Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme

Charles of Bourbon-La Marche (Charles IV, Count and later Duke of Vendôme) (June 2, 1489 – 1537) was a French "prince du sang" and military commander at the court of Francis I of France.

He was born at the Château de Vendôme, the son of François, Count of Vendôme and Marie de Luxembourg. In 1514, he was named a peer of France and elevated from Count of Vendôme to Duke of Vendôme.

He was a faithful follower of Francis I and participated in the Battle of Marignan in 1515. After 1525, while the king was held captive, he was a member of the Regency Council. His mother administered his lands during this period.

On May 18, 1513, he married Françoise of Alençon, the widow of François of Orléans, Count of Dunois. They had 13 children:

* Louis of Bourbon-La Marche (1514-1516), unmarried
* Marie of Bourbon-La Marche (1515-1538), unmarried
* Marguerite of Bourbon-La Marche (1516-1589), married 1538 Francis I of Cleves, Duke de Nevers (1516-1561)
* Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (1518 – 1562)
* François de Bourbon, Count of Enghien (1519-1546), unmarried
* Madeleine of Bourbon-La Marche, Abbess of Sainte Croix de Poitiers (1521-1561), unmarried
* Louis of Bourbon-La Marche (1522-1525), unmarried
* Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon, Archbishop of Rouen (1523-1590), unmarried
* Catherine of Bourbon-La Marche, Abbess of Soissons (1525-1594), unmarried
* Renée of Bourbon-La Marche, Abbess of Chelles (1527-1583), unmarried
* Jean, Count of Soissons and Enghien (1528-1557), married 1557 his first cousin Marie, Duchess of Estouteville (1539-1601)
* Louis I, Prince of Condé (May 7, 1530 – March 13, 1569) married Eléonore de Roye
* Léonore of Bourbon-La Marche, Abbess of Fontevraud (1532-1611), unmarried

His sons Antoine and Louis, Prince de Condé became powerful military leaders on opposite sides in the French Wars of Religion, and his grandson became King Henry IV of France.