Le Grelle family
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The Le Grelle family is a family of imperial,
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
, Papal, and
Belgian nobility The Belgian nobility comprises Belgian individuals or families recognized as noble with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of Belgium. The Belgian constitution states that no specific privileges are attached to the nobility. History ...
.


Origins

The Le Grelle lineage began with Jean in 1586 in Mainvault, near
Ath Ath (; nl, Aat, ; pcd, Ât; wa, Ate) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Arbre, Ath, Bouvignies, Ghislenghien, Gibecq, Houtaing, ...
.


The Le Grelle's in International Trade in the 17th and 18th Centuries

In 1670, Guillaume Le Grelle (1646-1724), a native of
Ath Ath (; nl, Aat, ; pcd, Ât; wa, Ate) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Arbre, Ath, Bouvignies, Ghislenghien, Gibecq, Houtaing, ...
(Hainault), the great-grandson of Jean, was received as a bourgeois in the city of Antwerp. His son François, a textile merchant, is the common ancestor of the noble branches. The two eldest sons of François Le Grelle, Guillaume-François and Jean-François, took their first successful steps in the field of international trade in the early 18th century. Following the closure of the
Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...
(Escaut) River and the
port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...
since the end of the 17th century, some private shipowners obtained patent letters stating the authorization to fit out armed vessels bound for India in 1714. On December 19, 1722, the emperor Charles VI granted the establishment of a Company of the Indies,
Ostend Company The Ostend Company ( nl, Oostendse Compagnie, french: Compagnie d'Ostende), officially the General Company Established in the Austrian Netherlands for Commerce and Navigation in the Indies () was a chartered trading company in the Austrian Netherl ...
, in
Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
. At the time, Ostend was a fishing center of commercial importance, and a deeper and sheltered port was built there at the beginning of the 17th century.


Guillaume-François Le Grelle (1701-1771) and Jean-François Le Grelle (1703-1759)

The two brothers founded a trading company in Ostend. From 1730 to 1750, they imported textiles, silk, sugar, cocoa, tea, and porcelain from England, Portugal and China in collaboration with the
Swedish East India Company The Swedish East India Company ( sv, Svenska Ostindiska Companiet or ''SOIC'') was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East ...
. At that time the Le Grelle's were also part of the shareholders of the Ostend and Trieste Companies. From 1754, Guillaume-François and Jean François became industrialists (sugar and paper factories). In 1732, their trading company had its headquarters in their house "De Grooten Gulden Schilt" on the High Street (Hoogstraat) in Antwerp. Jean-François Le Grelle was also a judge and lived in the castle of Morckhoven.


Jean-Guillaume Le Grelle (1733-1812)

Jean-Guillaume, the eldest son of Guillaume-François, had sugar factories and a cotton printing press, which employed 576 workers in 1770. His company had obtained exclusivity for the
Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...
. In 1807, he acquired the castle of SelsaetenKasteel Selsaeten https://www.wommelgem.be/kasteel-selsaeten in
Wommelgem Wommelgem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. Wit ...
. By succession, the castle was passed on to the .


Gérard Le Grelle (1713-1771)

The last grandson of François, Gerard Le Grelle began trading in silk around 1740. After his death in 1771, his widow, Catherine Oliva (1724-1791), continued the trade. In 1756, the sugar refinery Huysmans & Cie or De Belle was founded. The shareholders of these companies included François J. Moretus.


Gérard-François Le Grelle (1747-1800)

Gérard-François, the son of Gérard and alderman of Antwerp, was appointed deputy in 1785 for the
Austrian East India Company Austrian East India Company (german: Österreichische Ostindien-Kompanie) is a catchall term referring to a series of Austrian trading companies based in Ostend and Trieste. The Imperial Asiatic Company of Trieste and Antwerp (french: Société i ...
. The family acquired several castles in the Antwerp region. These included, in addition to the castle of Selsaeten in
Wommelgem Wommelgem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. Wit ...
, Rameyen, Gestel, Morckhoven, Middelheim, Berchem, Doggenhout, Munsterbilzen, Boterberg, Wuustwezel, as well as many mansions in the
Meir Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer.Alfre ...
or rue Longue-Hôpital.


The Le Grelle's in Banking

In the early 18th century, the Le Grelle family founded a bank with the children and grandchildren of Gérard Le Grelle and Catherine Oliva distinguishing themselves in this activity during the tumultuous periods at the end of the 17th century.


Joseph J. Le Grelle (1764-1822)

The youngest son of Gérard Le Grelle and Catherine Oliva, Joseph J. Le Grelle founded the Joseph J. Le Grelle Bank in 1792 at the age of 27. The bank was the oldest bank in the country after the
Banque Nagelmackers Nagelmackers is a private bank in Belgium, the oldest in the country and the 14th oldest bank in the world. It focuses on individuals and provides a wide network of independent and integrated offices in Belgium. History Nagelmackers is the ol ...
, founded in 1747. During the French domination in 1792 and the years of terror of the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
in 1793, the reliquary of Blessed Anne of St. Bartholomew, the inseparable companion of
Teresa of Avila Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...
, considered to be the protector of Antwerp, was hidden in the bank's vaults and then in Joseph Le Grelle's linen cabinet. In a letter from his son, Count Gérard Le Grelle, addressed to Father Marcel Bouix SJ (1806-1889), the story is told that Joseph Le Grelle, having contracted a serious illness, was cured by Anne de Saint-Barthélémy. Joseph J. Le Grelle was later taken hostage and brought to Paris in 1794. He was not released until after the fall of Robespierre. Until the foundation of the
National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; nl, Nationale Bank van België, french: Banque nationale de Belgique, german: Belgische Nationalbank) has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850. The National Bank of Belgium was established with 100% pr ...
in 1850, the Joseph J. Le Grelle Bank was among the few private banks to issue banknotes. Upon Joseph J. Le Grelle's death, the bank was taken over by his widow, Maria Theresia Cambier, and his sons Gérard (1793-1871), Jean (1796-1872), and Henri Joseph (1798-1872). The Joseph J. Le Grelle Bank was an important indirect financier of the Belgian Colonization Company in Guatemala, an ill-prepared expedition that ended in failure. In 1854, faced with the Colonization Company's inability to repay one of its debtors, the bank found itself the owner of 10,640 hectares in Guatemala. The family had lost track of its land since 7 October 1940 but has now taken steps to recover it by hiring an attorney in 2020 to look into the matter. The Joseph J. Le Grelle bank merged through the Bank of Antwerp and the with Fortis Bank in 1962.


Joseph-Guillaume Le Grelle (1795-1880)

Son of Joseph J. Le Grelle, he founded the Bank Joseph Guillaume Le Grelle in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. He was commissioner of the Bank of Belgium and founder of the Banque Foncière. He was the Knight of
Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...
and of the Order of St Sylvester.


Henri Le Grelle (1798-1872)

Henri Le Grelle was the founder of the Commercial Bank of Antwerp. He was also a major shareholder in the incorporation of numerous Antwerp companies. A renowned genealogist, he collected many genealogical trees of families of the Antwerp bourgeoisie. Those documents form the basis of the archives of the Le Grelle Family Association. Henri Le Grelle was married to Julie Le Grelle (of the elder branch). The couple had a chapel named after them in the
Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) The Cathedral of Our Lady ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never be ...
.


Count August Le Grelle (1817-1891)

Count August Le Grelle, banker at the Joseph J. Le Grelle Bank, was one of the co-founders of the Antwerp Mortgage Bank (Caisse hypothécaire anversoise Anhyp) in 1881, along with his son Count Emile Le Grelle and his brother Count Stanislas Le Grelle (1827-1908). In 1999, Axa Royale Belge took over Anhyp's banking activities. He was the honorary member of the academic body of the
University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stud ...
and treasurer of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, one of the oldest institutions of its kind in Europe. It was founded in 1663 by David Teniers the Younger, painter to the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Don Juan of Austria. Count August Le Grelle was a member of the commission of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, President of the Peter's Pence, Knight of the Order of Leopold, Commander of the
Order of Saint Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...
and founder of the Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament, located in the Rue du Ciel in Antwerp. He was a patron of the painter Nicaise de Keyser, among others. Many members of the Le Grelle family were bank managers or directors. Count Oscar Le Grelle (1861-1930) was the director of the "Crédit anversois"; Count Gaston Le Grelle (1880-1938) was the managing director of Bank P. Kok & Co in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
(
The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
); Count Max Le Grelle (1881-1922) served as the managing director of Bank Max Le Grelle & Co in Delft,G. van Erkelens, Van Corporatie naar Coöperatie, 1910-2000, Delft, 2000, 49 pp. and Émile Le Grelle was the administrator of the Bank of Brussels and Stanislas of the Bank of Antwerp.


The Le Grelle's in Politics

Politics has always been important in the Le Grelle family. Since the mid-eighteenth century, the family was responsible for the political management of the city of Antwerp.


Henri-Jacques Le Grelle (1753-1826)

Henri-Jacques Le Grelle was the alderman of Antwerp and licentiatus in law from the University of Louvain in 1779. In 1790, he swore an oath of loyalty to the Republic of the United States of Belgium and is one of three authors of the 1790
Belgian Constitution The Constitution of Belgium ( nl, Belgische Grondwet, french: Constitution belge, german: Verfassung Belgiens) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility ...
. The Constitution of the Republic of the United States of Belgium later formed an important foundation for the
Belgian Constitution The Constitution of Belgium ( nl, Belgische Grondwet, french: Constitution belge, german: Verfassung Belgiens) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility ...
adopted by the National Congress in 1831. As a squire, Henri-Jacques Le Grelle was ennobled by patent letters from
Emperor Francis II Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...
, dated 29 January 1794. Together with Joseph Jean Le Grelle, he was among the hostages taken by the French in
Het Steen Het Steen is a medieval fortress in the old city centre of Antwerp, Belgium, one of Europe's biggest ports. The surviving structure was built between 1200 and 1225 as a gateway to a larger castle of the Dukes of Brabant which was demolished i ...
on 7 August 1794, as security for war contribution payments on the Antwerp fortunes. He married Madeleine van Pruyssen (1749-1831).


