Francesco III Gonzaga (10 March 1533 – 22 February 1550) was Duke of Mantua and Marquess of Montferrat from 1540 until his death. He was the eldest son of Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and his wife Margaret Paleologina.

Life

On 22 October 1549, he married Catherine of Habsburg, a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. The marriage lasted only four months, as Francesco died of pneumonia on 21 February 1550, after falling into one of Mantua's lakes during a hunt. The widowed Catherine returned home to Innsbruck. The Habsburgs claimed that the marriage was not consummated to increase Catherine's chances for a better second marriage.

Honours

Ancestry

Sources

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