The title of Duke of Berry (duc de Berry) in the
French nobility was frequently created for junior members of the
French royal family. The
Berry region now consists of the départements of Cher, Indre and parts of Vienne. The capital of Berry is
Bourges. The first creation was for John, third son of
John II, King of France, in 1360. He died in 1416 without surviving male issue, and the title was then recreated for his great-nephew the
Dauphin John,
Duke of Touraine, eldest son of
Charles VI, King of France, who died shortly afterwards. The third creation was in 1417 for the next son of Charles VI, Charles, who had also been given the title Duke of Touraine. He succeeded to the throne in 1422 as
Charles VII, King of France. His younger son Charles was given the duchy of Berry in 1461, but exchanged it for that of
Normandy in 1465. He died in 1472. The fifth creation was in
1517 for Margaret, daughter of Charles,
Count of Angoulême and only sister of
Francis I, King of France. She died in 1549, and the duchy was created anew in
1550 for her niece Margaret, sister of
Henry II, King of France, who died in 1574. Her nephew Francis,
Duke of Alençon, brother of
Charles IX, King of France, was created
Duke of Anjou, of Berry and of
Touraine in 1576, which titles became extinct on his death in 1584. The title was not again used until 1686, when Charles, third son of
Louis, le Grand Dauphin and grandson of
Louis XIV, King of France, received the title (but not the duchy) at his birth. He was created
Duke of Alençon et
d'Angoulême in
1710, but continued to use the title of Berry until his death in
1714. The ninth person to use the title was Louis, grandson of
Louis XV, King of France, who was also given the Berry title at his birth in
1754. He became
Dauphin in
1765 and succeeded as
Louis XVI, King of France in
1774. His younger brother Charles,
Count of Artois, was given the duchy of Berry in
1776, but he continued to be known by his comital title. However, his second son, Charles Ferdinand, was known by the courtesy title of Duke of Berry from his birth in
1778 to his assassination in
1820.
See more at Wikipedia.org...
Free Download Now!
