Charles Henri, Prince of Commercy

Charles Henri, Prince of Commercy
Charles Henri
Prince of Commercy
Prince of Vaudémont
Charles Henri in 1708
Spouse Anne Elisabeth de Lorraine
Issue
Charles Thomas, Prince of Vaudémont
Full name
Charles Henri de Lorraine[1]
House House of Lorraine
Father Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine
Mother Béatrice de Cusance
Born 17 April 1649(1649-04-17)
Brussels, Belgium
Died 14 January 1723(1723-01-14) (aged 73)
Château de Commercy, Lorraine, France

Charles Henri of Lorraine (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl ɑ̃ʁi pʁɛ̃s dy kɔmɛʁsi pʁɛ̃s dy vodemɔ̃]) (17 April 1649 – 14 January 1723) was the legitimated son of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and Béatrix de Cusance. His was given the Principality of Commercy in 1708 by his cousin Leopold, Duke of Lorraine. He was also the Count of Falkenstein.[2]

Contents

Biography

Charles Henri was the third child and only surviving son of the second marriage of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (there had been no children from his first marriage). This second marriage, contracted while Duke Charles was in exile, was not canonically recognized because the separation between the duke and his first wife, Nicole de Lorraine, was not recognized as a valid annulment by the Holy See. Charles Henri's claim to inherit Lorraine was therefore disputed, and rule of the duchy had been obtained by his father's younger brother through French intervention. He was born in Brussels.

On 27 April 1669, in Bar-le-Duc, he married a cousin, Anne Elisabeth de Lorraine,[3] daughter of Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf of the House of Guise. They had one son, Charles Thomas de Lorraine (1670–1704), who later took his father's non-territorial title, Prince of Vaudémont. This son was killed in battle near Ostiglia.

In exile like his father, Charles Henri served in the Spanish-Habsburg army against France, fighting in numerous battles. In 1675, he was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. He served in the Nine Years' War in Flanders under William III of England.

He was attached to the household of le Grand Dauphin along with his two nieces, the Princess of Epinoy and Béatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine, future Abbess of Remiremont.

In 1698, he was appointed Governor of Milan.

In 1700, the last Habsburg king of Spain, Charles II, died. Charles was replaced by Louis XIV's grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou, triggering the War of Spanish Succession in which the territory around Milan was one of the major battlefields.

The Prince of Vaudémont accepted the new king as sovereign of Lombardy, but he was not trusted: Saint Simon suggests he passed on military information to the enemy. It is a fact that his son, Charles Thomas, became an Austrian commander.

After the Battle of Turin, the French and Spanish were forced to withdraw from Italy, and Charles Henri signed a treaty with the Imperial commander, Prince Eugene of Savoy, putting Lombardy under Austrian rule.

In 1708, the Duke of Lorraine, his cousin Leopold, gave Charles Henri the minuscule principality of Commercy. He engaged the famous architect Germain Boffrand to build the beautiful château de Commercy. The principality was later given to Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, widow of Leopold.

Charles Henri de Lorraine died at the château de Commercy at the age of seventy-three, his only son having predeceased him.

Issue

Ancestry

Titles and styles

  • 17 April 1649 – 7 March 1670 His Highness the Count of Vaudémont
  • 7 March 1670 – 31 December 1707[4] His Highness the Prince of Vaudémont
  • 31 December 1707 – 14 January 1723 His Highness the Prince of Commercy

References

  1. ^ Davies, Norman, Europe:A History, (Oxford University Press, 1996), 169; In the Middle Ages, the feudal nobility needed to associate themselves with the fief or landed property which justified their rank. As a result, they adopted place-named surnames using either a prefix such as von or di, or suffix, such as -ski. Hence the French prince Charles de Lorraine would be known in German as "Karl von Lotharingen" or in Polish as "Karol Lotarinski."
  2. ^ van de Pas, Leo. "Charles Henri de Lorraine". Genealogics.org. http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00012926&tree=LEO. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  3. ^ Le grand dictionnaire historique, p. 411.
  4. ^ Table des traités entre la France et les puissances étrangères. http://books.google.com/books?id=YxoJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA332&dq=principaut%C3%A9+de+Commercy&hl=fr&ei=zPExTPnlFMGBOLzPuM0E&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=principaut%C3%A9%20de%20Commercy&f=false. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 

See also



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Charles Eugene, Prince of Lambesc — Charles Eugène Prince of Lambesc Duke of Elbeuf Full name Charles Eugène de Lorraine Father Louis de Lorraine Mother Louise de Rohan Born 25 September 1751(1751 09 25)[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Thomas, Prince of Vaudémont — This article is about the Austrian army officer. For other uses, see Charles Thomas (disambiguation). Charles Thomas Prince of Vaudémont Full name Charles Thomas de Lorraine[citation needed] House House of Lorraine …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Henri De Lorraine-Vaudémont — Charles Henri de Lorraine (né à Bruxelles 17 avril 1649, mort à Nancy 14 janvier 1723), comte puis prince de Vaudémont, prince de Commercy, etc., était fils légitimé de Charles IV duc de Lorraine et de Bar et de sa maîtresse Béatrix de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles Henri de Lorraine — Vaudémont Charles Henri de Lorraine (né à Bruxelles 17 avril 1649, mort à Nancy 14 janvier 1723), comte puis prince de Vaudémont, prince de Commercy, etc., était fils légitimé de Charles IV duc de Lorraine et de Bar et de sa maîtresse Béatrix de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles Henri de Lorraine-Vaudemont — Charles Henri de Lorraine Vaudémont Charles Henri de Lorraine (né à Bruxelles 17 avril 1649, mort à Nancy 14 janvier 1723), comte puis prince de Vaudémont, prince de Commercy, etc., était fils légitimé de Charles IV duc de Lorraine et de Bar et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles Henri de Lorraine-Vaudémont — Charles Henri de Lorraine (né à Bruxelles 17 avril 1649, mort à Nancy 14 janvier 1723), comte puis prince de Vaudémont, prince de Commercy, etc., était fils légitimé de Charles IV duc de Lorraine et de Bar et de sa maîtresse… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles henri de lorraine-vaudémont — Charles Henri de Lorraine (né à Bruxelles 17 avril 1649, mort à Nancy 14 janvier 1723), comte puis prince de Vaudémont, prince de Commercy, etc., était fils légitimé de Charles IV duc de Lorraine et de Bar et de sa maîtresse Béatrix de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine — Charles IV Duke of Lorraine Spouse Nicolette of Lorraine Béatrice de Cusance Marie Louise d Aspremont Issue Anne, Princess of Lillebonne …   Wikipedia

  • Charles, Count of Marsan — Charles Count of Marsan Spouse Catherine de Goyon de Matignon Detail Issue …   Wikipedia

  • Charles III, Duke of Elbeuf — Charles III Duke of Elbeuf Spouse Anne Élisabeth de Lannoy Élisabeth de La Tour d Auvergne Françoise de Montault de Navailles Detail Issue Anne Élisabeth, Princess of Vaudémont Henri, Du …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”