Alexandre de Vendôme | |
Chevalier de Vendôme | |
Title2: | Knight of the Order |
Title1: | Prior of the Order |
Title3: | Governor of Caen |
Birth Date: | 19 April 1598 |
Father: | Henry IV of France |
Mother: | Gabrielle d'Estrées |
Alexandre de Vendôme (19 April 1598 - 28 February 1629) was the third illegitimate child, and second illegitimate son, of Henry IV of France and his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées. He was a prior of the Langue of France of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.
Baptized in Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 13 December 1598,[1] he was governor of Caen[2] from birth throughout his life and entered the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem in 1604. King Louis XIII, his half-brother, appointed him to lead an embassy to Pope Paul V at Rome in October 1614.
In 1626 alongside his brother César, Duke of Vendôme and half-brother Gaston, Duke of Orléans, he participated in the conspiracy of Chalais, directed against Cardinal Richelieu, who was the Prime Minister of his half-brother, King Louis XIII. Arrested, he was incarcerated in Amboise, then in Vincennes where he died.