Charles d'Albert d'Ailly, 3rd Duke of Chaulnes (1625 – 4 September 1698), was a French general and diplomat. He was made lieutenant général des armées in 1655, and chevalier des ordres du roi from 1661. He became third

Duke of Chaulnes The title of Duke of Chaulnes (french: duc de Chaulnes), a French peerage, is held by the d'Albert family beginning in 1621. History First creation (1621–1698) The duchy of Chaulnes was established by letters patent in January 1621 and regis ...

in 1653 on the death of his elder brother.

Early life

He was the third son of Claire Charlotte d´Ailly, Countess of Chaulnes, Lady of

Picquigny Picquigny () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Picquigny is situated at the junction of the N235, the D141 and D3 roads, on the banks of the river Somme, some northwest (and downstream) of ...

Vidame Vidame () was a feudal title in France, a term descended from mediaeval Latin . Like the ''avoué'' or ''advocatus'', the ''vidame'' was originally a secular official chosen by the bishop of the diocese—with the consent of the count—to ...

sse d'

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, and Honoré d'Albert, 1st

and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

who was known as the Marshal de Cadenet. His elder brother was Henri Louis d'Albert d'Ailly, 2nd Duke of Chaulnes, who married Françoise de Neufville and was the father of Madeleine Charlotte d'Albert d'Ailly, but had no male issue.

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

, Queen of England, stood as his godmother after her proxy marriage to

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after ...

Career

He was lieutenant of the compagnie des chevau-légers de la

garde du roi The Life Guards () was the senior formation of the King of France's Household Cavalry within the '' Maison militaire du roi de France''. History Foundation The oldest unit in the ''Garde du Corps'' was the Company of Scottish Archers, later just ...

in 1664, French ambassador to Rome for the election of

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX ( la, Clemens IX; it, Clemente IX; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Biography Ear ...

in 1667, gouvernor of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

in 1670. He returned to Rome the same year for the election of

Pope Clement X Pope Clement X ( la, Clemens X; it, Clemente X; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death in July 1676. Elected pope at ag ...

. He was sent as French ambassador to

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

in 1675. He served as the King's commander-in-chief in Brittany, but could not stem the tide of the revolt of the papier timbré in 1675 and demanded intervention from the royal armies and punishment of the rebels. His violence towards the rebels alienated him from his Breton noble allies and gained him the public peasant nickname of "fat pig" ("gros cochon", ''hoc'h lart'' in Breton). He remained in command in Brittany until he was made ambassador to Rome a third time in 1689 on the election of

Pope Alexander VIII Pope Alexander VIII ( it, Alessandro VIII; 22 April 1610 – 1 February 1691), born Pietro Vito Ottoboni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 1689 to his death in February 1691. He is to date the las ...

. He was dismissed from government of Brittany in 1693 to be replaced by the

comte de Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroun ...

, and was instead made governor of

Guyenne Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of ''Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux. The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation of ...

, remaining so until his death.

Duke of Chaulnes

Upon his brother's death in 1653, he became the 3rd Duke of Chaulnes. The duchy of Chaulnes was established by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, t ...

in January 1621 and registered on 6 March 1621 at the

Parliament of Paris The Parliament of Paris (french: Parlement de Paris) was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. It was fixed in Paris by Philip IV of France in 1302. The Parliament of Paris would hold sessions inside the ...

for the benefit of his father, a younger brother of

Charles d'Albert Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes (, 5 August 1578 – 15 December 1621) was a French courtier and a favourite of Louis XIII. In 1619, the king made him Duke of Luynes and a Peer of France, and in 1621, Constable of France. Luynes died of scar ...

Duke of Luynes The Duke of Luynes (french: duc de Luynes ) is a territorial name belonging to the noble French house d'Albert. Luynes is, today, a commune of the Indre-et-Loire ''département'' in France. The family of Albert, which sprang from Thomas Alberti ( ...

. In 1667, however, to avoid the title passing into disuse, at the request of his mother, he named as his heir, his cousin's son, Charles Honoré d'Albert de Luynes, 7th Duke of Chevreuse (the son of

Louis Charles d'Albert de Luynes Louis-Charles d'Albert de Luynes, 2nd Duke of Luynes (25 December 1620 – 10 October 1690), was a French nobleman and peer of France. He was a translator and moralist who was the first translator of the work of René Descartes. Early life Louis ...

the 2nd

). The Duke of Chevreuse's marriage contract stipulated that the title would pass to the youngest child of his marriage, and, in case the male line subsequently ended, to the youngest of that name who held the arms of the d'Albert family. Thus two distinct houses were created: Luynes, which the Duke of Chevreuse inherited from his father, and Chaulnes, which remained distinct and separate from the former until the direct line of inheritance came to an end. In that case, the two houses should be reunited until it was possible to separate them again (which happened in 1792).

Personal life

The Duke died, unmarried, on 4 September 1698.

References

;Notes ;Sources {{DEFAULTSORT:d'Ailly, Charles d'Albert 1625 births 1698 deaths French generals Dukes of Chaulnes Ambassadors of France to the Holy See House of Albert 17th-century French diplomats 17th-century peers of France