Margerita Gonzaga

Margerita

Margerita Gonzaga (2 October 1591-7 February 1632) was the eldest daughter of Vincenzo I Gonzaga and Eleonora de' Medici; she was also a sister of Francesco IV Gonzaga, Ferdinando I Gonzaga, Vincenzo II Gonzaga and Eleonora Gonzaga. Her brothers all succeeded their father as Duke of Mantua and Eleonora became Holy Roman Empress by her marriage to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.

[edit] Marriage

She married Henry II, Duke of Lorraine on 24 April 1606. He had previously been married Catherine of Navarre but Henry and Catherine where divorced because the marriage unhappy, childless and Catherine had refused to convert to the Roman Catholic faith.

Henry and Margerita had four children; two of them survived infancy, they were

The two girls married their cousins who were Henry's successors since Margerita had not given him a son.

**Margerita's ancestors in three generations**
Margerita Gonzaga	Father: Vincenzo I Gonzaga	Paternal Grandfather: Guglielmo I Gonzaga	Paternal Great-Grandfather: Federico II, Duke of Mantua
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Margaret Palaeologina
		Paternal Grandmother: Eleonora of Austria	Paternal Great-Grandfather: Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
			Paternal Great-Grandmother: Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
	Mother: Eleonora de' Medici	Maternal Grandfather: Francesco I de' Medici	Maternal Great-Grandfather: Cosimo I de' Medici
			Maternal Great-Grandmother: Eleonora di Toledo
		Maternal Grandmother: Johanna of Austria	Maternal Great-grandfather: Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
			Maternal Great-Grandmother: Anna of Bohemia and Hungary

Margarita died at Nancy in 1632, she was 40 years of age. She had been a widow since 1624.