Counts and dukes of Anjou
The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the county of Anjou, first granted by Charles the Bald in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son were viscounts of Angers until Ingelger's son Fulk the Red assumed the title of Count of Anjou. The Robertians and their Capetian successors were distracted by wars with the Vikings and other concerns and were unable to recover the county until the reign of Philip II Augustus, more than 270 years later.
County/Dukedom of Anjou | |
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Coat of arms of the Dukes of Anjou. | |
Creation date | 861 (County) 1360 (Dukedom) |
Peerage | Peerage of France |
First holder | Robert the Strong (County) Louis I (Dukedom) |
Last holder | John the Good (County) Louis Stanislas Xavier of France (Dukedom) |
Status | Extinct |
Extinction date | 1795 |
Ingelger's male line ended with Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou. Subsequent counts of Anjou were descended from Geoffrey's sister Ermengarde of Anjou and Geoffrey II, Count of Gâtinais. Their agnatic descendants, who included the Angevin kings of England, continued to hold these titles and property until the French monarchy gained control of the area. Thereafter the titles Count of Anjou and, after 1360, Duke of Anjou were granted several times, usually to members of the French ruling houses of Valois and Bourbon.
Similar to the title of Duke of York in England, none of those who received the title Duke of Anjou (except the first creation), were able to transmit it; they either died without a male heir, returned it to the royal domain, or succeeded to the throne.
The title was held by Philippe, a grandson of King Louis XIV, until he ascended the Spanish throne as Philip V of Spain in 1700. Since then, some Spanish legitimist claimants to the French throne have borne the title even to the present day, as does a nephew of the Orléanist pretender.
Counts of Anjou
Robertian dynasty
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Robert the Strong 861–866 also: marquis of Neustria, count of Tours |
820 ? son of Robert III of Worms and Waldrade |
? two sons |
866 aged 45 | |
Odo 866-898 also: king of the Franks, marquis of Neustria, count of Paris |
852 La Fère son of Robert the Strong and Adelaide of Tours |
Théodrate of Troyes two sons |
898 aged 46 |
House of Ingelger
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ingelger (Viscount of Angers) |
845 Rennes son of Tertullus (Tertulle) and Petronilla |
Adelais of Amboise one son |
888 aged 42 | |
Fulk I the Red 929–942 |
870 son of Ingelger and Resinde "Aelinde" D'Amboise |
Rosalie de Loches one son |
942 aged 72 | |
Fulk II the Good 942–958 |
905 son of Fulk the Red |
Gerberge two children |
11 November 960 aged 55 Tours | |
Geoffrey I Greymantle 960–987 |
940 son of Fulk II |
(1) Adele of Meaux four children (2) Adelaise de Chalon March 979 one son |
21 July 987 aged 47 | |
Fulk III the Black 987–1040 |
972 son of Geoffrey GreyGown and Adelaide of Vermandois |
(1) Elisabeth of Vendôme one daughter (2) Hildegard of Sundgau 1001 two children |
21 June 1040 Metz aged 68 | |
Geoffrey II Martel 1040–1060 |
son of Fulk the Black and Hildegard of Sundgau | (1) Agnes of Burgundy 1032 no issue (2) Grécie of Langeais no issue (3) Adèle no issue (4) Grécie of Langeais no issue (5) Adelaide no issue |
Angevin kings of England and Plantagenets
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Geoffrey III the Bearded 1060–1067 |
1040 eldest son of Geoffrey II, Count of Gâtinais and Ermengarde of Anjou |
(1) Julienne de Langeais no issue |
1096 aged 56 | |
Fulk IV the Ill-Tempered 1067–1109 |
1043 younger son of Geoffrey II, Count of Gâtinais and Ermengarde of Anjou |
(1) Hildegarde of Beaugency one daughter (2) Ermengarde de Bourbon 1070 one son (3) Orengarde de Châtellailon 1076 no issue (4) Mantie of Brienne 1080 no issue (5) Bertrade de Montfort 1089 one son |
14 April 1109 aged 66 | |
Geoffrey IV Martel the Younger 1103–1106 |
1070 son of Fulk IV and Ermengarde de Bourbon |
