Counts of Dreux

See also: Countess of Dreux

The Counts of Dreux were a noble family of France, who took their title from the chief stronghold of their domain, the château of Dreux, which lies near the boundary between Normandy and the Île-de-France. They are notable for inheriting the Duchy of Brittany through Pierre de Dreux's marriage to Alix de Thouars in the early 13th century.

Coat of arms of the Counts of Dreux.

History

In the tenth century the lands belonged to the forebears of the Capetians; they passed by marriage to Walter, Count of the Vexin, then to Richard I of Normandy. In 1017 the lands were given as dowry to Richard's illegitimate daughter Matilda, who married Odo II, Count of Blois.

King Robert II of France confiscated the lands of Dreux from Odo, and they formed part of the royal domain until Louis the Fat granted the county of Dreux as an appanage to his son Robert. The descendants of Robert held the county of Dreux until 1355, when the heiress, Countess Joan II of Dreux, married Simon de Thouars. Simon and Joan had three daughters and no sons; their daughters sold their interests in the county of Dreux to King Charles VI.

King Charles gave the county of Dreux as a dowry in the marriage of his kinswoman Marguerite de Bourbon, daughter of Peter, Duke of Bourbon and of Isabella de Valois, daughter of Charles of Valois, with Arnaud-Amanieu d'Albret in 1382. The county returned to the crown in 1556, and thereafter formed part of the royal domain, then the lands of François, Duke of Anjou, and after his death was sold to the Duke of Nemours. It returned to the royal domain in the reign of Louis XV.

List of counts of Dreux

Capetian House of Dreux

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Robert I the Great 1137–1184		c. 1123 fifth son of Louis VI of France and Adélaide of Maurienne	(1) Agnes of Garlande (1122–1143), daughter of Anseau de Garlande, Count of Rochefort; married 1139/41, one son (2) Hawise of Salisbury (1118 – 13 Jan 1152), daughter of Walter Fitz Edward of Salisbury, Sheriff of Wiltshire; married 1144/45, one daughter (3) Agnes of Baudemont (1130 – 24 July 1204), daughter of Guy de Baudement, Count of Braine; married 1152, ten children	11 October 1188 Braine aged 64–65
Robert II 1184–1218		c. 1154 eldest son of Robert and Agnes of Baudemont	(1) Matilda of Burgundy 1178 no issue (2) Yolande of Coucy 1184 twelve children	28 December 1218 Braine aged 63–64
Robert III Gasteblé 1218–1234		c. 1185 eldest son of Robert II and Yolande of Coucy	Aénor of Saint-Valery 1210 four children	3 March 1234 Braine aged 48–49
John I 1234–1249		c. 1215 eldest son of Robert III and Aénor of Saint-Valery	Marie of Bourbon-Dampierre April 1240 three children	c. 1249 Nicosia aged 33–34
Robert IV 1249–1282		c. 1241 eldest son of John I and Marie of Bourbon-Dampierre	Beatrice of Montfort 1260 six children	12 November 1282 Braine aged 40–41
John II the Good 1282–1309		c. 1265 eldest son of Robert IV and Beatrice of Montfort	(1) Joan of Montpensier 1292 five children (2) Perrenelle of Sully January 1308 one daughter	c. 1309 Braine aged 43–44
Robert V 1309–1329		c. 1293 eldest son of John II and Joan of Montpensier	Marie of Enghien April 1321 no issues	22 March 1329 Braine aged 35–36
John III 1329–1331		c. 1295 second son of John II and Joan of Montpensier	Ida of Rosny 1329 no issues	c. 1331 Braine aged 35–36
Peter I 1331–1345		c. 1298 third son of John II and Joan of Montpensier	Isabeau de Melun 1341 one daughter	3 November 1345 Braine aged 46–47
Joan I 1345–1346 under the regency of Countess Isabeau		c. 1345 Chateau de Gamaches only daughter of Peter I and Isabeau de Melun	never married	c. 1346 Braine aged 1
Joan II 1346–1355 with Louis I		c. 1309 only daughter of John II and Perrenelle of Sully	Louis I of Thouars Thouars 1330 five children	c. 1355 aged 45–46
Louis I 1346–1355 with Joan II		c. 1310 Thouars eldest son of John I of Thouars and Blanche of Brabant	(1) Joan II of Dreux Thouars 1330 five children (2) Isabeau d'Avaugour Thouars July 1361 no issues	7 April 1370 Talmont aged 59–60

House of Thouars

• 1355-1365 : Simon (son of)
• 1365-1377 : Péronelle (sister of)
• 1365-1377 : Isabeau (sister of)
• 1365-1377 : Margaret (sister of)

In 1377, the three sisters sold Dreux to the French crown.

