Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Lorraine

Margherita Gonzaga

Portrait by Jacopo Ligozzi; 1593.
Born (1591-10-02)2 October 1591
Mantua
Died 7 February 1632(1632-02-07) (aged 40)
Nancy
Spouse Henry II, Duke of Lorraine
House House of Gonzaga (by birth)
House of Lorraine (by marriage)
Father Vincenzo I Gonzaga
Mother Eleonora de' Medici

Margherita Gonzaga (2 October 1591 7 February 1632) was Duchess of Lorraine from 1606 until her husband's death in 1624.

She was born in Mantua, the eldest daughter of Vincenzo I Gonzaga and Eleonora de' Medici; she was also a sister of Francesco IV Gonzaga, Ferdinando I Gonzaga, Vincenzo II Gonzaga and Eleonora Gonzaga. Her brothers all succeeded their father as Duke of Mantua and Eleonora became Holy Roman Empress by her marriage to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.

Marriage

She married Henry II, Duke of Lorraine on 24 April 1606. He had previously been married to Catherine of Navarre, sister of King Henry IV of France, but the marriage was childless due to the bride's age (Catherine was forty years old at the time of her marriage).

Henry and Margherita had four daughters, two of whom survived infancy:

Both of Margherita's two daughters married their cousins, who were Henry's successors due to the fact that Margherita had not given him a son to inherit his estates.

Death

Margherita died in Nancy in 1632 at the age of forty. She had been a widow since 1624.

Ancestry

Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Lorraine
Born: 2 October 1591 Died: 7 February 1632
Preceded by
Claude of Valois
Duchess of Lorraine
1608–1624
Succeeded by
Christina of Salm
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