Bona Sforza Marries Prince X

The marriage to Giuliano de Medici, duke of Nemours was pushed by Leone X in 1512. But then Leone was also recommending Philippe of Savoy (later duc de Savoie-Nemours), and Bona's mother wanted her to marry HRE Ferdinand I, Ferrante, duke of Calabria or Massimiliano Sforza at varying points, before she allowed her daughter to be shipped off to Poland.

If Bona married Giuliano and had a daughter, makes one wonder which lady Clemente VII is going to make a better match for the duc d'Orléans - Isabella de Medici-Nemours (heiress to Milan) or Caterina Romola de Medici-Urbino (heiress to Urbino and the Auvergne)?
 
So, after a recent discovery of Pope Leone X's plans for his family, as well as his sister-in-law, Alfonsina's ambitions - see here - I've been wondering if a double marriage between Filiberta of Savoy and Giuliano, and Bona Sforza and Carlo III of Savoy might take place? Of course, the matches could just as easily switch, Bona to Giuliano, Filiberta to her surviving brother, and perhaps another French girl for the duke of Savoy? Madeleine/Anne de la Tour d'Auvergne, possibly?
 
A double match to Savoy seems superfluous and unproductive.

For the French a marriage between the Duc d'Orléans and Isabella de Médicis, Duchess of Nemours and Bari, is by far a more interesting prospect than Caterina di Lorenzo de Medici. Isabella brings rich lands of her own in France and Italy and strong claims to Milan and Naples (Giuliano was being groomed for the Neapolitan throne at the time of his death; marriage to Bona would only strengthen such ambitions). It is likely such a betrothal has ramifications for her half-brother Ippolito, who instead of becoming Cardinal is chosen over their coeval cousin Alessandro to marry Margaret of Austria and become Duke of Florence.

Catherine de Medicis thus remains in Italy - unencumbered by a French match and free to be used by her ecclesiastical kinsmen as a pretender to Urbino. A Farnese marriage would be interesting, depending on how events unfolded...or else she still ends up in France, perhaps in her cousin's train, being palmed off to some middling French nobleman as the heiress to the de la Tour d'Auvergne estates.
 
A double match to Savoy seems superfluous and unproductive.

For the French a marriage between the Duc d'Orléans and Isabella de Médicis, Duchess of Nemours and Bari, is by far a more interesting prospect than Caterina di Lorenzo de Medici. Isabella brings rich lands of her own in France and Italy and strong claims to Milan and Naples (Giuliano was being groomed for the Neapolitan throne at the time of his death; marriage to Bona would only strengthen such ambitions). It is likely such a betrothal has ramifications for her half-brother Ippolito, who instead of becoming Cardinal is chosen over their coeval cousin Alessandro to marry Margaret of Austria and become Duke of Florence.

Catherine de Medicis thus remains in Italy - unencumbered by a French match and free to be used by her ecclesiastical kinsmen as a pretender to Urbino. A Farnese marriage would be interesting, depending on how events unfolded...or else she still ends up in France, perhaps in her cousin's train, being palmed off to some middling French nobleman as the heiress to the de la Tour d'Auvergne estates.

The titling of Isabelle de Medicis seems to preclude the possibility of her having a brother, though. However, I'm one of those who agree that Ippolito would've been a better choice for duke than Alessandro - more mentally stable at least.

Another possible match for Bona could be another duc de Nemours, Gaston de Foix, aka 'the Lightning Bolt of Italy'. And then after he dies, leaving her with the title of dowager duchesse de Nemours, she gets fobbed off to Giuliano de Medici who becomes duc de Nemours jure uxoris.
 
The titling of Isabelle de Medicis seems to preclude the possibility of her having a brother, though. However, I'm one of those who agree that Ippolito would've been a better choice for duke than Alessandro - more mentally stable at least.

Another possible match for Bona could be another duc de Nemours, Gaston de Foix, aka 'the Lightning Bolt of Italy'. And then after he dies, leaving her with the title of dowager duchesse de Nemours, she gets fobbed off to Giuliano de Medici who becomes duc de Nemours jure uxoris.

Well, Gaston de Foix I think is a pretty cool character, who definitely gets underused in alt-history. I mean, he was nephew to the French king (Louis XII), brother-in-law to the Aragonese king (Fernando II), and cousin to the Navarrese king (Henri II) and he was apparently a reasonably capable battle commander (makes one wonder if the French would've used him instead of Giuliano for a Neapolitan claimant if he'd lived). But as to a Medici Naples, how likely is it? I mean obviously Giuliano in this scenario as Mr. Bona Sforza, has a better jure uxoris claim to Naples, given that her mother is a Neapolitan princess, but does that mean France would just give up her *claim to Naples altogether?

*although technically, the claim (accepting Charles VIII as legitimate claimant (which he wasn't)) would've run then, Anne of Beaujeu; her son, the Comte de Clermont; her daughter, the Connetable de Bourbon's wife; the son of the Connetable, François de Bourbon, comte de Clermont; and then passed back to the late Jeanne de Valois and her descendants; then the still later duc de Berri before passing to the house of Savoy) was bogus anyway, since the heir after the death of the last Angevin was his sister, Yolande's oldest son
 
Top