Charles I, Duke of Elbeuf

Charles was the son of René de Lorraine,[1] marquis of Elbeuf and count of Harcourt, and his wife Louise de Rieux. He was of a moderate attitude toward Protestantism, and during the 1570s hired Norman Huguenot servants from the families of Fouilleuse and Sarcilly.[2] Charles was made a knight of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit on 1 December 1581. He was arrested the day after the assassination of duke of Guise.[3] On his release Charles joined the Catholic League, becoming its leader in 1585,[4] and fought against Henry of Navarre. He did not make peace with Henry until 1594, when he received the governorship of Poitou from him and from then on became his faithful servant.[5]

On 5 February 1583 he married Marguerite de Chabot (1565 † 1652),[6] daughter of Léonor Chabot, count of Charny, and of Françoise de Longwy. Their children were :

• Charles II (1596 † 1657), Duke of Elbeuf[7]
• Claude Éléonore of Lorraine (1598 † 1654) known as Mademoiselle d'Elbeuf prior to her marriage with Louis Gouffier († 1642), Duke of Roannais in 1660. The couple had no children.
• Henriette of Lorraine (1599 † 1669), Abbess of Soissons
• Henri of Lorraine (1601 † 1666), Count of Harcourt,[1] of Armagnac and of Brionne
• Françoise of Lorraine (1602 † 1626) never married;
• Catherine of Lorraine (1605 † 1611) died in infancy.

• Carroll, Stuart (1998). Noble Power During the French Wars of Religion: The Guise Affinity and the Catholic Cause in Normandy. Cambridge University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Konnert, Mark W. (2016). Local Politics in the French Wars of Religion: The Towns of Champagne, the Duc de Guise, and the Catholic League, 1560-95. Routledge.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Pitts, Vincent J. (2009). Henri IV of France: His Reign and Age. The Johns Hopkins University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Potter, David, ed. (2004). Foreign Intelligence and Information in Elizabethan England: Two English Treatises on the State of France, 1580-1584. Cambridge University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Spangler, Jonathan (2009). The Society of Princes: The Lorraine-Guise and the Conservation of Power and. Routledge.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)