Charles Henri of Lorraine (french: Charles Henri, Prince de Commercy, Prince de Vaudémont, ; 17 April 1649 – 14 January 1723) was the legitimated son of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and

Béatrix de Cusance Béatrix de Cusance (27 December 1614 – 5 June 1663), Baroness of Belvoir, was the second wife of Charles IV, former reigning Duke of Lorraine. She was a correspondent of Constantijn Huygens. Early life She was the second child and first d ...

. He was given the

Principality of Commercy A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

in 1708 by his cousin Leopold, Duke of Lorraine. He was also the Count of Falkenstein.

Biography

Charles Henri was born in Brussels as 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. On 27 April 1669, in Bar-le-Duc, he married a cousin, Princess Anne Elisabeth de Lorraine,''Le grand dictionnaire historique, p. 411. daughter of Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf of the House of Guise. The princess was known as ''Mademoiselle d'Elbeuf'', a style derived from her father's title. 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 The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. He served in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

in Flanders under William III of England. He was attached to the household of ''

le Grand Dauphin Louis, Dauphin of France (1 November 1661 – 14 April 1711), commonly known as Grand Dauphin, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV and his spouse, Maria Theresa of Spain. He became known as the Grand Dauphin after the birth of h ...

'' along with his two nieces, the Princess of Epinoy and

Béatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine Béatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine (1 July 1662 – 9 February 1738) was a member of the House of Lorraine and was the Abbess of Remiremont. She was a member of the household of ''Le Grand Dauphin'' and was the supposed wife of her cousin the '' ...

, future Abbess of Remiremont. In 1698, he was appointed Governor of Milan. Two years later, the last Habsburg king of Spain, Charles II, died and was replaced by Louis XIV's grandson,

Philip, Duke of Anjou Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

. This triggered 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 Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, 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 Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...

, 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

* Charles Thomas de Lorraine, Prince de Vaudémont (7 March 1670 – 12 May 1704) died unmarried.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Henri, Prince of Commercy 1649 births 1723 deaths Military personnel from Brussels Nobility from Brussels Princes of Lorraine Military personnel of the Franco-Dutch War French military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Governors of the Duchy of Milan Princes of Vaudémont Knights of the Golden Fleece Counts of Falkenstein Generals of the Holy Roman Empire