House of Guise
| House of Guise French: Maison de Guise |
|
|---|---|
| Noble house | |
 |
|
| Country |
 France Naples
|
| Parent house | House of Lorraine |
| Titles | |
| Style(s) |
|
| Founded | 1528 |
| Founder | Claude of Lorraine |
| Final ruler | Marie of Lorraine |
| Dissolution | 1688 |
| Ethnicity | French |
The House of Guise was a French noble family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.
The House of Guise was founded as a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine by Claude of Lorraine, first Duke of Guise (1496–1550), who entered French service and was made a duke by King Francis I. The family's high rank was due not to possession of the Guise dukedom but to their membership in a sovereign dynasty, which procured for them the rank of prince étranger at the royal court of France. Claude's daughter, Mary of Guise (1515–1560), married King James V of Scotland and was mother of Mary, Queen of Scots. Claude's eldest son, Francis, became a military hero thanks to his heroic defense of Metz in 1552, and the capture of Calais from the English in 1558, while another son, Charles became Archbishop of Reims and a Cardinal in the Catholic Church.
In 1558, the Dauphin Francis married Mary, Queen of Scots. When the young man became king after his father's death in 1559, the queen's uncles, the Duke of Guise and his brother the Cardinal of Lorraine, controlled French politics during his short reign.
The House of Guise claimed descent from Charlemagne, and harbored pretensions to the French crown. In the reign of Francis II they attained supreme power, and sought to convert it to true kingship by eradicating the House of Bourbon, the legal successors to the throne of France. The leading Bourbon princes, Antoine, King of Navarre and Louis, Prince of Condé, were Protestants. To oppose the Bourbons, the Guises made themselves champions of the Catholic faith and allied themselves with Philip II of Spain.
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Wikipedia