Anne de Laval

Anne de Laval (23 September 15051554), Princess of Taranto, was a French noblewoman and nominal pretender to the Kingdom of Naples.

Early life and ancestry Born at Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine, into an old French House of Laval, she was the daughter of Guy XVI de Laval, count of Laval, and Charlotte of Aragon, Princess of Taranto, herself an heiress of the royal House of Trastámara.

Biography She was the only child of Charlotte to marry and leave heirs, thereby continuing the line of descent of Frederick of Naples. On 23 January 1521 she married François de la Trémoïlle, vicomte de Thouars.

The marriage not only brought the La Trémoïlles the countship of Laval and the Neapolitan claim in 1521, but also the rank of princes étrangers at the French court. It is also said that she inherited the barony of Laz, as well, although Père Anselme's genealogy of her family makes no mention of it.

Her eldest son, Louis III de La Trémoille, became the first duc de Thouars in 1599, while her second son, Georges, and third son, Claude, founded the cadet branches of the marquises de Royan and the ducs de Noirmoutier, respectively.

Death Anne died in November 1553 in Craon, Mayenne, Kingdom of France, at the age of 48. She was buried in Église Saint-Nicolas in Craon.

Ancestry