Henri, Duke of Verneuil

Portrait as bishop

Gaston Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Verneuil (3 November 1601 – 28 May 1682) was a royal bastard who was the bishop of Metz from 1612 to 1652, despite not being ordained. In his early 50s he was displaced and had a career as a diplomat.

Biography

Henri was the illegitimate son of King Henry IV of France and his mistress, Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues.^[1] He was born in the Château de Vincennes. His sister was Gabrielle Angelique, called Mlle de Verneuil (1603–1627), who married Bernard de Nogaret de La Valette. He was declared legitimate in 1603, at the age of two.

His half siblings included King Louis XIII of France, Duchess of Savoy and Duke of Vendôme.

The bishopric of Metz was intended for him from infancy, but when Bishop Charles de Lorraine died in 1607, the Pope refused to appoint a young child of seven. The House of Lorraine had controlled the see since 1484, usually with a family member as bishop, which Paris was keen to bring to an end. The elderly Anne de Pérusse des Cars, bishop of Lisieux, was appointed as placeholder bishop, and Henri was given an expectative appointment, in effect a reservation, plus a pension from the revenues, until he reached adult age.^[2] Pope Paul V agreed to appoint him in 1612, after the death of Pérusse des Cars, at the request of Louis XIII, despite Henri being only 11 and not ordained. He was never ordained and never resided at Metz, appoointing deputies to run diocesan affairs.^[2]

He resigned as bishop in favour of Cardinal Mazarin in 1652, which the Pope did not recognize, finally declaring him dismissed in 1659.^[2] He was knighted on December 31, 1661 and created duke of Verneuil in 1663. In 1665 he became ambassador to England and in 1666 was made governor of Languedoc. He married Charlotte (1622-1704), daughter of the chancellor Pierre Séguier and widow of Maximilien François de Bethune, 2nd Duke of Sully (1614–1661), on October 29, 1668, when he was 67 and she 46. He died without issue on May 28, 1682 at Château de Verneuil.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henri de Bourbon-Verneuil.

↑ Vizetelly, Ernest Alfred, The favourites of Henry of Navarre, (The Gorham Press, 1910), 297.
1 2 3 Les évêques dans l’histoire de la France, p264, Jean Julg, 2004, ISBN 2740311354

Enfants Légitimés de France

1st Generation (Henri IV Children)	César, Duke of Vendôme Catherine Henriette, Duchess of Elbeuf^* Alexandre, Chevalier de Vendôme^* Gaston Henri, Duke of Verneuil^* Gabrielle Angelique, Duchess of La Valette Antoine, Count de Moret^* Jeanne Baptiste, Abbess of Fontevrault^* Marie Henriette, Abbess of Chelles^*

2nd Generation	none

3rd Generation (Louis XIV Children)	Marie Anne, Mademoiselle de Blois, Princess of Conti^* Louis, Count of Vermandois^* Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine^* Louis César, Count of Vexin^* Louise Françoise, Mademoiselle de Nantes, Duchess of Bourbon Louise Marie Anne, Mademoiselle de Tours^* Françoise Marie, Mademoiselle de Blois, Duchess of Orléans Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse

4th Generation	none

5th Generation	none

6th Generation Louis XV Child	Louis Aimé, Abbé de Bourbon*

^* died without surviving issue

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 223097946 ISNI: 0000 0003 6142 6585 GND: 1020054220 SUDOC: 074037080 BNF: cb12085984n (data)

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