Count Gérard Le Grelle (1793-1871)

Count Gérard Le Grelle, the son of Joseph J. Le Grelle, was a banker and set up the insurance companies Securitas (1819) and L'Escaut (1821). His situation was hardly comfortable, as the business world was increasingly supporting the
Orangism (Dutch Republic) In the history of the Dutch Republic, Orangism or ''prinsgezindheid'' ("pro-prince stance") was a political force opposing the ''Staatsgezinde'' (pro-Republic) party. Orangists supported the Princes of Orange as Stadtholders (a position held ...
for fear of seeing the
Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...
blocked again by
The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. A supporter of Belgium since his schooling in Brussels with Professor Jean-Baptiste Lesbroussart, Gérard asserted himself, between 1815 and 1830, by categorically refusing any administrative or political office under the Dutch regime and even turning down a proposal to be appointed town councilor. He preferred instead to concentrate his energy on the city of Antwerp and his bank. Together with his brothers Henri (1798-1872) and Edmond (1805-1876), he was a driving force behind the bank, which played an important role in financing the city of Antwerp after the independence of Belgium in 1830. Together with the Rothschild Bank, the Le Grelle Bank was also among the major financiers of the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
(which at the time represented a quarter of Italy, from the south of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
to
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
) prior to the unification of Italy through the Peter's Pence in 1854 and 1864. Count Gérard Le Grelle's name remains attached to a famous petition for religious freedom in 1825, which earned him Rome's support in 1852. In 1830, he was a member of the National Congress for the province of Antwerp and then a member of the Chamber of Representatives. He was the first Mayor
Burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chie ...
of Antwerp after independence and held this position for eighteen years. But, he refused a post as Minister of Finance in the government of Belgium. It was Count Gérard Le Grelle who, in 1836, decided to build the second rail link in Belgium between Mechelen and Antwerp and was the architect of the
Iron Rhine The Iron Rhine or Steel Rhine ( nl, IJzeren Rijn; german: Eiserner Rhein) is a partially nonoperational freight railway connecting the port of Antwerp (Belgium) and Mönchengladbach (Germany) by way of Neerpelt and the Dutch towns of Weert and ...
, a railway between Antwerp and Mönchengladbach (Germany) to transport goods from the port of Antwerp. His many other initiatives included the improvement of the navigability of the Scheldt, the construction of quays, the repurchase of the toll on the Scheldt from the Dutch, and the construction of the
Bourla Theatre Bourla Theatre (also known as Bourlaschouwburg) is a theatre located in Antwerp that seats around 900. The building is designed in a neoclassical style on the site of the former Tapissierspand tapestry market. The theatre was designed on reque ...
. He also created the Rubens festivals in 1840 to create the blossoming of a Belgian atmosphere similar to that which existed at the time of Rubens. Gerard and his son Augustus were also great patrons of the arts, and supported among others Nicaise de Keyser, who gave his name to De Keyserlei street. At the death of his uncle Henri-Jacques Le Grelle on 19 January 1826, Gerard Le Grelle obtained with his brothers the reversion of the recognition of nobility obtained by Henri-Jacques on 31 July 1822, in the
Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...
. On 7 September 1852, Pope Pius IX conferred the title of Count on Gerard Le Grelle, which could be passed on to his legitimate descendants. On 10 August 1853,
King Leopold I * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Lou ...
granted him the authorization to bear this title in Belgium, but it was transmissible only by order of male primogeniture. On 8 February 1871,
King Leopold II * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...
extended the title of Count to all the descendants of Gérard Le Grelle.


Count Ferdinand Le Grelle (1823-1895)

A banker at the Joseph J. Le Grelle Bank and a politician of the Catholic Party, Count Ferdinand Le Grelle became a Senator of the district of Antwerp in 1885, succeeding John Cogels, son of Senator Frédégand Cogels. He fulfilled this mandate until his death. He was also president of the Peter's Pence, Knight in the Order of Leopold, and Commander of the
Order of Saint Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...
.


Count Max Le Grelle (1881-1922)

Count Max Le Grelle was a city councilor of the city of Delft. Before dying at the age of forty-one, he was very active in business and charity. He founded the Katholieke Woningbouw Vereeniging Sint Hyppolytus, a housing company in Delft that still manages almost 5,000 houses. Max Le Grelle was also the chairman and managing director of the Max Le Grelle Co Bank in Delft, director at the , and director of the Standaard Hypotheek Bank. The Max Le Grelle Bank in Delft merged with ABN-Amro. He was a Knight in the
Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...
and a Knight in the
Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
. He obtained admission into the Dutch nobility for himself and all his descendants, but died without posterity.


Count Daniel Le Grelle (1922-2018)

Count Daniel Le Grelle became a municipal councilor in Antwerp, first as an independent, then as a representative of the Christian Social Party. He was elected in 1958 and remained in office until 1988. He became the founder of the Association for the Preservation of Monuments, which was mainly concerned with the monuments of Antwerp. As a city councilor, he successfully campaigned for the preservation of the Polder municipalities (
Berendrecht Berendrecht () is a neighbourhood and former village in Antwerp province in Belgium. Its name means " dike of the bear", according to the area's dialect, or "dike of a man called Bear", or "passage by the marsh". But ''drecht'' or ''tricht'' means ...
) that were threatened with extinction due to the expansion of the
Port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...
. Count Daniel Le Grelle served as the president of the Belgian-Dutch Association. He participated in the television series ''De Blauwe Gids'' (The Blue Guide), devoted to the Belgian nobility, in which he was presented as an ardent nature lover. He was particularly concerned about the annual heron colonies in Berendrecht. Daniel Le Grelle was a member of the
Council of Nobility The Council of Nobility ( French: ''Conseil de noblesse'', Dutch: ''Raad van Adel'') offers counsel to the King of the Belgians regarding all matters pertaining to the Kingdom's nobility. History It was created by Royal Decree on 27 February 1 ...
for eight years, alternating as president every two years with a French-speaking colleague. He actively campaigned for the inclusion of prominent Flemish personalities in the nobility. In 1959, Count Daniel Le Grelle co-founded the Heemkundige Kring van de Antwerpse Polder and the Polder Museum, where he served as its president and honorary president for several decades.


Count Bernard Le Grelle (1948)

Bernard Le Grelle, a journalist, political adviser, writer, and public affairs executive, was the first Belgian to enter the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...
in New York. He founded and directed ''The Tobago News.'' He was a consul of France at the age of 27 in
Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...
and when huge oilfields where found off shore, Winston Murray and A.N.R Robinson, who won the two Tobago seats, were supporting a secession from Trinidad, their London representative asked Le Grelle to join a Shadow cabinet and to be Minister of Foreign Affairs. As the deputy director of
Le Nouvel Économiste ''Le Nouvel Économiste'' (French: ''The New Economist'') is a French language weekly financial and business magazine published in Paris, France. History and profile ''Le Nouvel Économiste'' was established in 1975. The magazine was owned by th ...
, he organized the first French economic mission to China since
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
in 1978 and served as an intermediary between several governments, including
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, the
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, the United States and China, and major French industrial groups such as Bouygues,
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,
Air Liquide Air Liquide S.A. (; ; literally "liquid air"), is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, after Linde it is ...
,
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,
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,
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and Thomson. Bernard Le Grelle was the founder of the first European lobbying agency, a partner of Robert K. Grey Robert, former cabinet secretary of President Dwight Eisenhower, a political advisor, and a university professor at
La Sorbonne , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...
,
St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...
and HEC Paris. He is the author of ''Profession Lobbyman'' and worked as an expert for several United Nations agencies, including
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,
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,
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, and
WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...
and as a consultant for
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
,
The International Herald Tribune ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
and
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
. Bernard Le Grelle served as a policy advisor promoting foreign investments and building their countries image for several Prime Ministers, including
Pierre Mauroy Pierre Mauroy (; 5 July 1928 – 7 June 2013) was a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. At the time of his de ...
,
Wilfried Martens Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian People's Party, during his premiership ...
, and
Ruud Lubbers Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Re ...
; he organized the official trip to the United States of Belgian Deputy Prime Minister
Willy De Clercq Willy Clarisse Elvire Hector, Viscount De Clercq (8 July 1927 – 28 October 2011) was a Belgian liberal politician. De Clercq was born in Ghent, son of Frans de Clercq.Etat présent de la noblesse belge 2015, p. 62 After his law and notariat s ...
. In 1982, Bernard le Grelle was appointed by the French Presidency as director of the National Air and Space Bicentennial Agency. He became a founding member of the US Bicentennial Committee, co-organizing a conference in the Senate with vice-president George H. Bush and in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
with President Ronald Reagan. On this latter occasion, the logo of the Bicentennial was signed by the four astronauts of the
Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the first American ship to circumnavigate the upper North American Pacific coast and the female personif ...
. He convinced Senator
Charles Mathias Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. (July 24, 1922 – January 25, 2010) was an American politician and attorney. A Republican, he served as a member of the United States Senate, representing Maryland from 1969 to 1987. He was also a member of ...
and
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
director Jim Beggs to send the
Space Shuttle Enterprise Space Shuttle ''Enterprise'' ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) was the first orbiter of the Space Shuttle system. Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test fl ...
on a European tour that included a visit to the
Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
in 1983. The crowd was thrilled to see the Space Shuttle Enterprise arrive on “piggyback” on top of a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Bernard le Grelle and Senator Charles Mathias initiated the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
Joint Resolution 270, officially designating 1983 as the Year of the Bicentennial of Air and Space. In December 1982, Bernard Le Grelle, Larry Mihlon, a former advisor to
President John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until assassination of Joh ...
, and
Charles Mathias Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. (July 24, 1922 – January 25, 2010) was an American politician and attorney. A Republican, he served as a member of the United States Senate, representing Maryland from 1969 to 1987. He was also a member of ...
came up with an idea to make the U.S. space program more popular with the U.S. taxpayers. Space shuttle launches had become routine and received little media coverage, being relegated, for example, to the eighth page of
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
. The idea was to put a teacher in a shuttle flight, from where she would give lessons to children from space, lessons that would be relayed to all schools in the United States via the public television network
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
. This idea was the genesis of the
Teacher in Space Project The Teacher in Space Project (TISP) was a NASA program announced by Ronald Reagan in 1984 designed to inspire students, honor teachers, and spur interest in mathematics, science, and space exploration. The project would carry teachers into space ...
. In 1985, NASA selected
Christa McAuliffe Sharon Christa McAuliffe ( Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire, who was killed on the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L where she was serving as a ...
to be the teacher, but she perished in the Challenger shuttle accident along with the crew just 73 seconds after liftoff on the morning of Tuesday, 28 January 1986; the incident was broadcast live on
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
. At this time, Bernard Le Grelle was aboard the Boeing 757 of
Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...
bound to Miami, cruising at 39,000 feet above the
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
, when the explosion occurred. Le Grelle, who was on the telephone with
Charles Villeneuve Charles Villeneuve (born Charles Leroy; 19 July 1941) is a French journalist. He was the sports director of the television channel TF1. On 27 May 2008, he was named as president of Paris Saint-Germain F.C. ahead of the new season, after the on ...
, the managing editor of
Europe 1 Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its pr ...
radio station, became the first and only journalist to report the accident live as he watched the explosion. The report was cited among the great scoops of Europe 1 Radio. The Commanding astronaut of Challenger was Francis (Dick) Scobee, who flew the 747 with the Enterprise to le Bourget in 1983 and met with Le Grelle. From 1982 to 1986, Bernard Le Grelle, along with James I. Campbell Jr., a former member of Senator Edward Kennedy's staff and advisor to
Larry Hillblom Larry Lee Hillblom (May 12, 1943 – May 21, 1995) was an American businessman and co-founder of the shipping company DHL Worldwide Express. After his disappearance, his estate paid $360 million to four impoverished children whom he had fathered ...
, the founder of DHL, were instrumental in breaking up the existing postal monopoly in Europe, opening the way for companies such as FedEx, UPS,
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
and DHL to operate on the European continent. In 1986, he was named advisor to the anti-terrorist group set up at the Elysée Palace in liaison with members of an anti-terrorist group of the American Congress and the National Security Council of the United States. In 2008, Bernard Le Grelle became the president of the Support Committee for the
Nobel Prize in Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according ...
to
Jean-Claude Chermann Jean-Claude Chermann is a French virologist who managed the research team which, by 1983, under the administrative supervision of Luc Montagnier, had discovered the virus associated with AIDS. Whereas second author of this initial publication and ...
, the main discoverer of the
HIV virus The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
. The committee brought together more than 700 doctors, professors, and scientists, including Professor
Robert Gallo Robert Charles Gallo (; born March 23, 1937) is an American biomedical researcher. He is best known for his role in establishing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the infectious agent responsible for acquired immune deficiency syndrome ...
, a controversial virologist who also worked on the HIV virus. Bernard le Grelle was received by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who publicly defended Professor Chermann and strongly criticized the Nobel Committee's decision. He was given the honorary Navy Lieutenant status for services rendered to the French Navy. During his career, Bernard Le Grelle was received several times at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
and has had the opportunity to meet many heads of state and government.