House of Albret

• 1382-1401 : Arnaud Amanieu (also lord of Albret)
• 1401-1415 : Charles I (son of, also lord of Albret)
• 1415-1471 : Charles II (son of, also lord of Albret)
  • John IV (associated, also viscount of Tartas)
• 1471-1522 : Alain - Alain the Great (son of)
  • John V (associated)
• 1522-1555 : Henry I (son of, also king of Navarre)
• 1555-1572 : Jeanne (daughter of, also queen of Navarre)

House of Valois-Angoulême

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Catherine 1559–1569		13 April 1519 Florence only daughter of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino and Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne	Henry II of France Marseille 28 October 1533 ten children	5 January 1589 Château de Blois aged 69
Hercule-François 1569–1584 duc de Dreux		18 March 1555 Château de Fontainebleau fifth son of Henry II of France and Catherine	never married	19 June 1584 Château-Thierry aged 29

House of Bourbon

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Charles III 1594–1612		3 November 1566 Nogent-le-Rotrou sixth son of Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé and Françoise d'Orléans-Longueville	Anne de Montafié 27 December 1601 five children	1 November 1612 Château de Blandy aged 45
Louis III 1612–1641		1 May 1604 Hôtel de Soissons only son of Charles III and Anne de Montafié	never married	6 July 1641 Sedan aged 36
Marie 1641–1656		3 March 1606 Hôtel de Soissons second daughter of Charles III and Anne de Montafié	Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano Paris 6 January 1625 seven children	3 June 1692 Hôtel de Soissons aged 86

House of Savoy-Carignano

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Eugene Maurice, Count of Soissons 1656–1673		2 May 1635 Chambéry, Savoie, Rhone-Alpes, France	Olympia Mancini Paris 21 February 1657 eight children	6 June 1673 Unna aged 38
Emmanuel Philibert of Carignano 1673–1676		16 October 1662 fourth son of Eugene Maurice and Olympia Mancini	never married	12 June 1676 Turin aged 13

House of Longueville

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Marie 1676–1707		5 March 1625 Paris eldest daughter of Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville and Louise de Bourbon	Henri II, Duke of Nemours Trie 22 May 1657 no issues	16 June 1707 Paris aged 82

House of Bourbon

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Louis Joseph 1707–1712		1 July 1654 Paris eldest son of Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme and Laura Mancini	Marie Anne de Bourbon Chateau de Sceaux 21 May 1710 no issues	11 June 1712 Vinaros aged 57
Marie Anne 1712–1718		24 February 1678 Hôtel de Condé fifth daughter of Henri Jules de Bourbon, prince de Condé and Anne Henriette	Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme Chateau de Sceaux 21 May 1710 no issues	11 April 1718 Hôtel de Vendôme aged 40

House of Palatinate-Simmern

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Anne Henriette 1718–1723		13 March 1648 Paris second daughter of Edward of the Palatinate-Simmern and Anna Gonzaga	Henri Jules de Bourbon, prince de Condé Chateau de Sceaux 11 December 1663 ten children	23 February 1723 Petit Luxembourg aged 74

House of Bourbon

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Anne Louise Bénédicte 1723–1753		8 November 1676 Hôtel de Condé fourth daughter of Henri Jules de Bourbon, prince de Condé and Anne Henriette	Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine Palace of Versailles 19 May 1692 seven children	23 January 1753 Hôtel du Maine aged 76
Louis Auguste 1753–1755		4 March 1700 Palace of Versailles second son of Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine and Anne Louise Bénédicte	never married	1 October 1755 Palace of Fontainebleau aged 55
Louis Charles 1755–1775		5 October 1701 Château de Sceaux third son of Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine and Anne Louise Bénédicte	never married	13 July 1775 Château de Sceaux aged 73
Louis Jean Marie 1775–1793		16 November 1725 Château de Rambouillet only son of Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse and Marie Victoire de Noailles	Maria Teresa d'Este Palace of Versailles 29 December 1744 seven children	4 March 1793 Château de Bizy aged 67