# Duke of Berry

Duke of Berry (French: Duc de Berry) or Duchess of Berry (French: Duchesse de Berry) was a title in the Peerage of France. The Duchy of Berry, centred on Bourges, was originally created as an appanage for junior members of the French royal family and was frequently granted to female royals. The style "Duke of Berry" was later granted by several Bourbon monarchs to their grandsons. The last official Duke of Berry was Charles Ferdinand of Artois, son of Charles X. The title Duke of Berry is currently being claimed through its usage as a courtesy title by Prince Alphonse de Bourbon, son of Prince Louis, Duke of Anjou, the Legitimist claimant to the French Throne.

## House of Valois (1360-1505)

On October 1360, King John II created the peerage-duchy of Berry as an appanage for his third-born son, John of Poitiers, perhaps on the occasion of his marriage with Joan of Armagnac. Upon his death in 1416, John of Poitiers was succeeded as Duke of Berry by his grandnephew John, Dauphin of France (having been predeceased in 1397 by his only son who survived into adulthood, John, Count of Montpensier). After Dauphin John's death in 1417, the appanage passed to his younger brother the Dauphin Charles. The Dauphin subsequently moved his court to Berry's capital of Bourges to escape the advancing English during the Hundred Years’ War. When the Dauphin ascended to the throne as Charles VII, Berry returned to the royal domain.
In 1461, Louis XI granted Berry to his younger brother, Charles. Charles maintained a rivalry with his brother and joined the League of the Public Weal, an anti-royal alliance of French magantes led by the Count of Charolais. After a short war against Louis XI which was concluded with the Treaty of Conflans in 1465, Charles gained the Duchy of Normandy (which he later exchanged for the Duchy of Guyenne in 1469). Charles died without legitimate issue in 1472 due to syphilis, although some believed he was a victim of poisoning. With no male heir, the title reverted to the Crown once again.
In 1498, Louis XII granted Berry to his former wife Joan of France, daughter of Louis XI, as compensation for their marriage's annulment. She was the first suo jure Duchess, and after her death without issue Berry returned to the Crown.
| Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue |
| John of FranceOther titles List Duke of AuvergneCount of PoitiersCount of MontpensierCount of Étampes | 30 November 1340 Château de VincennesSon of John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg | October 1360 – 15 June 1416 | 15 June 1416 ParisDied by natural causes (aged 75) | (1) Joan of Armagnac (m. 1360; d. 1387) 5 children (2) Joan II of Auvergne (m. 1389; wid. 1416) Childless |
| John of FranceOther titles List Dauphin of FranceCount of PonthieuCount of Poitou | 31 August 1398 ParisSon of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria | 1416 – 5 April 1417 | 5 April 1417 CompiègneDied by natural causes (aged 18) | Jacqueline of Hainaut (m. 1415; wid. 1417) Childless |
| Charles of FranceOther titles List Dauphin of FranceCount of PonthieuCount of Poitou | 22 February 1403 ParisSon of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria | 1417 – 1422 (merged with Crown) | 22 July 1461 Mehun-sur-YèvreDied by natural causes (aged 58) | Marie of Anjou (m. 1422; wid. 1461) 14 children |
| Charles of FranceOther titles List Duke of NormandyDuke of Guyenne | 26 December 1446 Château de ToursSon of Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou | November 1461 – 24 May 1472 | 24 May 1472 BordeauxDied by syphilis (aged 25) | Never married |
| Joan of France | 23 April 1464 Nogent-le-RoiDaughter of Louis XI of France and Charlotte of Savoy | 7 April 1498 – 4 February 1505 | 4 February 1505 Bourges, BerryDied by natural causes (aged 40) | Louis II, Duke of Orléans (then Louis XII) (m. 1476; ann. 1498) Childless |

