Suzanne had an elder brother, Charles, who was born in 1471 and died unmarried in 1498. After this death at the age of 27, Suzanne's father grew concerned about the succession of the Bourbon lands, having no surviving sons or brothers. According to the prevalent Salic law of France, his heir presumptive was Louis de Bourbon-Montpensier, head of the Montpensiers, a cadet branch of the Bourbons. Montpensier was Suzanne's second cousin, their grandfathers being brothers. The year 1498 saw Anne's brother King Charles VIII die suddenly, after hitting his head on a low doorway. As no male heirs remained, the succession of France itself was now in question, for the closest agnatic dynast, Louis XII was a distant second-cousin, once removed, to Charles VII. Having served as Charles' co-regents, the powerful couple held enough influence to hinder the succession of Louis XII. They made a clever bargain with him: for the Bourbon support of his accession, Louis XII would have to recognize the seven-year-old Suzanne as her father's rightful heir of the Bourbon lands, and to issue official letters to that effect. Louis had little choice but to agree to this innovative solution, at least for the moment. This ancient Salic law which precluded the succession of females, became the cornerstone of French laws and customs. Indeed, that very old law allowed Louis, rather than Anne, to succeed to the throne of France. To Anne's credit, when she handed over Bourbon lands to Louis XII, the last independent duchy in France was in good stead, being both prosperous and peaceful. In 1503, Pierre died and Suzanne became duchess. During her minority years her mother Anne was regent. Anne groomed the intelligent Suzanne with the thought of her daughter ascending to the throne. Lessons included astronomy, mathematics and religious studies. But more importantly, Anne taught her the ways of the court. Beyond the social graces, being kind, well-spoken and social were also key. But the most important lesson she imparted upon her daughter was to never reaction to anything told her and to keep her thoughts to herself, less they somehow betray her. Anne knew only too well that the politics of the court were often underhanded if not treacherous.
Duchess
As the agnatic heir to the Bourbon lands, Louis II, Count of Montpensier, was a suitable young man, and as marriage with him would avert a struggle for the succession, Suzanne's parents initially groomed him as their future son-in-law, despite the concession they had extracted from Louis XII regarding the succession. However, the teenage Montpensier mortally offended Peter by condemning and denouncing the letters patent concerning the succession which Louis XII had issued, and asserting that succession to the Bourbon lands and titles was his own patrimony and birthright and not something he needed to thank his wife or her father for. An enraged Peter decided to betroth Suzanne to Charles IV, Duke of Alençon, a great favourite of Louis XII, and therefore likely to be able to protect the duchy against both Bourbon-Montpensier challenges and royal encroachment. Anne was not in favour of this arrangement because of the political complications it would certainly cause, since Bourbon-Montpensier would definitely pursue his dynastic claim. However, Peter prevailed and the contract of betrothal was signed on 21 March 1501 at Moulins, Alençon being eleven years old and Suzanne nine. Two years later, and before the wedding could be solemnised, Peter died of a fever. Incidentally, Louis of Montpensier had also died before this, and had been succeeded by his younger brother Charles. With Peter and Louis both dead, the issues which had plagued their relationship could also be laid to rest. Anne broke off the arrangement with Alençon and arranged for Suzanne to marry the next Bourbon heir-male, Charles, thereby averting a succession dispute over the Bourbon inheritance. On 10 May 1505, at Château du Parc-les-Moulins, Suzanne was married to Charles. He was immediately made co-ruler of the Bourbon lands. After the wedding, the duke and duchess of Bourbon made a tour through their domains along with Anne, something they would repeat many times during their rule. It does not appear that Suzanne participated in state affairs: her husband and her mother jointly managed the affairs of the duchies and were described as good partners in administration and politics. Duchess Suzanne reportedly suffered from delicate health and was frequently described by chronicles as being of a ‘general disposition’ and having a ‘deformity’, though her condition is not described more closely. A son was born to Charles and Suzanne on 17 July 1517 and was baptised Francis in October 1517 in honour of Charles' good friend King Francis I of France. The child was given the title Count of Clermont. However, he died after a few months. Suzanne later gave birth to stillborn twins. Suzanne died at Château de Châtellerault in 1521. She was buried in Souvigny Priory, Souvigny. Her health had been frail throughout her last years. Her mother, who had always been fearful about her daughter's health, outlived her by one year. Her widower remained duke. He never remarried and died childless in 1527, after which the lands of the dukes of Bourbon were merged into the kingdom of France.
Legacy
The death of Suzanne and Charles marked respectively the extinctions of the two senior-most branches of the Bourbon family, namely Suzanne's natal "Bourbon" branch and Charles's "Bourbon-Montpensier" branch. The agnatic heir to both was an extremely distant cousin, Charles, Duke of Vendôme, head of the "Bourbon-Vendome" branch, which came to be called simply "the House of Bourbon" because it was now the senior-most branch. Indeed, the Bourbon-Vendome branch was destined also to inherit the throne of France: Charles, Duke of Vendôme was the grandfather of Henry IV of France, the first "Bourbon" king of France.
