Francis I, Duke of Lorraine

Francis I (French: François Ier de Lorraine) (23 August 1517 – 12 June 1545) was Duke of Lorraine from 1544–1545.

Born in Nancy, Francis was the eldest son of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine and Renée de Bourbon,^[1] daughter of Gilbert de Bourbon, Count of Montpensier. He was briefly engaged in the mid-1530s to Anne of Cleves,^[2] who in 1540 would become the fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Their betrothal would be used by Henry to break his marriage to Anne after six short months.

On 10 July 1541, Francis married Christina of Denmark in Brussels.^[1] Christina was a daughter of King Christian II and Isabella of Austria. Francis died at Remiremont in 1545, leaving Duchess Christina as the regent of Lorraine and as the guardian of their young children.

By Christina of Denmark (c.1521 – 1590; married in 1541)

• Dukes of Lorraine family tree
• List of rulers of Lorraine

• Carroll, Stuart (2009). Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and the Making of Europe. Oxford University Press.
• Sidney, Philip (2012). Kuin, Roger (ed.). The Correspondence of Sir Philip Sidney. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press.
• Thomas, Andrew L. (2010). A House Divided: Wittelsbach Confessional Court Cultures in the Holy Roman Empire, c.1550-1650. Brill.
• Warnicke, Retha M. (2017). Elizabeth of York and Her Six Daughters-in-Law: Fashioning Tudor Queenship, 1485-1547. Palgrave Macmillan.