Beaufort, François de Vendôme, duc de
Beaufort, François de Vendôme, duc de
(fräNswä` də väNdōm` dük də bōfôr`), 1616–69, French courtier and politician; grandson of King Henry IV of France and his mistress Gabrielle d'EstréesEstrées, Gabrielle d', 1573–99, famous beauty, mistress (1592–99) of Henry IV of France, who made her marquise of Monceaux and duchess of Beaufort. She divorced her husband, and Henry was preparing to divorce Margaret of Valois, with the object of marrying
..... Click the link for more information. . Implicated in the conspiracy of the Marquis de Cinq MarsCinq Mars, Henri Coëffier Ruzé d'Effiat, marquis de
, 1620–42, French conspirator. Introduced at court by Cardinal Richelieu at an early age, Cinq Mars rapidly rose in King Louis XIII's favor and was made master of the horse.
..... Click the link for more information. against Louis XIII's minister Cardinal Richelieu, he fled (1642) to England but returned after Richelieu's death. He was one of the Importants, a clique opposing Richelieu's successor, Cardinal Mazarin, and was imprisoned from 1643 to 1648. A leader of the FrondeFronde
, 1648–53, series of outbreaks during the minority of King Louis XIV, caused by the efforts of the Parlement of Paris (the chief judiciary body) to limit the growing authority of the crown; by the personal ambitions of discontented nobles; and by the grievances of
..... Click the link for more information. , he was nicknamed King of the Markets because of his popularity with the Parisian mob. Exiled in 1652, he was later recalled and given command (1666) of the French fleet against the Turks and the Barbary pirates.