Le Grelle's in the press and industry

The 19th century saw the family's activities diversify into the press and food industries. In 1893, Count Oscar Le Grelle was the co-founder of the fund that bought the shares of N.V. De Vlijt, publisher of the Gazet van Antwerpen, eventually obtaining control of the newspaper. Count Alfred Le Grelle (1872-1948) was the president of N.V. De Vlijt, with the fund still existing under the name K.I.M. (Katholiek Impuls en Media Fonds). The fund is a shareholder of the Catholic newspapers in Flanders, which have grouped together under the name Mediahuis. Count Gérard Le Grelle was among the founders of
Liebig Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) was a German scientist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and is considered one of the principal founders of organic chemistry. As a professor at t ...
with the German Liebig family in Antwerp. A century later, a Le Grelle shareholder of Liebig married a descendant of the founders of
Maggi Maggi ( or ) is an international brand of seasonings, instant soups, and noodles that originated in Switzerland in the late 19th century. The Maggi company was acquired by Nestlé in 1947. History Early history Julius Maggi (1846–1912) ...
.


The Church and Charity

In Antwerp and its surroundings alone, more than twenty-nine churches and chapels—including the
Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
, St. Andrew's Church, the Churches of St. Augustine, St. Frederick in Deurne, Our Lady College, the Ursuline school in
Wilrijk Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...
, the Basilica of Berchem and the small churches of Gestel and
Ranst Ranst () is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Broechem (townhall), , Oelegem, and Ranst (postoffice) proper. In 2021, Ranst had a total population of 19,249. The total area is . Notable pe ...
—have stained glass windows or ancient tombstones with the Le Grelle coat of arms. The family counts three Grand Chaplains ( Grand Aumonier) at the head of the former institution, which in the past took care of the city's poorest citizens long before the creation of Public Centers for Social Welfare (CPAS). The honorable function with a one-year term was very expensive because the Grand Chaplain financed those charitable activities himself. In 1771, 1787 and 1795, Jean-Guillaume, Gérard François, and Joseph J. Le Grelle were Grand Chaplain of Antwerp. In 1824, founded the Maatschappij der Kristelijke Liefdadigheid, which still operates a hospital and manages nursing homes. Numerous convents and religious orders have been able to benefit from Gérard Le Grelle's help. Edmond Le Grelle (1805-1876) married Eulalie Cambier (1806-1862) in 1826, who founded the school of the Ursulines in
Wilrijk Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...
. Edmond Le Grelle later Marie van Eersel (1815-1866) in 1863 and Bathilde De Wael (1829-1908) in 1867, who set up several schools and hospices in Antwerp. These women made an important contribution to the name Le Grelle. Many members of the Le Grelle family are part of this religious tradition, including Father Aloys, Sisters Thérèse, Marie, Joséphine, Clémence, Engelberte, Madeleine, Agnès, Monsignor Stanislas, Father Maxime, Father Guy and brother Éric. In the
Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) The Cathedral of Our Lady ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never be ...
, a chapel was consecrated by the Le Grelle family and houses a 19th-century
triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...
.


Le Grelle's in sports

The family has had some success in the world of sports.


Count Léon Le Grelle (1852-1909)

Count Leon Le Grelle was a coach and jockey at the stables of Baron Creutz, Baron Osy, and Count van Limburg Stirum in
The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. His nephew, Count Gérard, followed the same path; both won numerous prizes.


Countess Diane Le Grelle, known as Pinky (1952)

Diane (Pinky) Le Grelle was the first woman to excel at mixed skeet shooting at the
1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
for
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
.


Count Daniel Le Grelle (1922-2018)

Count Daniel le Grelle was a member of the Belgian Olympic Committee for years. He reorganized it and it is now called the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (COIB). The purpose of the new entity was to help young athletes reach international levels. Count Daniel Le Grelle's work with the committee earned him the Silver Medal of Merit of the
Olympic Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Traditi ...
. He was close to
Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie Rogge, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge bec ...
, eighth president of the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
, the supreme authority of the Olympic movement.


Sébastien Le Grelle (1974)

Sébastien Le Grelle started motorcycling with
motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...
, competing in motorcycle speed contests beginning in 1995. Very quickly, success was achieved in the promotional categories. In 2000, he took part in eight races at the
2000 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season The 2000 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 52nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Season summary Kenny Roberts, Jr. fulfilled the promise of his 2nd place in 1999 by winning the championship for 2000 with 2 races to spare. ...
in the 500cc category. In 2001, he returned to his favorite categories with the same success. He was crowned Belgian champion several times.


Baron Charles Bracht (1915-1978)

A cousin by marriage, Baron Charles Bracht was an outstanding alpine skier; he competed in the men's combined event at the Fourth Winter Olympic Games of 1936 (the first to include alpine skiing) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.


The Le Grelle's today


From Antwerp to New Zealand

Today, the name of Le Grelle maintains a strong Antwerp connotation, but the majority of the family no longer lives in the city. Instead, the Le Grelle's are found in
Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and ...
and France, after a generation spent in the
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...
. Some are Canadian, including the children of Countess Marie-Antoinette Le Grelle and Canadian Ambassador
Keith MacLellan Keith William MacLellan (1920–29 September 1998) was a soldier, scholar and Canadian diplomat who helped to shape Canada's post war multi-lateral foreign policy and championed the cause of a federal, united, Canada. Life and family Of Ca ...
. Others have emigrated to New Zealand.


Descendants of the Seven Noble Houses of Brussels

All Le Grelle's descend at least once from the
Seven Noble Houses of Brussels The Seven Noble Houses of Brussels (also called the Seven Lineages or Seven Patrician families of Brussels; french: Sept lignages de Bruxelles, nl, Zeven geslachten van Brussel, Latin: ''Septem nobiles familiae Bruxellarum'') were the seven ...
and, among others, from , , and and part of the family through alliances with the van Ursel, van de Werve, t'Kint, della Faille, de Bergeyck, de Smet, de Robiano, van der Beken Pasteels. Several Le Grelle's descend through alliances of
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...
.


