Charlotte of Albret

Charlotte of Albret (1480 – 11 March 1514), Dame de Châlus, was a wealthy French noblewoman of the Albret family. She was the sister of King John III of Navarre and the wife of the widely notorious Cesare Borgia, whom she married in 1499. She was the mother of his only legitimate child, Louise Borgia, to whom she acted as regent of the Duchy of Valentinois following the death of Cesare from 1507-1514. Family Charlotte was born in 1480, the daughter of Alain I of Albret, Lord of Albret, and Frances, Countess of Périgord. Her paternal grandparents were Jean d'Albret and Charlotte de Rohan, and her maternal grandparents were William, Viscount of Limoges and Isabelle de La Tour d'Auvergne, daughter of Bertrand V de La Tour, Count of Auvergne and Boulogne, and Jacquette du Peschin. Her paternal great-great-grandfather was Charles d'Albret, Constable of France, who was killed while commanding the French troops at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. She had six siblings including John d'Albret, who became King of Navarre upon his marriage to Catherine of Navarre. Marriage to Cesare Borgia On arrival to the throne, Louis XII of France intended to establish strong bonds with Brittany in order to incorporate it to the Kingdom of France, aiming to marry Anne of Brittany for the purpose; however, he was married by then to Joan of Valois. The Foix-Albret, led by Alain de Albret, feared a French takeover of Béarn, de facto sovereign, but claimed now by the French king. The Navarrese monarchs Catherine and John started a rapprochement to Louis XII in order to appease his ambitions in Béarn, by supporting Louis XII in his attempt to marry the Breton princess. Louis XII demanded that Pope Alexander VI issue an annulment of his marriage to Joan. The latter responded in kind by requiring a princess of royal blood to marry his son Cesare. The monarchs of Navarre proposed in turn Charlotte for the bargain.