Henrietta of Cleves (r. 1564–1601)

Duchess and ruler of Nevers. Name variations: Henriette de Cleves; Henriette Gonzaga. Reigned from 1564 to 1601; daughter of François or Francis II, duke of Nevers, and Margaret of Vendôme ; married Luigi or Louis de Gonzague also known as Ludovico Gonzaga of Mantua (1539–1585), duke of Nevers, count of Rethel; children: Carlo also known as Charles II (1580–1637), duke of Nevers (r. 1601–1637), and at least one daughter.

Henrietta of Cleves spent a large part of her life foundering in a sea of debt. Her grandfather Francis I and her father Francis II had both served as provincial governors of Champagne and, as such, dissipated much of the family fortune. When Henrietta's father Francis II died in battle in 1562, the family was virtually bankrupt. The job of liquidating the family debts then fell to the guardian of Henrietta's young brother Jacques de Cleves. Before the liquidation process got under way, however, Jacques died, and the family properties and titles passed to Henrietta under an extraordinary permission granted by King Charles IX. (Since there were no further male heirs, the estate might well have gone to someone else.)

Under the terms of the agreement, a marriage was also arranged between Henrietta and Ludovico Gonzaga of Mantua, the prospective heir of some large estates. Although she was now titled as the duchess of Nevers, Henrietta's problems were not yet over. Ludovico had his own debts and his inheritances turned out to be far smaller than those of the family Cleves. Henrietta also had to provide for the dowries of her two sisters, each of whom received land worth £700,000, and dowries totaling another £600,000. In addition, Ludovico was serving as commander of the military and had to borrow money to pay his soldiers. Despite their precarious situation, the Neverses managed to serve as chief creditors of the monarchy during the period of their rule (1564–1601). Henrietta had at least one daughter, and a son Charles II, who became co-governor of Champagne with his father, in 1589, and succeeded as duke when his father died in 1595. Henrietta died in 1601.