Some illustrious cousins

Cécilia Sarkozy, the former wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is among the Le Grelle cousins by marriage. “Cécilia also has Belgian cousins. Her mother's half-brothers and half-sisters, as well as their descendants, belong to a great family of Antwerp nobility: the Le Grelle family. Her maternal grandmother Rosalie de Swert (1901-1982), married Count Adelin Le Grelle in 1921 in
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, Spain. From this union two children were born, Count Richard Le Grelle (1921) and Countess Marie-Antoinette, who had four children with the Canadian ambassador
Keith MacLellan Keith William MacLellan (1920–29 September 1998) was a soldier, scholar and Canadian diplomat who helped to shape Canada's post war multi-lateral foreign policy and championed the cause of a federal, united, Canada. Life and family Of Ca ...
“, journalist Marie-Cécile Royen wrote in the '' Le Vif/L'Express'' edition of 31 August 2007. When Cécilia became the First Lady of France, Counts Henry and Vincent Le Grelle sent her a case of their Rubens Montagne Saint-Émilion cuvée to the Élysée Palace. They received a warm letter of thanks addressed to "My dear cousins". Elisabeth de Bernard de Fauconval, who married Count Gérard le Grelle, and their children are cousins of the Smet family and of Jean-Philippe Smet (alias
Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 ...
) as well as of the Lefèvre d'Ormesson family and
Jean d'Ormesson Count Jean Bruno Wladimir François de Paule Le Fèvre d'Ormesson (16 June 1925 – 5 December 2017) was a French novelist. He was the author of forty books, the director of '' Le Figaro'' from 1974 to 1979, and the Dean of the Académie français ...
, writer, journalist and philosopher, member of the Académie Française. They are also cousins of Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria (1937), who in 1959 married Albert II, King of the Belgians (1934) and mother of King Philip (1960). Marguerite de Mélotte de Lavaux (1864-1952), who married Count Albéric Le Grelle (1860-1934) is a cousin of Viscount
Ferdinand de Lesseps Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps (; 19 November 1805 – 7 December 1894) was a French diplomat and later developer of the Suez Canal, which in 1869 joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas, substantially reducing sailing distances and times ...
(1805-1894), the builder of the Suez Canal and Eugénie de Montijo (1823-1920), who married Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in 1853, who later became Emperor
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
in 1856. Countess Alice Le Grelle, the daughter-in-law of Albéric Le Grelle, piously kept the Golden Rosary that Empress Eugenie had given her.


Certain Le Grelle Descendants


Catherine Le Grelle (1760-1819)

With her sister Barbe, Catherine Le Grelle fictitiously bought at a public sale in 1795 the presbytery of Saint-Frédégand in Deurne, which had been confiscated by revolutionaries. The two sisters had planned to return the presbytery to the church later, but in revenge, the furniture of the two sisters was confiscated and sold publicly in 1796.


Pierre Le Grelle de Rameyen (1769-1841)

Pierre Le Grelle de Rameyen married Marie-Josèphe van den Bol (1784-1870). In 1852, his widow obtained an elevation in the rank of nobility in the name of her deceased husband for herself and her five children. This branch of the family died out in 1882. They lived in Rameyen Castle, which had been passed by succession to the de Cock de Rameyen family. Pierre Le Grelle de Rameyen owned the magnificent 16th century Castle Gestelhof in
Berlaar Berlaar () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Berlaar proper and . In 2021, Berlaar had a total population of 11,710. The total area is 24.57 km². History The current munic ...
. Today, the stately mansion is considered an official monument in Belgium, where it is situated in a national park along the Nete river, some 18 miles from Antwerp.


Jean-Antoine Le Grelle (1774-1841)

Jean Antoine Le Grelle was the son of Jean-Guillaume (1733-1812) and Marie Thérèse Janssens (1748-1811). On a cadastral map dated 20 April 1815, which mentions Jean-Antoine Le Grelle as owner of the castle of Selsaeten in
Wommelgem Wommelgem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. Wit ...
, one can see that the estate is identical to that of the until the division of the latter and the sale of the castle in 1951.


Edmond Le Grelle (1805-1876)

A squire, Edmond Le Grelle inherited the status of nobleman in 1826. He was the captain commander of the Civil Guard in Antwerp. He was a banker at the Joseph J. Le Grelle Bank, officer in the Order of Leopold, commander in the
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...
, and Knight in the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great. In June 1853, Edmond Le Grelle received the mission from King Leopold I to travel to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
for the planned wedding of Leopold's son, the Duke of Brabant, with S.A.I. and R. Marie-Henriette, the archduchess of Austria. Upon his return in Brussels, Edmond gave the king a portrait of the future queen of the Belgians. He married Eulalie Cambier (1806-1862) in 1826, Marie van Eersel (1815-1866) in 1863, and in 1867 Bathilde De Wael (1829-1908), the sister of Mayor Leopold De Wael. She was a widow and lost her two daughters, who tragically died of black smallpox contracted in a Parisian palace in 1887 just one day apart at the ages of 18 and 15. De Twee Gezusters (The Two Sisters) orphanage was founded in 1889 by Bathilde in memory of her two daughters. They lived in the Middelheim Castle and the "Geleyhuis” in the
Meir Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer.Alfre ...
street.


Louis Le Grelle (1817-1852)

A horticulturist, Louis Le Grelle lived in the Castle of Berchem and was a Knight in the Order of Leopold. He was a member of the administrative commission of the Royal Horticultural Society of Antwerp and held the honorary diploma of the Horticultural Societies of
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Mechelen,
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
, Leuven,
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...
and
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
. His wife, Caroline Le Grelle, was also a horticulturist. Madame Parmentier, a Belgian horticulturist living in the
State of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
(
USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
), dedicated her ''
Punica granatum The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
'' 'Legrelliae' (
Pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
). His numerous relationships with the directors of the botanical gardens of our country and abroad have been most useful for public education. The palm trees of M: Legrelle d'Hanis were honored in the great throne room of the National Exhibition in Brussels in 1848, where the king and the royal family were received and complimented. ''
Dioon edule ''Dioon edule'', the chestnut dioon, is a cycad native to Mexico, also known as ''palma de la virgen''. Cycads are among the oldest seed plants and even pre-date the dinosaurs.The United States Botanical Garden It belongs to the Zamiaceae plant ...
'', '' Gunnera scabra'', ''
Ceratozamia mexicana ''Ceratozamia mexicana'' is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, and Veracruz states in Mexico. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and su ...
'', ''Didymochlœna'' of Brazil, the as yet unknown ''Theophrasta'', '' Jacaranda legrelliana'', and many other magnificent species have spread in quantity outside his magnificent Berchem countryside. It is happily remembered that H.M. King Leopold, in visiting the 1848 exhibition, expressed in front of a plant of M. Legrelle-d'Hanis, '' Myanthus firmbriatus'', the reasoned admiration of a botanist scholar and paid a full tribute to the services rendered to the national horticulture of Belgium by such honorable exhibitors ».


Count Aloys Le Grelle (1818-1883)

Count Aloys Le Grelle was a member of the
Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
, vice-provincial of the Jesuits of Belgium, former rector of the colleges of Namur, Liège and Antwerp and of the
Jesuit formation Jesuit formation, or the training of Jesuits, is the process by which candidates are prepared for ordained or brotherly service in the Society of Jesus, the world's largest male Catholic religious order. The process is based on the Constitution o ...
of Louvain (Leuven).


Mathilde Le Grelle (1847-1928)

A composer, Mathilde Le Grelle wrote the Majorcan March for
King Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...
. In 1895, she published an autobiographical book, ''A Honeymoon in Chicago''. Her husband, Arthur de Cannart d'Hamale, published ''Quelques Pages sur le Congo'' (Some Pages about the Congo), which had not yet become a Belgian colony.


Charles Le Grelle (1854-1938)

He was a squire and the alderman of
Etterbeek Etterbeek (French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...
, where a street bears his name. He was the deputy prosecutor of the king and commissioner of currencies. As an Attorney General of the Egyptian courts, he established the Egyptian judiciary system. He was the grand officer of the Order of the Crown, commander of the Order of Leopold, the grand officer of the Order of Osmaniye, the Order of Medjidiae, the
Order of the Crown of Siam The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama ...
,
Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama ...
, the commander of the
Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...
, and the commander of the
Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun ( Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extended to Iranians) who had rendered disting ...
of Persia. He lived in the Castle of Engismont in
Engis Engis (; wa, Indji) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Engis had a total population of 5,686. The total area is 27.74 km² which gives a population density of 205 inhabitants per km ...
.


Count Henry Le Grelle (1865-1934)

Contrary to the custom of the time that sent young people from his background to study in Germany, Henri Le Grelle studied in England. Around the age of 18, Henry left for a trip around the world, including a lengthy visit to Ranchi (the present capital of the state of Jharkhand in India), an experience that marked him for life. There he met Father Constant Lievens in a hut in Torpa (today in the diocese of Khunti), located 60 km south of Ranchi, where he created a Jesuit school that still exists, several small churches, and a printing house to spread the news of the savior Jesus Christ. In 1900, with Father Belpaire and Ch. Hertoghe, Henry Le Grelle founded a bakery cooperative "Het Beste Brood" in Antwerp (dissolved in the 1990s), which played an important role in the distribution of bread in Antwerp between the two wars. The bread was delivered in small carts pulled by ponies. He also set up a technical school for chaplains which was still in existence in 2019, a savings and pension fund (Spaar en Lijfrentekas), a coal trade (the Algemene Kolen Vereniging) to supply the bakery's oven and enable workers to buy coal at a favorable price as well as the "Queen" chocolate factory. Count Henry Le Grelle’ purpose for launching these enterprises was political, that is, to counter the Socialists. Human contact and customer loyalty allowed him to convey a different message from that of socialism. He also left precious writings on the living conditions of the Indians in the 19th century.


Comte Alfred Le Grelle (1872-1948)

He was the president of the ''N.V. De Vlijt'' ( Gazet van Antwerpen).


