Charles III de Blanchefort-Créquy, sieur de Blanchefort, prince de Poix, duc de Créquy (24 March 1624 – 13 February 1687) was a French peer and soldier, who also served

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

as diplomat and advisor.

Life

Charles III was the eldest of three sons born to Charles de Blanchefort (ca. 1598–1630), and Anne Grimoard du Roure (ca. 1601–1686). His youngest brother

François de Créquy François de Blanchefort de Créquy, later Marquis de Marines, 2 October 1629 to 3 February 1687, was a 17th-century French noble and soldier, who served in the wars of Louis XIV of France. He came from a powerful and well-connected family, hi ...

(1629–1687), became a

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 (1 ...

; his other brother Alphonse (1628–1711) became the 6th duke of Lesdiguières in 1703 but was less successful than his siblings. In 1653, he married Anne-Armande de Saint-Gelais (1637–1709) who later became chief Lady-in-waiting to

Queen Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

. They had one daughter, Madeleine de Créquy (1655-1707), who married Charles-Belgique Hollande de La Trémoïlle,

Career

Charles served in the French army during the Franco-Spanish War, 1635–1659; he was wounded at the Siege of

Orbetello Orbetello is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. It is located about south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve. History Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan settlemen ...

in July 1646 and promoted Lieutenant-general. He was rewarded by

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...

and

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

for his loyalty to

during the 1648-1653 civil war known as the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

1648–1653 made him comte de Créquy and raised him to a

peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

in 1652. The latter half of his life was spent at court, where he held the office of first gentleman of the royal chamber, which had been bought for him by his grandfather. In 1659 the comte de Créquy was sent to Spain with gifts for the ''infanta''

Maria Theresa of Spain Maria Theresa of Spain ( es, María Teresa de Austria; french: Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche; 10 September 1638 – 30 July 1683) was Queen of France from 1660 to 1683 as the wife of King Louis XIV. She was born an Infanta of Spain and Portugal a ...

, and on a similar errand to

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

in 1680 before the marriage of the ''dauphin''. He was ambassador to Rome from 1662 to 1665, and to England in 1677; and became governor of Paris in 1675. He died in Paris on 13 February 1687. His only daughter, Madeleine, married

Charles Belgique Hollande de La Trémoille Prince Charles Belgique Hollande de La Trémoïlle (May 1655 – 1 June 1709), 4th Duke of Thouars, was a French nobleman. Early life He was the second child and eldest son of Prince Henri Charles de La Trémoille (son and heir of Prince Hen ...

(1655–1709). While the comte de Créquy was ambassador to Rome in 1662 and there was insulted by the pro-Austrian

pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

in the

Corsican Guard Affair The Corsican Guard Affair was an event in French and papal history, illustrating Louis XIV of France's will to impose his power on other European leaders. On 20 August 1662, soldiers of pope Alexander VII's Corsican Guard came to blows with the F ...

. Alexander's

Corsican Guard The Corsican Guard (Italian and Corsican: ''Guardia Corsa'') was a military unit of the Papal States composed exclusively of Corsican mercenaries on duty in Rome, having the functions of an urban militia and guard for the Pope. Preceded by ...

pulled down Charles' house, wounding his wife's servants and valets and killing one of Charles' pages. Louis XIV demanded that the governor of Rome, Alexander's nephew, come to apologise in person for this insult and that a pyramid be built in Rome in memory of the repairs.Dictionnaire Bouillet, p. 475

Notes

References

* Marie Louise RODEN, ''Church Politics in Seventeenth-Century Rome: Cardinal Decio Azzolino, Queen Christina of Sweden and the Squadrone Volante'' (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 2000). Attribution: * Endnote: **For a detailed genealogy of the family and its alliances see

Louis Moréri Louis Moréri (25 March 1643 – 10 July 1680) was a French priest and encyclopedist. Life Moréri was born in 1643 in Bargemon, a village in the ancient province of Provence. His great-grandfather, Joseph Chatranet, a native of Dijon, had set ...

, ''Dictionnaire historique: Annuaire de la noblesse française'' (1856 and 1867). *

Life

Career

Notes

References

Further reading