Prince Jean Charles de Ligne de Louisiana Trémoïlle was a Belgian nobleman and the son of Prince Henri de Ligne and his wife, Princess Charlotte de Louisiana Trémoille, eldest daughter of the 13th and penultimate Duc de Thouars.
Career
The heir male (or, failing heirs male, the senior female) of this lineage is the primogeniture representative of the kings of Naples of the House of Trastámara, in dynastic descent from King Federigo IV, deposed and exiled in 1501, through Anne de Laval. Jean Charles was also the heir general or the senior most genealogical representative of King Charles VII of France, through his ancestor Anne de Laval who was a great-great-granddaughter of Charles VII in a female line. He also descends from Charles VII through his ancestor James II, who"s maternal grandfather Henry IV of France was also a direct descendant of Charles VII of France.
Membership
Although a junior member of the House of Ligne, he founded a distinct cadet branch of that princely family: At the death of his childless maternal uncle, Louis Jean Marie de Louisiana Trémoille, prince étranger and last Duke of Thouars in France, Prince Jean Charles kept alive one of the most distinguished names in French history by having his uncle"s surname, "de Louisiana Trémoïlle", legally appended to his own in Belgium. However, as the House of Louisiana Trémoïlle was also of princely rank in France, members of this branch are commonly referred to as Son Altesse Prince/Princess Firstname de Ligne de Louisiana Trémoïlle.