The Prince of Orange's union with Anne of Lorraine had strengthened the ties that bound her father to the Emperor, and a second marriage, which took place this autumn, united the two houses still more closely. Among the young nobles who accompanied René to Bar for his wedding was Charles, Prince of Chimay, the eldest son of the Duke of Aerschot, the wealthy and powerful Governor of Brabant, who was foremost among the Regent's confidential advisers, and whom she affectionately called by the pet name of "Moriceau." On the death of his mother in 1539, the young Prince had succeeded to her vast estates, and lived at the fine castle of Beaumont, near the French frontier. At Bar he saw and fell in love with Louise de Guise, the lovely girl whom Henry VIII. would gladly have made his wife. But there were difficulties in the young suitor's way. His own family began by opposing the marriage, and it was some time before Charles's consent could be obtained. The Duke of Guise had long been the Emperor's most bitter enemy, and was known to have strongly opposed his journey through France. Fortunately, Duchess Antoinette was from the first on the lovers' side, and succeeded in gaining her husband's consent. For some time past King Francis had been trying to arrange a marriage between her eldest son, the Count of Aumale, and the Pope's granddaughter, "_Vyquetorya_ Farnese," as Louise calls her in one of her letters. But the Pope haggled over the dowry, and insisted on asking the Emperor's consent; so that Antoinette had a troublesome task in her lord's absence, and complained sorely to the Queen of Scotland of these vexatious delays. "By way of consolation, however," she writes on the 30th of November, "we have an offer for your sister. Monsieur le Duc d'Aerschot has sent to ask for her, on behalf of his eldest son, the Prince of Chimay, a youth about twenty, handsome and well brought up, we hear. He will give him a portion of 50,000 crowns a year, and he will have some fine estates, such as the duchy of Aerschot, the principality of Chimay, the counties of Beaumont and Porcien, most of them near Guise. I have told your father, who is at Court, and he approves, and has spoken to the King and to our brothers, who all advise us to accept the proposal. So do my brother-in-law [the Duke of Lorraine] and my mother [Madame de Vendôme]. It has been arranged that we should all meet at Bar on the Conception of Our Lady, as my lord the Duke wishes the matter to be settled at his house. I hope your father will be there, but if not he will give me the necessary powers. If things can be arranged, she will be well married, for the Prince has great possessions and beautiful houses, and plate and furniture in abundance. But it is a great anxiety to be treating of two marriages at once."[297]