Victor-Marie d'Estrées

Victor Marie d'Estrées, count then duke (1723) d'Estrées (Paris November 30 1660 - Paris December 27 1737) was a Marshal of France.

Biography

Son of Marshal Jean II d'Estrées (1624-1707), Victor Marie began his military career in the infantry in 1676, but joined the Navy one year later. In the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), he commanded a ship in the Battle of Tabago (March 3 1677) and fought afterwards in the Mediterranean.

At the beginning of the War of the Grand Alliance, he volunteered in the army and was wounded in the siege of Philippsburg in 1688. In 1690, he commanded 20 ships in the Battle of Beachy Head. Then, on command of Louis XIV, he took charge of the Mediterranean fleet and supported the duc de Vendôme in the conquest of Barcelona in 1697.

In 1698, he married Lucie Félicité de Noailles (°1683), daughter of Marshal Anne-Jules, 2nd duc de Noailles. They had no children.

At the beginning of the War of Spanish Succession, he was ordered to sail Philip V of Spain to Naples to claime the throne of the Two Sicilies.

The succes of this mission earned him the title of Grandee of Spain. He received the title of Marshal of France in 1703, and commander in the Order of the Holy Spirit in 1705.

In 1704, Victor Marie d'Estrées was appointed mentor to the Comte de Toulouse, illegitimate son of Louis XIV and admiral of France. Together they won the Battle of Vélez-Málaga (August 24 1704).

During the Regency of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, he was member of the council and minister, but he had no political skills.

After the death of his father he inherited the title of Viceroy of the American Islands and received the island of Saint Lucia as his private property. He gathered an enormous fortune.

He spend his fortune buying art and books, accumulating it in his Paris house and castles, never unpacking a large proportion of the collection.

He was elected member of the Académie française in 1715.He became duc d'Estrées and pair de France in 1723, after the death of his uncle. He died in 1737.

Links

* [http://elec.enc.sorbonne.fr/cataloguevente/notice192.php Notice sur le site de l'École nationale des chartes]
* [http://www.academie-francaise.fr/immortels/base/academiciens/fiche.asp?param=152 Notice biographique de l'Académie française]