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Counts and dukes of Nevers facts for kids

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The counts of Nevers (later dukes) were the rulers of the County of Nevers, which became a French duchy in 1539.

History

The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected to the Duchy of Burgundy. The counts also held the County of Auxerre in the 11th and 12th centuries, and the county was held by the count of Flanders and then the duke of Burgundy again in the 14th century.

In 1539, it was directly annexed to France and became a duchy in the peerage of France. For a time, it was held by a cadet branch of the House of Gonzaga. This branch inherited the Duchy of Mantua from the senior Gonzaga line (when it became extinct in 1627) and ruled Mantua until 1708, when the branch died out in the male line.

Charles IV Gonzaga sold the duchies of Nevers and Rethel in 1659 to Cardinal Mazarin. His family held the duchy of Nevers until the French Revolution.

Counts of Nevers

Dukes of Nevers

F06.Nevers.Palais Ducal.1161
The Ducal Palace in Nevers

Rulers of the Duchy of Nivernais.

  • François I (1521–1562) (His mother, Marie of Albret (d. 1549), widow of Charles II, also took the title in 1539, even though it was her son and his wife who became the actual duke and duchess.)
  • François II (1562–1563)
  • Jacques (1563–1564)
  • Henriette of Cleves (1564–1601)
    • Louis Gonzaga (1566–1595)
  • Charles III Gonzaga (1595–1637)
  • Charles IV Gonzaga (1637–1659), sold the Duchies of Nevers and Rethel in 1659 to Cardinal Mazarin
  • Jules Mazarin (1659–1661)
  • Philippe Jules Mancini (1661–1707)
  • Philip Julius Francis Mancini (1707–1768)
  • Louis-Jules Mancini (1768–1798)
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