never married no issue |
19 May 1106 Candé aged 36 | |
Fulk V the Young 1106–1129 also: king of Jerusalem |
1089 Angers son of Count Fulk IV, Count of Anjou and Bertrade de Montfort |
(1) Ermengarde of Maine 1110 four children (2) Melisende 2 June 1129 Jerusalem two children |
13 November 1143 Acre, Israel aged 54 | |
Geoffrey V Plantagenet 1129–1151 also: count of Tours and Maine, duke of Normandy |
24 August 1113 elder son of Fulk V of Anjou and Eremburga de La Flèche |
Empress Matilda 17 June 1128 three sons |
7 September 1151 Château-du-Loir aged 38 | |
Henry Curtmantle 1151–1189 also: king of England, count of Maine, duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, lord of Ireland |
5 March 1133 Le Mans son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and Empress Matilda |
Eleanor of Aquitaine 18 May 1152 Poitiers eight children |
6 July 1189 Chinon aged 56 | |
Richard Lionheart 1189–1199 also: king of England, count of Maine and Nantes, duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, lord of Ireland |
8 September 1157 Beaumont Palace son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine |
Berengaria of Navarre 12 May 1191 Limassol No legitimate issue |
6 April 1199 Châlus aged 42 | |
Arthur 1199–1203 also: duke of Brittany |
29 March 1187 son of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Constance of Penthièvre |
never married no issue |
April 1203 Rouen aged 16 |
In 1204, Anjou was lost to king Philip II of France. It was re-granted as an appanage for Louis VIII's son John, who died in 1232 at the age of thirteen, and then to Louis's youngest son, Charles, later the first Angevin king of Sicily.
House of Anjou
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
John I Tristan 1219–1232 |
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Charles I 1246–1285 also: king of Sicily, of Albania, of Jerusalem, count of Maine, of Provence, of Forcalquier |
21 March 1226 youngest son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile |
(1) Beatrice of Provence 31 January 1246 Aix-en-Provence seven children (2) Margaret of Burgundy 1268 one daughter |
7 January 1285 Foggia aged 58 | |
Charles II 1285–1290 also: king of Naples, of Albania, prince of Salerno, of Achaea |
1254 son of Charles I of Anjou and Beatrice of Provence |
Maria of Hungary 1270 14 children |
5 May 1309 Naples aged 55 | |
Margaret 1290–1299 |
1272 daughter of Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary |
Charles of Valois 16 August 1290 Corbeil six children |
31 December 1299 aged 26 |
In 1290, Margaret married Charles of Valois, the younger brother of king Philip IV of France. He became Count of Anjou in her right.
House of Valois
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Charles III 1290–1325 also: count of Valois |
12 March 1270 fourth son of Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon |
(1) Margaret of Naples 1290 six children (2) Catherine of Courtenay 1302 four children (3) Mahaut of Châtillon 1308 four children |
16 December 1325 Nogent-le-Roi aged 55 | |
Philip 1293–1328 also: Philip the Fortunate, count of Maine, of Valois |
1293 son of Charles of Valois and Margaret of Naples |
(1) Joan the Lame July 1313 seven children (2) Blanche of Navarre 11 January 1350 one daughter |
22 August 1350 Nogent-le-Roi aged 57 |
In 1328, Philip of Valois ascended the French throne and became King Philip VI. At this time, the counties of Anjou, Maine, and Valois returned to the royal domain. On 26 April 1332, Philip granted the county to his eldest son, John:
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
John 1332–1350 also: John the Good, count of Maine, of Poitiers, duke of Normandy, and Aquitaine |
16 April 1319 son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame |
(1) Bonne of Bohemia 28 July 1332 Church of Notre-Dame, Melun nine children (2) Joanna I of Auvergne 19 February 1350 Nanterre two children |
8 April 1364 Savoy aged 44 |
Following John's ascension to the throne as John II in 1350, the title again returned to the royal domain.