Count (Monsignor) Stanislas Le Grelle (1874-1957)

The tenth of Stanislas and Adelaïde (born de Villegas de Saint-Pierre Jette) Le Grelle's twelve children, Count Stanislas Le Grelle became a priest and was promoted to Doctor of Philosophy and Theology. He became the head Chaplain of the
Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...
in 1914. In 1940–1945, he was a member of the Secret Army. With his inheritance, he had bought a palazzo near the
Janiculum The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...
in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
(this house was later bought by the Ruffo di Calabria, the parents of
Queen Paola Paola (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria;AlthougThe Belgian Monarchy websiteattributes the title of "Princess" to Queen Paola prior to marriage, Burke's Peerage 1973, The Descendants of Louis XIII 1999, ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' 200 ...
). He occupied the top floor and rented rooms for a small fee to theology students. One of them, who was two-year younger, became his friend. His name was Eugenio Pacelli and he was elected pope in 1939 as
Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...
. Stanislas Le Grelle became
Papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...
as well as serving as assistant librarian of the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. He was one of the few prelates to have a very personal relationship with the Pope. But it was also an original. Belgian Prime Minister Léo Tindemans (1974-1979), told Henry Le Grelle the following anecdote. Monsignor Le Grelle used to shower in one of the Vatican's fountains in the morning, much to the chagrin of the Swiss guards. They did not dare to question a Monsignor, close to the Pope, but their colonel opened up directly to Pius XII, who very diplomatic simply suggested to him to cut the water from the fountain. Since then this fountain has always remained dry. When the library of the
Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
was destroyed in August 1914 by the invading German forces - with the loss of approximately 230,000 books, 950 manuscripts, and 800 incunabula - Monsignor Stanislas Le Grelle played a major role in rebuilding the collection of books. The building was rebuilt with international effort, but the formidable collection of books had disappeared. Beginning in 1920, the library's collections were rebuilt with donations from all around the world, outraged by the barbaric act which it had suffered. The collection was largely reconstructed by a large donation of books from the Vatican library. Stanislas Le Grelle, a scriptor of the
Vatican Apostolic Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
at that time, intervened to organize the transport of the books to Louvain. Ambassador Freddy Cogels, a counsellor at the Belgian embassy in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
( Quirinal), wrote in his book, ''Memoirs of a Diplomat'', how Monsignor Le Grelle, given his gifts as a diviner, had cured more than 4,000 patients, including many suffering from cancer. The French weekly news magazine
Paris-Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly news magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. History and profile A sports news magazine, ''Match l'intran'' (a play on ''L'Intransigeant' ...
devoted a report to him. Monsignor Stanislas Le Grelle is also associated with a strange affair. The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a charity, hosted by leading celebrities, every year in Brussels. Ambassador Cogels was asked at the end of 1954 to negotiate the presence of Sophia Loren. Since she was afraid of flying, Loren recommended that a young actress,
Marcella Mariani Marcella Mariani (Rome, Italy, 8 February 1936 – Monte Terminillo, Italy, 13 February 1955) was an Italian actress and Miss Italy contest winner. Though she appeared in several popular movies and was garnering acclaim as an actress, her career ...
, be invited in her place. Mariani boarded a
Sabena The ''Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne'' (French; ), better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its ba ...
flight at the last minute hosted the charity ball. On her return 13 February 1955, a Sunday, the Sabena flight 503 Melsbroek-Leopoldville crashed in the Apennines, not far from Rome. The Italian army had drawn up a plan to sweep the entire mountain range in successive sectors. Monsignor Le Grelle telephoned the embassy on the subsequent Friday and revealed the location of the wreckage and the victims, stating that there might be a few survivors. On Monday, 21 February, soldiers found the wreckage and bodies of the victims barely 200 meters from the location disclosed by Stanislas. It is unknown how he learned the wreckage's location. On 6 June 2010, fifty-five years after the events, the children of the victims returned to the scene, to inaugurate a monument and an exhibition and on 13 February 2015, the Belgian Embassy in Rome organized a ceremony to commemorate the 29 victims of the crash. Monsignor Le Grelle was honored on this occasion. Monsignor Stanislas Le Grelle also served as the honorary president of the Le Grelle Family Association, which he created in 1955 with his cousins, nephews, and nieces: Countess Elisabeth Le Grelle and Counts Stanislas, André and Marc Le Grelle. He bequeathed to the association a large number of documents he and his great uncle, Henri Le Grelle, a renowned amateur genealogist, gathered over many years. Monsignor Le Grelle was Knight in the Order of Leopold with Palm and decorated with the Croix de Guerre 1914-18. He is buried in the Vatican.


Count Albert Le Grelle (1888-1914)

Posthumously named Knight of the
Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium ...
with Palm and War Cross, Count Albert Le Grelle died for Belgium at Kaaskerke. Albert had studied at the Notre Dame de la Paix faculty in Namur. From December 1913 to July 1914, he followed about sixty painting courses with the portrait painter Alidor Lamote (1880-1949), and a still life he painted in 1914 was finished just a few months before his death. Like many young men, he was a war volunteer, brigadier in the 13th Lancers Regiment, motorcyclist on the staff of the 3rd division. During the
Battle of the Yser The Battle of the Yser (french: Bataille de l'Yser, nl, Slag om de IJzer) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee ...
, in an attack by about a hundred German soldiers at Kaaskerke, near Diksmuide, on the night of 25–26 October 1914, the Belgians closed the line of defense, but 25 Germans managed to withdraw taking various prisoners. At dawn, the Germans shot many of them, before being taken prisoners in turn by the French. His body was not found until two years later. In his campaign diary written during the 1914-1918 war, Jean de Ryckel, Albert's cousin by their mothers, wrote: "On November 13, 1916, we received a visit from our first cousin Paul de Melotte who announced that the body of our common first cousin, Count Albert Le Grelle, had just been found in Caeskerke. His body was identified in an extraordinary way. New trenches were dug in Caeskerke and many corpses were discovered. In a cavalry coat was found a watch, a revolver, a wallet, and a prayer book. The prayer book contained a souvenir of the First Communion of Marie-Thérèse Le Grelle, his sister, and the watch was recognized by one of Albert's friends. This watch had been bought in Antwerp at the beginning of the hostilities by the two friends”.


Count André Le Grelle (1903-1983)

Count André Le Grelle was the president of N.V. De Vlijt, publisher of the Gazet van Antwerpen. He was the director of numerous companies, the president of Winterhulp 40/45, the organization of Red Cross volunteers who came to the aid of the most destitute during the winters of the last war. He was the owner of Reet Castle and the president of the Le Grelle Family Association (1955-1983).


Count Jacques Le Grelle (1904-1990)

Count Jacques Le Grelle lived intensely. He was a frequent host of large parties, attended by men in tuxedos and women in long dresses, and he had many friends. He also traveled frequently, including twice to America on Esso tankers. These trips had an effect on his manner of speaking, as he kept an American accent all his life. He hunted in Hungary, at the time governed (since 1919) by the Regent
Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya ( hu, Vitéz nagybányai Horthy Miklós; ; English: Nicholas Horthy; german: Nikolaus Horthy Ritter von Nagybánya; 18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), was a Hungarian admiral and dictator who served as the regent ...
. In December 1934, he went skiing in Austria in the resort of
Obergurgl Obergurgl is a village in the Ötztal Alps in Tyrol, Austria. Located in the municipality of Sölden, the village has approximately 400 year-round inhabitants, and is mainly a tourist resort. At an elevation of , Obergurgl is the highest parish i ...
, not far from Innsbruck, where he won the "Pickard Kuppe" and met a German officer. On 28 May, the Belgian army laid down its arms and Jacques Le Grelle was held prisoner in
Eeklo Eeklo () is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Eeklo proper. The name ''Eeklo'' comes from the contraction of "eke" and "lo", two Old German words meaning ''oak'' and ''sp ...
. With incredible luck, the German officer who guarded the column of prisoners was the man he had met skiing in Austria. The officer gave him a few ''Entlassungsscheinen'' (liberation certificates) that enabled Jacques Le Grelle to free himself and several comrades, while 171,000 other soldiers and officers - prisoners of war - were deported to Germany. Jacques Le Grelle left Belgium, crossed France and the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
, and was arrested near
Figueras Figueres (, ; , es, Figueras, ) is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museum ...
(Spain). He finally reached
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
and England on 10 August 1942. In London, he found Colonel Piron, whom he had known in 1939. The latter offered him the position of Chief of Staff but Jacques Le Grelle refused. The Belgian Military Security, led by Colonel Bernard, asked him if he was ready to return to the continent. He was entrusted to
MI9 MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a highly secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945. During World War II it had two principal tasks: (1) assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (P ...
, the military intelligence department number 9, the organization in charge of recovering and bringing back to England resistance fighters, soldiers, and pilots. As early as 1940, Brigadier Crocket had considered it necessary to recover the airmen whose aircraft would be shot down on the continent. Given that the duration of the training of aviators (pilots, navigators, bombers, radio operators, machine-gunners...) was four years, whereas it took only four days to build an aircraft, it was important to recover the men when they fell behind enemy lines. Moreover, it was reassuring for the pilots to know that in case of being shot down they would have a 50 per cent chance of being recovered. MI9 included Airey Neave (called "Saturday"), an officer who made a spectacular escape from the Colditz Fortress. Jacques Le Grelle entered training immediately and performed the exercise jumps, but fractured his spine during the exercises. In May 1943, after eight months of convalescence, he was personally accompanied by Airey Neave to the Pembroke Dock base where he boarded a seaplane. Airey Neave later recounted how painful this had been for him, knowing that his "colt" Jacques had a nine-in-ten chance of losing his life in the mission. Jacques Le Grelle returned under the name of Jerome as a member of the Comet Line which helped Allied soldiers and airmen return to the United Kingdom. As head of the Paris sector from August 1943 to January 1944, he followed the grassroots organizations of
Andrée De Jongh Countess Andrée Eugénie Adrienne de Jongh (30 November 1916 – 13 October 2007), called Dédée and Postman, was a member of the Belgian Resistance during the Second World War. She organised and led the Comet Line (''Le Réseau Comète'') ...
, the co-founder of the network. With the assistance of the message "For the big birds, there are no Pyrenees" broadcast by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in the spring of 1943, Jacques Le Grelle was able to have the Comet Line contacts organized up to
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. He was captured, tortured at length, and sentenced to death but was saved just in time by American troops during the liberation of the Amberg concentration camp on 23 April. After the war, he was a military observer for the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
in Kashmir. In 1952, he was a UN observer based in Damascus during a mission to protect the peace between the new state of Israel and the neighboring Arab countries. In 1970, he was received by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and in 1984 by King Baudouin at the Royal Palace of Laeken.


