Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon
| Suzanne | |||||
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| Duchess of Bourbon | |||||
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| Born |
10 May 1491 Château de Châtellerault |
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| Died | 28 April 1521 (aged 29) Palace of Chatellerault |
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| Spouse | Charles de Bourbon | ||||
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| House | House of Bourbon | ||||
| Father |
Peter II, Duke of Bourbon (1 December 1438- 10 October 1503) |
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| Mother | Anne of France | ||||
| Full name | |
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| Suzanne de Bourbon |
Suzanne de Bourbon (10 May 1491 – 28 April 1521) was suo jure Duchess of Bourbon and Auvergne from 1503 to her death alongside her co-regent and spouse Charles de Bourbon.
Suzanne was born the second child and only daughter of Peter II, Duke of Bourbon by his wife and Anne of France, herself the eldest daughter of Louis XI of France. From 1483 to 1491, Suzanne's parents served as co-regents of France during the minority of Anne's younger brother, Charles VIII of France. Further, Anne's younger sister (and Suzanne's aunt), Joan, was (briefly) queen of France as wife of Louis XII of France, who succeeded Charles VIII in 1498.
Suzanne had an elder brother named Charles who was born in 1476 and died unmarried in 1498. After this death, Suzanne's father grew concerned about the succession to the Bourbon lands. He had no surviving sons or brothers. By the Salic law which prevailed in France, his heir presumptive was Louis de Bourbon-Montpensier, head of the Montpensier family, a cadet branch of the Bourbons. Montpensier was Suzanne's second cousin as their grandfathers had been brothers.
The year 1498 was also that in which Anne's brother King Charles VIII died suddenly in an accident, leaving no sons or brothers. The succession of France itself was in controversy, because the nearest agnatic dynast, Louis XII was a distant second cousin once removed to Charles VII (and to Anne). Since Anne and Peter had served as Charles' co-regents, they held power which could make or mar the succession of Louis XII. They made a bargain with him: as the price of Bourbon support for his accession, Louis XII would have to recognize the seven-year-old Suzanne as her father's heiress to the Bourbon lands, and issue letters patent to that effect. Louis had little choice but to assent to this innovation, at least for the moment; the Salic law which precludes the succession of females was a cornerstone of French law and custom. Indeed, it was due to the Salic law that Louis rather than Anne had acceded to the throne of France.
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