René, Duke of Alençon

René of Alençon (1454 – 1 November 1492) was a French nobleman. He succeeded his father John II of Alençon as Duke of Alençon.

René of Alençon
Duke of Alençon Count of Perche
Born	1454
Died	1 November 1492(1492-11-01) (aged 37–38) Chateau d'Alençon
Noble family	House of Valois-Alençon
Spouse(s)	Marguerite of Harcourt Margaret of Lorraine
Father	John II of Alençon
Mother	Marie of Armagnac

Coat of arms of the counts and dukes of Alençon of the House of Valois.

Coat of arms of the counts of Perche.

Life

René was born in 1454 to the House of Valois-Alençon. He was the son of John II of Alençon and Marie of Armagnac.

In 1478, he was restored as Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche, titles which had been confiscated from his family after his father's conviction in 1474.

Family

His first wife was Marguerite, daughter of William of Harcourt, Count of Tancarville.

He married a second time on 14 May 1488 at Toul, to Margaret of Lorraine (1463 – 1 November 1521), daughter of Frederick, Count of Vaudémont and Yolande of Anjou. Margaret bore him three children:

1. Charles IV of Alençon (1489–1525)
2. Françoise of Alençon (c. 1490 – 14 September 1550, La Fleche), Duchess of Beaumont, married 1505 in Blois, François, Duke of Longueville (d. 1512), married 1513 Charles, Duke of Vendôme
3. Anne (30 October 1492 – 18 October 1562, Casale Monferrato), Lady of la Guerche, married 31 August 1508 in Blois William IX Paleologos, Marquess of Montferrat

He also had several illegitimate children:

1. Charles (d. 1545), Lord of Cany
2. Marguerite, married 1485 Jacques de Boisguyon, married Henri de Bournel
3. Jacqueline, married Gilles des Ormes

Ancestry

Ancestors of René, Duke of Alençon

16. Charles II of Alençon 8. Peter II of Alençon 17. Maria de la Cerda 4. John I of Alençon 18. Guillaume Chamaillard 9. Marie de Chamaillard 19. Marie de Beaumont-Brienne 2. John II of Alençon 20. John of Montfort 10. John IV, Duke of Brittany 21. Joanna of Flanders 5. Marie of Brittany 22. Charles II of Navarre 11. Joanna of Navarre 23. Joan of Valois 1. René, Duke of Alençon 24. John II, Count of Armagnac 12. Bernard VII of Armagnac 25. Jeanne de Périgord 6. John IV of Armagnac 26. John, Duke of Berry 13. Bonne de Berry 27. Joanna of Armagnac 3. Marie of Armagnac 28. Charles II of Navarre 14. Charles III of Navarre 29. Joan of Valois 7. Isabella of Navarre 30. Henry II of Castile 15. Eleanor of Castile 31. Juana Manuel of Castile

Sources

• Hickson, Sally Anne (2012). Women, Art and Architectural Patronage in Renaissance Mantua. Ashgate Publishing.
• Potter, David (1995). Keen, Maurice (ed.). A History of France, 1460–1560: The Emergence of a Nation State. Macmillan.