Father Maxime Le Grelle (1906-1984)

Father Maxime le Grelle was a Jesuit priest and Belgian writer. His work ''Brouage-Québec: Foi de pionniers'' (1976), recounted the lives of 17th century French adventurers, particularly those of Samuel Champlain and Pierre Dugua de Mons in founding New France. The book was awarded the Montcalm Prize in 1977 and the Prix Georges-Goyau in 1978 by the Académie Française. "Rendering Dugua de Mons the tribute to which he is entitled does not in any way detract from Champlain. On the contrary, it is encouraging to see the perfect harmony between these two men, one Catholic and the other Protestant, in the creation of Quebec City, a cause that is dear to both of them," wrote Maxime Le Grelle. Another of Father Maxime Le Grelle's books, ''Champlain nous voilà'' (Champlain Here We Are) was a great success. In 1970, Father Maxime Le Grelle was appointed as the parish priest of Brouage and he moved to Hiers-Brouage, where Samuel Champlain, the founder of Québec City, was born in 1570. He restored the church of Brouage, where eight stained glass windows illustrate the civil and religious history of New France. He also worked to bring the French region of Charente-Maritime and Quebec closer together and led the France-Quebec Association for several years. He was at the origin of the twinning of the parishes of Saint-Stanislas-de-Champlain, Quebec, Saint–Stanislas de Champlain (Canada) and Hiers-Brouage (France) and of the 1973 France-Canada exhibition devoted to the origins of New France. Through this exhibition, Father Le Grelle wished to show "the historical and religious ties that unite France and Canada”. Father Maxime Le Grelle often said Mass in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, with General Charles de Gaulle among the parishioners.


Countess Marie-Antoinette Le Grelle (MacLellan) (1923-2002)

Daughter of Count Adelin Le Grelle and Rosalie de Swert, Countess Marie-Antoinette was the cousin of Cécilia Sarkozy, the second wife of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. In 1944, at the Liberation of Belgium, liberation of Antwerp, she met
Keith MacLellan Keith William MacLellan (1920–29 September 1998) was a soldier, scholar and Canadian diplomat who helped to shape Canada's post war multi-lateral foreign policy and championed the cause of a federal, united, Canada. Life and family Of Ca ...
. Like many young people of his generation, MacLellan had been forced to interrupt his studies during the war and joined the Royal Montreal Regiment, with whom he trained, was appointed an officer and sent to the United Kingdom, where he was transferred to the Special Air Service, 1st Special Air Service (1st SAS). He became one of only two Canadians to serve in the 1st SAS during the war. At that time, he was part of small, jeep-mounted units operating behind enemy lines in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Norway. After the war, on 11 September 1946, Marie-Antoinette married Keith MacLellan while he was a student at Oxford. An ambassador to many countries, MacLellan was a Canadian diplomat who helped shape Canada's multilateral foreign policy after the war and championed the cause of a united federal Canada. Four children were born of the marriage between Marie-Antoinette and Keith MacLellan: Dr. Keith MacLellan, Dr. Anne-Marie MacLellan, Janet MacLellan and Andrew MacLellan. Anne-Marie knew Cecilia well, when she was a child, she went to see the Ciganer family with her in Paris. She then met her several times in Paris with her first husband, the television host Jacques Martin (TV host), Jacques Martin.


Count Guy Le Grelle (1926-2016)

A priest with the
Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
, Count Guy Le Grelle was a professor at List of schools named after Francis Xavier, St. Xavier College, an inventor of electronic games, the archival secretary for the Bollandists, an association of scholars, philologists, and historians, who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christianity.


Count Hervé Le Grelle (1927-1953)

The Atlantic Alliance was formed on 4 April 1949 in response to the threat of Communism, and it was in this troubled context that the Belgian Air Force was reconstituted. The demand for personnel and equipment was high because east–west tensions required increased vigilance in NATO airspace. The fear of a new world conflict, caused by the Berlin Blockade, Berlin Crisis and especially by the Korean War that broke out in 1950, further reinforced the need for pilots. In 1948, Belgium - like other member countries of the Atlantic Alliance - signed a military cooperation agreement with the United States. In the same year, the United States signed a military cooperation agreement with Belgium. The Mutual Defense Assistance Act covered not only the delivery of military equipment, especially aircraft, but also personnel training. Thus, as early as 1951, the first Belgian students went to the United States to be trained as pilots. Hervé Le Grelle signed up at a very young age as a candidate pilot. Enthusiastic and funny, he even tried to recruit his friends to join the Belgian Air Force by being photographed in a small magazine of the time wearing uniforms of various styles with the caption: "Hervé valiantly, but vainly, tried to recruit us into the Belgian Air Force by wearing the latest styles of uniforms simultaneously.” He left in October 1952 for Stallings Air Base in Kinston, North Carolina, to train as a fighter pilot for NATO. His commander was James Evans. By chance, years later, his cousin Henry Le Grelle was in a business relationship with Lancaster Colony, presided by the same James Evans, who was able to tell him many anecdotes about Hervé, a young pilot who had shown exceptional qualities that destined him for a brilliant career. Hervé was later transferred to the James Connally Air Force Base, Connally Base in Waco (Texas). He died during a formation flying exercise on 27 April 27, 1953. His body was repatriated to Antwerp in November 1956 on the Lubilash with those of twenty other Belgian pilots shot down during the Korean War or while serving in the United States. On this occasion, the Maritime Agency organized a ceremony on quay 242 of the port of Antwerp that was attended by many military and political personalities, including the Minister of State Frans Van Cauwelaert. The 21 coffins were lined up in the temporary morgue, covered with the Belgian national colors. On each coffin, the Maritime Agency had placed flowers. Hervé Le Grelle has been made posthumously Knight in the
Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium ...
.


Count Didier Le Grelle (1930-2009)

Count Didier le Grelle was a fund administrator, a majority shareholder of N.V. De Vlijt, publisher of the Gazet van Antwerpen and president of the Le Grelle Family Association.


Count Hughes Le Grelle (1931-2019)

Son of Jacques, Count Hughes Le Grelle was a Paracommando Brigade (Belgium), paracommando officer who first jumped on Stanleyville, Belgian Congo, Stanleyville during Operation Dragon Rouge, the code name for the 24 November 1964 mission in the former Belgian Congo during which the paracommandos freed hundreds of Belgian and foreign hostages held in Stanleyville by Congolese rebels led by Christian Gbenye of the Simba rebellion. By 1964, the Léopoldville government, supported by Western powers, was gaining a foothold in its fight to suppress the communist-backed Simba rebellion. Fearing an inevitable defeat, the rebels resorted to taking hostages of the local white population in areas under their control. On 28 October, the Simba rebels arrested all Belgians and Americans in Stanleyville. Several hundred hostages were taken to Stanleyville and placed under guard in the Victoria Hotel. The Léopoldville government turned to Belgium and the United States for help. In response, the Belgian army sent a task force to Léopoldville, airlifted by the 322d Airlift Division, U.S. 322nd Airlift Division. Washington and Brussels worked jointly on a rescue plan. The soldiers took over Stanleyville first. Hughes Le Grelle then participated in the liberation of Isiro, Paulis (Operation Black Dragon) but, although young officers were motivated to continue to save their fellow citizens, their commander had to stop their ardor, for the mission. Due to the growing international pressure, Belgium and the United States decided to abandon plans for follow-on operations. The paracommandos returned to Belgium after six days, where they were received with great pomp, taking part in a historic ticker-tape parade going back on Rue Royale to the Brussels Courthouse on 1 December 1964. Hugues Le Grelle also participated in Operation Red Bean, the Battle of Kolwezi in 1978. After his retirement, he took over the management of the family business ''Het Beste Brood'', where he organized the sale and complete exit of the capital for the entire Le Grelle family.


Count Arnold Le Grelle (1934-1961)

Count Arnold Le Grelle was Lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Guides (Premier Régiment des Guides), which is a famous regiment created in 1833 with a lot of traditions. During many years, most officers did belong to the Belgian aristocracy and in the officer's mess every officer had his napkin ring with his title and coat of arms. He died on active duty at Elisabethville in Katanga Province, Katanga. After being assigned to the Katanga group of Colonel BEM Champion, who took part in missions in southern Katanga to reassure isolated Belgian settlers and missionaries in 1960, he was sent back to Katanga as a volunteer by the Belgian Ministry of African Affairs in January 1961. On September 13, 1961, the UN launched Operation Morthor (United Nations Operation in the Congo), aimed at ending by force the secession of Katanga from the Congo. It was under these circumstances that Lieutenant Arnold Le Grelle was accidentally shot in the heart by a United Nations peacekeeping, UN Blue Helmet soldier from the Gurkha Contingent, Indian Army Gurkha Contingent Gurkha while he was standing in a scout car. Lieutenant Count Le Grelle is a Knight in the Order of Merit of Katanga and was awarded the Katangese Military Cross. At the Royal Military Academy (Belgium), Royal Military Academy, there is the tradition of assigning a godfather to each promotion. This godfather, selected in view of serving as an example, is presented to each incoming promotion during the annual opening of the academic year. Lieutenant Count Arnold Le Grelle is the godfather of the 126th promotion of the Social and Military Science Faculty (SSMW).


The Le Grelle's today


Count François Xavier Le Grelle, called Frank (1935)

Count Francois Xavier Le Grelle emigrated by ship to Australia in 1960, where he worked as a builder, mostly in Canberra. In 1964 he travelled to New Zealand and settled in Christchurch, where he built a house in Burwood and married Pauline O'Malley. Prior to the birth of their third child, the family moved to a rural property at West Melton, west of Christchurch, where François started construction of a new house in 1975. François has also done construction work in New Caledonia and Samoa.


Count Henry le Grelle (1937)

Municipal councilor of Brasschaat for more than twenty years, linked by marriage to the Friling and Bracht families (descendants of the painter Eugen Bracht), Henry Le Grelle was director of several family companies. He is president of the real estate company Fond Roy, administrated the Belgian-Arab Chamber of Commerce in Antwerp, served as ambassador of the World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF (Belgium) and administrated the Youth International Chamber (JCI), the world federation of 200,000 young active citizens, aged 18 to 40. Henry Le Grelle, his son Count Vincent Le Grelle (1963) and his daughter Countess Stéphanie (1964) are the owners of Château La Tuilerie des Combes vineyards located in the commune of Lussac, Gironde, Lussac and Montagne, Gironde, Montagne, a world-famous wine region. The wines of Château La Tuilerie des Combes Montagne Saint-Émilion, Cuvée Rubens Montagne Saint-Émilion, and Lussac Saint-Emilion have won numerous international medals and awards. They also acquired the vineyard of Château de Ségur and the castle of Ségur, where the famous Comtesse de Ségur, Countess de Ségur wrote Sophie's Misfortunes. Henry Le Grelle is the author of the book ''Gentleman Globetrotter'', in which he recounts his many travels and his encounters with international political figures. Grand Master of Honor of the Popinjay (sport), Order of Papegay. He is descended from
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...
through his mother and Balthasar I Moretus, Balthazar Plantin through his great-grandmother, Euphrasie du Bois.


