Éléonore de Bourbon
Éléonore de Bourbon was the daughter of Henri I de Bourbon and his second wife Charlotte Catherine de la Tremoille. Éléonore's father was a first cousin of King Henry IV of France. She was also the aunt of the scheming Madame de Longueville and le Grand Condé. She died childless.Life
Éléonore married Philip William of Orange, who was already 51 years old, on 23 November 1606 at the Palace of Fontainebleau.
On 25 October 1611 it was revealed that the mother of Éléonore and her sister in law Charlotte-Marguerite de Montmorency, wife of Henri II de Bourbon, would travel to The Hague. The States General of the Netherlands decided to present the ladies with a fitting gift, partly from politeness, and partly with the view of Henri II de Bourbon-Condé as a potential future ally.
It was decided to offer tableware with a worth of 12.000 guilders, a for that time astronomical price. At the initiative of the burgomaster of Haarlem, who was also member of the States General, the linens were bought, partly because Haarlem had an international reputation in this area.
The linen damask was specially woven with flower motifs, hunting scenery, biblical representations and images from the classical literature. It was said that the total length of the linen reached almost three kilometers.
When her husband died after a failed medical treatment, Éléonore did not inherit anything, since Philip William had willed all his possessions to his half-brother Maurice of Orange.
She raised her great niece Louise de Bourbon.
