.