Dukes of Anjou
The dukes contributed greatly to social reform in the 1300s and 1400s.[1]
First creation: 1360–1481 – House of Valois-Anjou
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Louis I 1370–1384 also: count of Maine, de Provence and Touraine, king of Naples |
23 July 1339 Château de Vincennes second son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg |
Marie of Blois 1360 three children |
20 September 1384 Bisceglie aged 45 | |
Louis II 1384–1417 also: king of Naples |
1377 Toulouse son of Louis I of Anjou |
Yolande of Aragon Arles 1400 five children |
29 April 1417 Angers aged 40 | |
Louis III 1417–1434 also: count of Provence, Forcalquier, Piedmont and Maine, duke of Calabria, king of Naples |
25 September 1403 eldest son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon |
Margaret of Savoy, Duchess of Anjou Cosenza 1432 no issue |
12 November 1434 Cosenza aged 31 | |
René 1434–1480 also: count of Provence, Piedmont, duke of Bar, Lorraine, king of Naples |
16 January 1409 Château d'Angers second son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon |
(1) Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine 1420 10 children (2) Jeanne de Laval 10 September 1454 Abbey of St. Nicholas, Angers no issue |
10 July 1480 Aix-en-Provence aged 71 | |
Charles IV 1480–1481 also: Count of Maine, Guise and Provence |
1446 son of Charles of Maine, grandson of Louis II of Anjou |
Joan of Lorraine 1474 no issue |
1481 aged 35 |
On the death of Charles IV, Anjou returned to the royal domain.
Second creation: 1515–1531 – House of Savoy
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Louise 1515–1531 also: duchess of Auvergne, of Bourbon, of Nemours |
11 September 1476 Pont-d'Ain eldest daughter of Philip II, Duke of Savoy and Margaret of Bourbon |
Charles of Orléans 16 February 1488 Paris one daughter, one son |
22 September 1531 Gretz-sur-Loing aged 55 |
Third creation: 1566–1576 – House of Valois-Angoulême
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Henry III 1566–1576 also: dauphin of France, duke of Angoulême, duke of Orléans |
19 September 1551 Palace of Fontainebleau fourth son of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici |
Louise of Lorraine 13 February 1575 Notre-Dame de Reims no issue |
2 August 1589 Saint-Cloud aged 37 |
Fourth creation: 1576–1584 – House of Valois-Angoulême
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Francis III 1576–1584 also: duke of Berry, of Touraine, of Alençon, Château-Thierry, of Évreux, Count of Perche, of Meulan, of Mantes |
18 March 1555 Palace of Fontainebleau fifth son of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici |
never married | 19 June 1584 Château-Thierry aged 29 |
Fifth creation: 1608–1626 – House of Bourbon
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gaston I 1608–1626 also: duke of Orléans, duke of Chartres, count of Blois, duke of Alençon |
25 April 1608 Palace of Fontainebleau third son of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici |
(1) Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier 6 August 1626 Nantes one daughter (2) Marguerite of Lorraine 31 January 1632 Nancy five children |
2 February 1660 Château de Blois aged 51 |
Sixth creation: 1640–1660 – House of Orléans
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Philip I 1640–1660 also: duke of Orléans, duke of Chartres, of Valois, of Nemours, of Montpensier, of Châtellerault, of Saint-Fargeau, of Beaupréau, prince of Joinville, count of Dourdan, Romorantin, of Mortain, of Bar-sur-Seine, viscount of Auge and of Domfront, marquis of Coucy and of Folembray, marquis of Mézières, baron of Beaujolais, seigneur of Montargis |
21 September 1640 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye second son of Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria |
(1) Princess Henrietta of England 31 March 1661 Palais-Royal three children (2) Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate 16 November 1671 Châlons-sur-Marne three children |
9 June 1701 Château de Saint-Cloud aged 60 |
Seventh creation: 1668–1671 – House of Bourbon
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Philippe Charles 1668–1671 |
5 August 1668 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye second son of Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain |
never married | 10 July 1671 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye aged 2 |
8th creation: 1672 – House of Bourbon
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Louis Francis 1672 |
14 June 1672 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye third son of Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain |
never married | 4 November 1672 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye |
9th creation: 1683–1700 – House of Bourbon
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Philip II 1683–1700 |
19 December 1683 Palace of Versailles second son of Louis, le Grand Dauphin and Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria |
(1) Maria Luisa of Savoy 2 November 1701 Figueres four children (2) Elisabeth of Parma 24 December 1714 Guadalajara seven children |
9 July 1746 Madrid aged 62 |
10th creation: 1710–1715 – House of Bourbon
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Louis the Beloved 1710–1715 also: dauphin of France |
15 February 1710 Palace of Versailles third son of Louis, le Petit Dauphin and Princess Marie Adélaïde of Savoy |
Marie Leszczyńska 4 September 1725 Palace of Fontainebleau eleven children |
10 May 1774 Palace of Versailles aged 64 |
11th creation: 1730–1733 – House of Bourbon
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Philip 1730–1733 |
30 August 1730 Palace of Versailles fourth son of Louis XV of France and Marie Leszczyńska |
never married | 17 April 1733 Palace of Versailles aged 2 |
12th creation: 1755–1795 – House of Bourbon
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Louis the Desired 1755–1795 also: comte de Provence, comte du Maine, comte de Perche and comte de Senoches |
17 November 1755 Palace of Versailles fourth son of Louis, Dauphin of France and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony |
Princess Marie Joséphine of Savoy 14 May 1771 Palace of Versailles no issue |
16 September 1824 Paris aged 68 |
Dukes of Anjou without legal creation
1883–present – House of Bourbon
After the death of Henry, Count of Chambord, only the descendants of Philip V of Spain remained of the male line of Louis XIV. The most senior of these, the Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne, became the eldest of the Capetians. Some of them used the courtesy title of Duke of Anjou, as shown below:
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jaime 1909–1931 also: duque de Madrid |
27 June 1870 Vevey third son of Carlos, Duke of Madrid and Princess Margherita of Bourbon-Parma |
never married | 2 October 1931 Paris aged 60 | |
Alfonso Carlos 1931–1936 also: duque de San Jaime |
12 September 1849 London second son of Juan, Count of Montizón and Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este |
Infanta Maria das Neves of Portugal 26 April 1871 Kleinheubach no issue |
29 September 1936 Vienna aged 87 |
At the death of Alfonso Carlos in 1936, the Capetian seniority passed to the exiled King of Spain, Alfonso XIII. In 1941, Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, succeeded his father Alfonso XIII (Alphonse I of France according to the Legitimists) as the heir male of Louis XIV and therefore as the Legitimist claimant to the French throne. He then adopted the title of Duke of Anjou.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jaime 1941–1975 also: duque de Segovia, duque de Madrid |
23 June 1908 Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso second son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg |
(1) Emmanuelle de Dampierre 4 March 1935 Church of San Ignacio de Loyola, Rome two children (2) Charlotte Tiedemann 3 August 1949 Innsbruck no issue |
20 March 1975 St. Gallen aged 66 | |
Alfonso 1975–1989 also: duque de Cadiz, duc de Bourbon, ducs de Bourgogne |
20 April 1936 Rome eldest son of Jaime and Emmanuelle de Dampierre |
María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco 8 March 1972 Royal Palace of El Pardo two sons |
30 January 1989 Beaver Creek Resort aged 52 | |
Louis Alphonse 1989–present also: duc de Touraine, duc de Bourbon |
25 April 1974 Madrid second son of Alfonso and María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco |
María Margarita Vargas Santaella 6 November 2004 La Romana four children |
living |
2004–present – House of Bourbon-Orléans
On December 8, 2004, Henry, Count of Paris, Duke of France, Orléanist Pretender to the French throne, granted the title Duke of Anjou to his nephew Charles-Philippe. Because he doesn't recognize his cousin's courtesy title, in his view the title was available since 1824.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
---|---|---|---|---|
Charles-Philippe 2004–present |
3 March 1973 Paris eldest son of Michel, Count of Évreux and Beatrice Pasquier de Franclieu |
Diana Álvares Pereira de Melo, 11th Duchess of Cadaval 21 June 2008 Cathedral of Évora |
living |
See also
- List of Countesses and Duchesses of Anjou
- Anjou
References
- Jones, Colin (1994). The Cambridge Illustrated History of France (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 124. ISBN 0-521-43294-4.