Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (2 June 1489 – 25 March 1537) was a French soldier, governor, prince du sang and courtier during the reigns of King Louis XII and King Francis I. Charles was the son of Francis, Count of Vendôme, and Marie of Luxembourg. Beginning his military career in the Italian Wars of Louis XII, he saw service at the crushing French victory of Agnadello in 1509 and the capture of Genoa in 1507. With the death of the King Louis XII in 1515, he continued his service under King Francis. He was rewarded with the elevation of the County of Vendôme to the rank of the Duchy of Vendôme, and he was also made governor of the Île de France. He joined the king for his first Italian campaign in 1515. He thus participated in the Battle of Marignano. Returning to France, he traded his government of the Île de France for that of Picardy in 1519. It would be in Picardy he saw most of his military service for the rest of his life. He participated in the northern campaigns against the Holy Roman Empire first, then against England in 1521 and 1522, respectively. In 1523, his cousin, Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, defected to the Imperial cause. The king feared Vendôme might follow him in his treason and recalled him from Picardy. Thus Louis II, vicomte de Thouars, led the campaign in the north in 1523. The Duke of Vendôme, having proven his loyalty, was soon permitted to return north, and he played a role, alongside Thouars, in combatting the Chevauchée of the Duke of Suffolk that was threatening Paris in the Autumn. In late 1524, the king departed France to conquer Milan. His campaign ended in disaster at the Battle of Pavia, at which he was captured.
Vendôme had been entrusted with the defence of Picardy during the king's absence and was not at Pavia. Thus he had a key role to play in the regency government of the king's mother Louise. Along with several other key military figures he was responsible for the defence of the kingdom at a very sensitive moment. He had also become the premier prince du sang with the death of the duc d'Alençon, putting him fourth in the line of succession. He was frustrated by his situation, as though he was the nominal chair of the royal council in Lyon, he was unable to prevent Louise favouring the vicomte de Lautrec over him and snubbing his wife's rights to the Alençon inheritance. Nevertheless, though a faction in the Paris Parlement wished for him to usurp the regency, he did not put himself at the head of an opposition party. In 1526, Francis was conditionally released from his captivity and the regency ended. With it ended Vendôme's central position in the government. In the coming years he was present for many important ceremonies, such as the king's special sessions of the parlement, meetings with the English and the release of the king's sons from captivity. In December 1527 he led the nobility at a meeting called by the king to endorse his breaking of the terms of the treaty of Madrid by which he had secured his freedom after Pavia. He assured Francis on behalf of the nobility that they would devote their lives and property to him.
A new crisis emerged for the kingdom in 1536. Vendôme worked to secure funds for his soldiers in Picardy, and came into conflict with the cardinal du Bellay who the king had placed in charge with Paris. Vendôme was frustrated by the quality of his troops, and what he felt were insufficient exertions by du Bellay to support him. The Imperial siege of Thérouanne would fail, and with it the crisis passed. Vendôme was again involved in the campaign of 1537, however he came over ill in March and died in Amiens on 25 March. His grandson would become king of France as Henry IV.
Charles de Bourbon was born in Vendôme castle, on 2 June 1489 , the son of François de Bourbon, comte de Vendôme, and Marie de Luxembourg, dame de Saint-Pol.
The house of Bourbon had its origins in the sixth son of king Louis IX, the comte de Clermont (count of Clermont). Vendôme was a direct agnatic (through the male line) descendant of Louis IX through Clermont. His mother, Marie, was the granddaughter and heir to the disgraced connétable de Saint-Pol who was executed in 1475. Though the lands held by the Luxembourg connétable had been confiscated, in 1487 the lands were returned to Marie for the occasion of her marriage. From his mother therefore, Charles would inherit many Picard lands, among them: La Fère, Ham and Condé-en-Brie. She also brought him Flemish fiefs, including Enghien, though these revenues would be confiscated by the Holy Roman Emperor. The Bourbon territories in Picardy would be governed from the château de La Fère. The strong position inherited by Charles in Picardy through his mother granted the Bourbon-Vendôme a position in Picardy that no other seigneur (lord) could challenge. In addition to her land, was their status as princes du sang, which ultimately made first Charles de Bourbon and then his son's control of the governorship inevitable. The marriage of François and Marie was made at the direction of the king Charles VIII and would transpire in February 1488. By means of the marriage, the king hoped to tie the Luxembourg family's interests to those of the junior royal branch (the Bourbon-Vendôme).
Charles had four siblings from his parents' marriage, among whom were two brothers:
François de Bourbon, comte de Saint-Pol (1491–1545). Saint-Pol would serve as the governor of Dauphiné.
Louis de Bourbon, cardinal de Bourbon (1493–1553).
Charles' sister Antoinette de Bourbon, married the comte de Guise (a member of the house of Lorraine), who in 1524 was made the governor of Champagne and then in 1527 became the first duc de Guise and a pair de France (peer of France). Charles' other sister became the abbess of Fontevraud.
Upon the early death of François in 1495, Marie was left to administer both her own lands, and the comté de Vendôme (county of Vendôme) of her late husband. She would remain a widow until her death in 1546, devoting herself to the administration of her estates in Picardy (region of north east France). She was an active manager of these estates.
On 16 May 1513, Charles de Vendôme married Françoise d'Alençon, the widow of the duc de Longueville, at Châteaudun. She was the daughter of René de Valois, duc d'Alençon and Marguerite de Lorraine. She was also the sister of the premier prince du sang (first prince of the blood - closest agnatic relative to the king outside the royal family) Charles de Bourbon, duc d'Alençon. This created a connection between the two subordinate branches of the royal house.
Vendôme's wife brought the baronnies de Château-Gontier, La Flèche and Beaumont-sur-Sarthe with her to the marriage. On the occasion of the marriage, Vendôme's mother Marie (de Luxembourg) declared him to be her principal heir, and he was granted 8,000 livres annually; although Marie would continue to enjoy the usufructs on her properties for the remainder of her life.
His wife would outlive him, dying in 1550.
With Françoise d'Alençon, he would have thirteen children:
Louis de Bourbon (23 February 1514 – 7 April 1516) comte de Marle.
Marie de Bourbon (29 October 1515 – 28 September 1538), prospective bride for the king of Scotland.
Marguerite de Bourbon (26 October 1516 – 20 October 1559), married the duc de Nevers with issue.
Antoine de Bourbon (22 April 1518 – 17 November 1562), duc de Vendôme, later king of Navarre, married Jeanne d'Albret, queen of Navarre: their son Henry would ascend the French throne as Henry IV in 1589.