## House of Valois-Angoulême (1527-1601)

In 1527, King Francis I granted his sister Marguerite the duchy of Berry, probably on the occasion of her marriage to Henry II of Navarre. After her death without male issue in 1549, Berry reverted to the Crown.
In 1550, King Henry II granted Berry to his sister Margaret of Valois for life. After the death of Margaret of Valois in 1574, her nephew King Henry III granted Berry and the County of La Marche to his sister-in-law and Queen dowager of France Elisabeth of Austria. However, in 1577, as a consequence of the Peace of Monsieur, Elisabeth of Austria was forced by King Henry III to exchange Berry and La Marche (which then became part of the expanded appanage of his brother Francis, Duke of Anjou) for the duchies of Auvergne and Bourbon. After Francis of Anjou's death in 1584, Berry and his other appanages again returned to the Crown.
In 1589, King Henry IV granted Berry to King Henry III's widow Louise of Lorraine for her lifetime.
| Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue |
| Margaret of NavarreOther titles List Queen consort of NavarreDuchess of AlençonCountess of ArmagnacCountess of Perche | 11 April 1492 Château d'AngoulêmeDaughter of Charles of Orléans and Louise of Savoy | 24 January 1527 – 21 December 1549 | 21 December 1549 Odos, NavarreDied by natural causes (aged 57) | (1) Charles IV of Alençon (m. 1509; d. 1525) Childless (2) Henry II of Navarre (m. 1527; wid. 1549) 1 child |
| Margaret of FranceOther titles List Duchess consort of Savoy | 5 June 1523 Saint-Germain-en-LayeDaughter of Francis I and Claude of Brittany | 29 April 1550 – 15 September 1574 | 15 September 1574 Turin, SavoyDied by natural causes (aged 51) | Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy (m. 1559; wid. 1574) 1 child |
| Elisabeth of AustriaOther titles List Countess of La Marche | 5 July 1554 Vienna, AustriaDaughter of Emperor Maximilian II and Mary of Austria | 21 November 1575 – 25 September 1577 (Title forfeited) | 22 January 1592 Vienna, AustriaDied by pleurisy (aged 37) | Charles IX of France (m. 1570; d. 1574) 1 child |
| Francis of FranceOther titles List Duke of AnjouDuke of AlençonDuke of Touraine | 18 March 1555 Château de FontainebleauSon of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici | 25 September 1577 – 10 June 1584 | 10 June 1584 Château-ThierryDied by malaria (aged 29) | Never married |
| Louise of Lorraine | 30 April 1553 Nomeny, BarroisDaughter of Nicolas, Duke of Mercœur and Margaret of Egmont | August 1589 – 29 January 1601 | 29 January 1601 Moulins, BourbonnaisDied by natural causes (aged 47) | Henry III of France (m. 1575; d. 1589) Childless |

## House of Bourbon (1686-1820)

In 1686, King Louis XIV granted the title Duke of Berry to his third grandson Charles who continued to use it as his primary title until his death in 1714, despite never gaining the appanage of Berry. In 1754, King Louis XV styled his newborn grandson Louis-Auguste as Duke of Berry until his ascension as Dauphin of France in 1765, after his father's death.
In 1778, King Louis XVI re-established the Duchy of Berry as an appanage for his newborn nephew, Charles Ferdinand of Artois, who was killed in 1820 by Louis Pierre Louvel, a Bonapartist.
| Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue |
| Charles of FranceOther titles List Duke of AngoulêmeDuke of AlençonCount of Ponthieu | 31 July 1686 VersaillesSon of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Anna of Bavaria | 31 July 1686 – 5 May 1714 | 5 May 1714 VersaillesDied in hunting accident (aged 27) | Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans (m. 1710; wid. 1714) Childless |
| Louis-Auguste of France (then Louis XVI) | 23 August 1754 VersaillesSon of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Josepha of Saxony | 23 August 1754 – 20 December 1765 (Became Dauphin) | 21 January 1793 Place de la Révolution, ParisExecuted for treason (aged 38) | Marie Antoinette of Austria (m. 1770; wid. 1793) 4 children |
| Charles Ferdinand of Artois | 24 January 1778 VersaillesSon of Charles of Artois and Maria Theresa of Savoy | 24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820 | 14 February 1820 Outside Paris OperaMurdered by Louis Pierre Louvel (aged 42) | Marie-Caroline of Sicily (m. 1816; wid. 1820) 2 children |