Henriette of Cleves

Henriette was born in La Chapelle-d'Angillon, in the department of Cher, France, on 31 October, 1542. She was the eldest daughter and second child of Francis I of Cleves, 1st Duke of Nevers, Count of Rethel, and Marguerite of Bourbon-La Marche.[1] The Dauphin Henry (future King Henry II of France) acted as her godfather at her baptism.

Henriette had many siblings. Her brothers Francis and James, were her father's heirs as rulers of Nevers and Rethel. Her younger siblings were Henri (who died young), Catherine, and Marie of Cleves.

Henriette had an office at court as the lady-in-waiting of Queen Catherine de' Medici,[2]. She was known as the intimate personal friend and confidant of Princess Marguerite of Valois.

Her eldest brother Francis had died in 1562, without leaving heirs. Upon the childless death of her brother James in 1564, Henriette became the suo jure 4th Duchess of Nevers and Countess of Rethel.

Henriette had been left with enormous debts from her late father and brothers, but she managed to bring the financial situation back in order. She eventually became one of the chief creditors in the kingdom.[3]

Henriette and her husband, Louis I Gonzaga

On 4 March 1565, 22-years old Henriette married Louis I Gonzaga, Prince of Mantua in Moulins, Bourbonnais.[1] Her husband assumed the titles of Duke of Nevers and 1st Duke of Rethel, while Henriette acquired the new titles of Duchess of Rethel and Princess of Mantua. They had:

• Catherine Gonzaga (21 January 1568 - 1 December 1629) - Married Henry I, Duke of Longueville,[1] by whom she had one son, Henri II d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville.
• Maria Henrietta Gonzaga (3 September 1571 - 3 August 1601) - Married Henry of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne.[1]
• Frederick Gonzaga (11 March 1573 - 22 April 1574) - Died in infancy.
• Francis Gonzaga (17 September 1576 - 13 June 1580) - Died in infancy.
• Charles I, Duke of Mantua (6 May 1580- 20 September 1637) - Succeeded her parents as Duke of Nevers, Rethel, Mantua, and Montferrat. He married Catherine Mayenne,[1] daughter of Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne and Henriette of Savoy, Marquise of Villars, by whom he had six children, including Charles II Gonzaga and Anna Gonzaga.

Her husband had preceded her in death in 1595.

Henriette died on 24 June 1601, at the Hotel de Nevers in Paris. She was buried in Nevers Cathedral.

It was rumoured that Henriette became the mistress of Annibale Coconna, a Piedmontese adventurer who was beheaded in 1574, along with Joseph Boniface de La Mole, for participating in a conspiracy against King Charles IX which was supported by the Duke of Alençon.[2] It was alleged that she and Marguerite (now Queen of Navarre) woke up the middle of the night, removed the heads which had been placed on public display, embalming them and burying them in consecrated ground.[4]

• Henriette of Cleves is a character in the book La Reine Margot (novel) by Alexandre Dumas.
• Henriette plays an important role in La Reine Margot (1994 film).

• Boltanski, Ariane (2006). Les ducs de Nevers et l'État royal: genèse d'un compromis (ca 1550 - ca 1600) (in French). Librairie Droz.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah, eds. (2000). Women in World History: Harr-I. Yorkin Publications.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Elliott, Lisa Keane (2012). "Charitable Intent in Late Sixteenth Century France: The Nevers Foundation and Single Poor Catholic Girls". In Scott, Anne M. (ed.). Experiences of Poverty in Late Medieval and Early Modern England and France. Routledge.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Strage, Mark (1976). Women of Power: The Life and Times of Catherine de' Medici. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)