Count Bernard J. Le Grelle (1947)

Count Bernard J. Le Grelle is the genealogist of the family. He is a Member of Probus Clubs, Probus Belgium and secretary of his club. He is the creator and publisher of the address book of the descendants of Count Gérard Le Grelle.


Count Roland Le Grelle (1949)

Count Roland Le Grelle is, as member of the KIM Fund, the last shareholder of the Le Grelle family in N.V. De Vlijt, and now a shareholder of the Flemish Catholic newspapers, grouped in Mediahuis. As a representative of the Catholic press he was received by Pope Francis in 2018. He was President of the Family Association Le Grelle from 2009 till 2016).


Count Reynald Le Grelle (1957)

Second lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Guides, a graduate (MBA) of the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas, Irving, Texas, and founder-director in Seoul of the Leo Burnett agency for Korea and Southeast Asia, Count Reynald Le Grelle married Florence Didisheim, the daughter of Count Michel Didisheim.


Countess Anita Le Grelle (1959)

Sculptor, graduate of The Royal College of Art in London, Countess Anita Le Grelle's creations have been exhibited in Belgium and London.


Countess Stéphanie Le Grelle (1964)

Daughter of Count Henry Le Grelle, Countess Stéphanie Le Grelle became passionate about art from an early age as a result of discovering the famous painter Caspar Friedrich Wolff, Caspar Freidrich (1774-1840), whose great theme is contemplative solitude, where the vastness of Nature reminds man of his precariousness. Countess Stéphanie's family includes several artists, the most famous of which is most certainly the landscape painter Eugen Bracht. After studying at the international Dell'arte University in Florence, she devoted herself at an early age to drawing and started to exhibit regularly in Belgium. Countess Stéphanie is also co-owner of the vineyards La Tuilerie des Combes located in the communes of Lussac and Montagne as well as of the Ségur Castle and vineyard.


Count Emmanuel Le Grelle (1965)

Count Emmanuel Le Grelle is the Founding Director of the La Vallée des Singes ("The Valley of the Monkeys") primate park in Romagne, Vienne, Romagne, France. The park, well known for its three species of great apes, first obtained gorillas in 1998 and obtained its chimpanzees in 2004. La Vallée des Singes is famous for its group of bonobos, with the largest group in captivity as of 2016 numbering at 20 individuals. The zoo has had five successful births for this critically endangered species.


Brother Eric Le Grelle (1966)

A priest belonging to the community of the Brothers of Saint John, often named “Les Petits Gris” (Little Grey), Brother Eric Le Grelle is in charge of the Association Saint Jean Espérance, which welcomes young people between the ages of 18 and 35 who are addicted to heroin and other types of drugs. He is the holder of the Chalice of Mgr Stanislas Le Grelle, which is always entrusted to a priest of the family.


Count Arnaud Le Grelle (1968)

Lieutenant colonel in the Belgian Defense, master in public affairs and international relations from the Catholic University of Louvain, Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) and master in management from the ICHEC Brussels Management School, ICHEC Brussels Management School. Arnaud Le Grelle is a lobbyist, director (Wallonia-Brussels) of the Federation of Human Resources Service Providers (Federgon), which represents companies active in the field of HR services. Franco-Belgian, he belongs through his mother, born Anne-Marie, Viscountess , to one of the oldest families of the French nobility from the Finistère, Finistère (Brittany).


Count Grégory Le Grelle (1980)

Gregory Le Grelle graduated in horticulture from the Institut supérieur industriel agronomique de Gembloux and graduated in garden architecture and landscape in Brussels. He discovered that to create a garden it took a very thorough knowledge of the requirements and characteristics of plants and decided to make botany its specificity. He follows in the footsteps of his well-known botanist ancestor Louis Le Grelle (1817-1852), who gave the name legrelliana to several plants.


Count Edmund Le Grelle (1972)

Member of the "New Zealand branch" of the Le Grelle family, Count Edmund Le Grelle is the son of François Xavier Le Grelle. Edmund Le Grelle lives in Christchurch (New Zealand), where he owns a badge company and makes also badges and pins with the Le Grelle coat of arms. Fascinated by his homonym Le Grelle, Edmond Le Grelle (1805-1876), he dedicated a site based on Google Earth to him, which is a virtual historical tour of the Antwerp locations of the Le Grelle family.


Count Matthieu Le Grelle (1982)

Count Matthieu Le Grelle is co-founder of Duo for a Job, an association that coordinates the sponsorship of young immigrants for employment. Hundreds of young people have been able to find a job through the association.


Countess Stéphanie Le Grelle (1983)

Daughter of Count Bernard J. Le Grelle (1947), Countess Stéphanie Le Grelle graduated in fashion design and model making from the Francisco Ferrer High School and was trained during her studies by the designer Kaat Tilley, the Belgian Flemish fashion designer, who dressed among others Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, Naomi Campbell and Melanie Griffith. In 2005 she participated in the realization of the fashion show of Belgian stylist Pierre Gauthier, and worked with him for four years, training in the haute couture profession. Following this apprenticeship Stéphanie Le Grelle began to create her own designs. In 2007 she spent ten months doing humanitarian work in Saltillo, Mexico, where she introduced women from underprivileged Mexican neighborhoods to couture and fashion design. In 2011, she opened her own tailoring and tailored design workshop.


Countess Sophie Le Grelle (1987)

Multi-disciplinary, Sophie Le Grelle creates illustrations, GIFs, motifs and more, from print to social media, through plans for screenings of art shows and musical performances. While studying illustration in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Sophie focused on visual arts and illustration. For the past five years, she has been drawing projects inspired by the sensibilities of graphic design. Sophie Le Grelle manipulates the pattern and contrasting colors to create bold and playful images.


Countess Joséphine Le Grelle (2000)

Singer arrived in the final of the television show The Voice Belgique, The Voice in 2017. "Josephine, who has returned from three years in Jordan, has made a big splash with the coaches thanks to her veiled timbre and a very moving rendition of James Bay (singer), James Bay's song Let It Go (James Bay song), Let it Go. The young woman has been singing since receiving her first guitar at the age of 8.” (RTBF). " On her first Live, Josephine had offered a magical moment by taking over an Adele singer, Adele song, When We Were Young (Adele song), When We Were Young. For this eighth final, the girl chose to perform the very first title of the artist Tove Lo, a title that had been a real radio hit” (RTBF).


Toponym

*In Antwerp : Legrellelei and Gérard Le Grellelaan *In Gestel, Netherlands, Gestel : Legrellestraat *In
Etterbeek Etterbeek (French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...
: Charles-Le-Grelle's street *In Jette : Stanislas-Le-grelle's street *In :nl:Pulle, Pulle nl : Legrellelei *In Deurne : Tweegezusterslaan (The Two Sisters Lane in memory of Lydia and Alice Le Grelle, who died tragically)


Botany

Several plants are named Le Grelle: *'' Jacaranda legrelliana''Morren, Ch (July 1996). Panthéon de l'Horticulture, biographie de Louis-Jean-François Legrelle-Dhanis d'Anvers - Dans Legrelliana n°1. p. VI à XIII. *''
Punica granatum The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
'' 'Legrelliae', dedicated by Mme Parmentier to Caroline Legrelle d'Hanis de Berchem''Punica granatum'' 'Legrelliae' - Grenadier à fleurs
*''Calathea legrelleana'' *''Agave legrelliana'' *''Karatas legrellae''


