- Nicolette of Lorraine
Nicole de Lorraine (
October 3 1608 , –2 February 1657 ) wasDuchess of Lorraine and Bar from1 August 1624 to21 November 1625 . She was born inNancy , the daughter ofHenry II, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, andMargerita Gonzaga .Her father had no son and wanted to leave the Duchy of Lorraine to Nicolette, but a supposed testament by
Rene II of Lorraine specified that the duchy could not bypass the male lineage. After negotiations with the male heirs, she marriedCharles IV, Duke of Lorraine , the eldest son ofFrancis, Earl of Vaudémont onMay 23 1621 . They had no children.His situation was complicated by the death of Henri II,
31 July 1624 . In November1625 ,Francis de Vaudémont , based on the "testament" of Rene II, claimed the duchy. The States-General of Lorraine felt it a legitimate request and François Vaudémont became Duke onNovember 21 1625 . Five days later, he abdicated in favor of his son, who became Duke Charles IV. The latter had managed to remove his wife's power and become Duke in his own right.Married by dynastic interest, the gap between Nicolette and her husband grew with the events of 1625. Wishing to leave his wife, Charles tried in
1631 to have his marriage annulled by passing the death penalty - without proof - for witchcraft on Melchior of the Valley, the priest who had married Nicolette. But that injustice was not corroborated by The Church and Charles IV remained officially married to Nicolette.In
1635 , Charles took the opportunity to get rid of his wife's authority, the false pretext that he had not been free to choose at the time of hismarriage but did not persuade the papacy to annul the marriage. Nicolette spent the last years of her life inParis , where she died.
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