Alliances

File:Armes de la famille Agie de Selsaeten.svg, Agie de Selsaeten family. File:Armes de la famille Anne de Molina.svg, Anne de Molina family. File:Armoiries d'Arschot Schoonhoven.jpg, D'Arschot Schoonhoven family. File:Audren blason.jpg, Audren de Kerdrel family. File:Armes de la famille Beeckmans de West-Meerbeeck.svg, Beeckmans de West-Meerbeeck family. File:Wapenschild Begasse de Dhaem.png, Begasse de Dhaem family. File:Van der Beken Pasteel wapen.svg, Van der Beken Pasteel family. File:Armes de Bernard de Fauconval.svg, De Bernard de Fauconval family. File:De Bieberstein Rogalla Zawadasky wapen 1846.svg, De Bieberstein Rogalla Zawadasky family. File:Armoiries de la famille Bonaert.png, Bonaert family. File:Armoiries de la famille de Bonhome.png, De Bonhome family. File:Du Bois de Maquillé.jpg, Du Bois de Maquillé family. File:Armoiries de la famille de Borman.png, De Borman family. File:Blason de la famille van den Branden de Reeth (Belgique).svg, Van den Branden de Reeth family. File:Armes de Brouchoven de Bergeyck.svg, De Brouchoven de Bergeyck family. File:BlasonDeBrowneDeTiege.png, De Browne family. File:Blason Wezembeek-Oppem.svg, De Burbure de Wesembeek family. File:Armoiries de la famille de Cartier.png, De Cartier d'Yves family. File:Blason famille be Cogels.svg, Cogels family. File:Armes de David (Belgique).svg, De David family. File:Blason de la famille Didisheim (Belgique).svg, Didisheim family. File:BlasonDumontDeChassart.png, Dumont de Chassart family. File:Armoiries de la famille della Faille de Leverghem.png, Della Faille de Leverghem family. File:BlasonGeelhandDeMerxem.png, Geelhand de Merxem family. File:Goussencourt.jpg, Goussencourt family. File:Armoiries de la famille de Gruben.png, De Gruben family. File:Blason fam fr Guyot Poitevinière.svg, Guyot family. File:Halleux.gif, Halleux family. File:BlasonDeHarlezDeDeulin.png, De Harlez de Deulin family. File:Armes de la famille de Hemptinne.svg, De Hemptinne family. File:Blason Henry de Frahan (Belgique).jpg, Henry de Frahan family. File:Hersart.jpg, Hersart family. File:Armoiries de la famille Holvoet.png, Holvoet family. File:Armes de la famille Houtart.svg, Houtart family. File:Van Hövell - Van Hoevell wapen 1835.svg, Van Hövell tot Westerflier family. File:Armes de Janssens (branches de Bisthoven et de Varebeke).svg, Janssens de Varebeke family. File:Van de Kerchove .jpg, Van de Kerchove family. File:Armes de Kerchove.png, De Kerchove d'Exaerde family. File:Armoiries de la famille de Kethulle de Ryhove.png, De la Kethulle de Ryhove family. File:Blason-t'Kint.jpg, T'Kint de Roodenbeke family. File:Blason famille fr Laguarigue de Survilliers.svg, De Laguarigue de Survilliers family. File:BlasonDeLAMINNEdeBEX.png, De Laminne de Bex family. File:Blason de Lestang-Parade.jpg, De Lestang-Parade family. File:Armes des barons van der Linden d'Hooghvorst.png, Van der Linden d'Hooghvorst family. File:De Macar wapen.svg, De Macar family. File:BlasonDeMaereDAertrycke.png, De Maere d'Aertrycke family. File:Armes de la famille de Mahieu.svg, De Mahieu family. File:Blason boortmeerbeek.svg, De Meester family. File:Armes des comtes de Meeûs d'Argenteuil.svg, De Meeûs d'Argenteuil family. File:Blason famille Moens de Hase (Alost).svg, Moens de Hase family. File:Armes de Mols.png, Mols family. File:Moretus.gif, Moretus family. File:BlasonOldenhoveDeGuertechin.png, De Oldenhove de Guertechin family. File:Armes des barons Osy de Zegwaart.png, Osy de Zegwaart family. File:Armes de van Outryve d'Ydewalle.svg, Van Outryve d'Ydewalle family. File:Blason famille Peers de Nieuwburgh.svg, Peers de Nieuwburgh family. File:Blason Préveraud de Laubépierre de Vaumas.svg, Famille Préveraud de Vaumas family. File:Armoiries de Radiguès de Chennevière.png, Famille de Radiguès de Chennevière family. File:Familiewapen Abraham van Rijckevorsel, objectnr 11296.JPG, Van Rijckevorsel family. File:Armoiries de la famille Roberti de Winghe.png, Roberti de Winghe family. File:Armes de Robiano.svg, De Robiano family. File:Armoiries de la famille Rotsart de Hertaing.png, Rotsart de Hertaing family. File:Armes de Sadeleer.svg, De Sadeleer family. File:BlasonDeSmetDOlbecke.png, De Smet d’Olbecke family. File:BlasonDeSmetDeNaeyer.png, De Smet de Naeyer family. File:BlasonDeTrauxDeWardin.png, De Traux de Wardin family. File:Armoiries de la famille Ullens de Schooten.png, Ullens de Schooten family. File:Dame d'VRSEL.png, D'Ursel family. File:Armes de Verhaegen.png, De Verhaegen family. File:Armes de la famille de Vicq de Cumptich.svg, De Vicq de Cumptich family. File:Blason famille be Vilain XIIII.svg, Vilain XIIII family. File:Armes de Villegas de Saint-Pierre-Jette.png, De Villegas de Saint-Pierre Jette family. File:Armes de Vinck.png, De Vinck de Winnezeele family. File:Famille de Wael.png, De Wael family. File:Schilde.jpg, Van de Werve de Schilde family. File:Armoirie de la famille de Wijs à la cathédrale de s'Hertogenbosch.jpg, De Wijs family (coat of arms of the de Wijs family in the stained glass window at s'Hertogenbosch cathedral). File:Armes de Wouters Seigneurs d'Oplinter, Bouchout et Vroenhoven.svg, De Wouters de Bouchout family File:Van Zuylen van Nyevelt.jpg, Van Zuylen family. And also families : Bracht, Bréart de Boisanger, de Broëta, de Cannart d’Hamale, de Cock de Rameyen, de la Croix d'Ogimont, van Delft, D'hanis, Donnet, Friling, Gelhé de Beaulieu, Goethals, Hug de Larauze, le Jeune d’Allegeershecque, Jolly, du Lac, Le Gros d’Incourt, Le Pilleur de Brevannes, Massange de Collombs, de Massol de Rebetz, de Melotte de Lavaux, Michel de Pierredon, Pety de Thozée, Pichelin de Villalonga, de Pierpont, van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, de Potter de Ten Broeck, van de Put, Rotsart de Hertaing, de San, le Sergeant d’Hendecourt, Solvyns, de Villers du Fourneau, Wahis, Waucquez et Werbrouck.


Gallery

File:Vrouwelijk wapen van Le Grelle in de Kathedraal van Antwerpen 2.jpg, alt=Coat of Arms of Julie Le Grelle in the Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)., Coat of Arms of Julie Le Grelle in the
Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) The Cathedral of Our Lady ( nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never be ...
. File:Coat of ARMS of the family LE GRELLE.jpg, alt=Armes de la famille Le Grelle, Coat of Arms of the Le Grelle family. File:Armoirie des lettres patentes LE GRELLE de Rameyen.jpg, Coat of Arms in the Arms of the letters patent of the Le Grelle de Rameyen. File:Comte Guillaume Le Grelle (1767-1820).jpg, Guillaume Le Grelle (1767-1820). File:Armoiries LE GRELLE à l’hôtel de ville d’Anvers.png, Le Grelle Coat of Arms in the City Hall of Antwerp. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the mayors received their armored stained glass window at the town hall. File:Étiquette Montagne Saint-Emilion 2018.jpg, Montagne Saint-Emilion 2018 label. File:Cuvée Rubens Montagne Saint-Emilion Château La Tuilerie des Combes.jpg, Cuvée Rubens Montagne Saint-Emilion - La Tuilerie des Combes Castle. On the label the hat of Helena Fourment, the second wife of Rubens, is drawn. File:Marie-Thérèse Cambier.jpg, Marie Thérèse Cambier, widow of Joseph J. Le Grelle, painted by Barthélemy Vieillevoye in 1826. Mme Le Grelle holds in her hands a signed letter: “your devoted son Gerard Le Grelle”. This is the oldest painting of Le Grelle direct ancestors. File:Eulalie Cambier.jpg, Eulalie Cambier, niece of Marie Thérèse, first wife of Edmond Le Grelle, founder of the Ursuline school in Wilrijk in 1854, painting painted in 1847 by Nicaise de Keyser, Nicaise De Keyser, the painter who benefited from the patronage of Gérard Le Grelle. File:Lydie et Alice, les deux filles d’Edmond Le Grelle et de Bathilde de Wael.tif, Lydia and Alice, the two daughters of Edmond Le Grelle and Bathilde De Wael, who tragically died of black smallpox contracted in a Parisian palace in 1887. File:Comte Adelin Le Grelle (1898-1973).jpg, Count Adelin Le Grelle (1898-1973). He married Rosalie de Swert (grandmother of Cécilia Sarkozy) in 1921.


Castels and estates

File:Château de Rameyen.png, Rameyen Castle. File:Château de Gestelhof.png, Gestelhof Castle. File:Château de Doggenhout.png, Doggenhout Castle. File:Château du Middelheim.png, Middelheim Castle. File:Château de Selsaeten.jpg, Selsaeten Castle in Wommelgem. File:Château de Berendrecht.jpg, Reigerbos Castle in Berendrecht. File:Maison de la Hoogstraat à Anvers.jpg, Mansion in the Hoogstraat in Antwerp. File:Château de Reet.jpg, Reet Castle. File:Château de Ségur.jpg, Ségur Castle. File:Château de la Poste.jpg, de la Poste Castle. File:Château d'Engismont.jpg, Engismont Castle. File:Veltwijck Castle.jpg, Veltwijck Castle. File:Bilzen Leroyplein zicht vanuit het park op het Edelhof - 279148 - onroerenderfgoed.jpg, Edelhof castle in Munsterbilzen. File:Castle of Presseux.jpg, Presseux Castle. File:Sint Annaland Estate in Vught (The Netherlands).jpg, Sint Annaland Estate in Vught (The Netherlands).


Books, articles, references and related links


Books and articles written by the Le Grelle's

*Freddy Cogels (Le Grelle cousin), Souvenirs d'un diplomate : du gâteau avec les duchesses ?, Hervé Douxchamps, 1983. *Bernard Le Grelle, Jean-Claude Chermann, Olivier Galzi with Bernard Le Grelle, Tout le monde doit connaître cette histoire, Editions Stock, 2009. *Bernard Le Grelle, Profession Lobbyman, Le Pouvoir des coulisses, Hachette, 1988. *Geoffroy Le Grelle et Olivier de Trazegnies, « Belgique, les vielles familles d'Anvers » in l’Eventail, janvier 2015. *Geoffroy Le Grelle, Archives Banque Joseph Guillaume Le Grelle, 2015, 34 pp. *Geoffroy Le Grelle, « Het mysterie van de drie As », in Heraldicum disputationes, 1997. *Geoffroy Le Grelle, « La Chronique des « Le Grelle » », in Legrelliana, n°1, juillet 1996, p. 47-55 et n°2, août 1997, p. 77. *Geoffroy Le Grelle, « La Rente romaine et le denier de Saint-Pierre », Pro Petri Sede, 1–2010, p. 30-32. *Geoffroy Le Grelle, « L'Histoire de nos lettres patentes au cours des siècles », in Legrelliana, 1999. *Henry Le Grelle, Gentleman Globetrotter. *Martine Le Grelle, Pour les grands oiseaux, il n’y a pas de Pyrénées, Editions Clepsydre. *Maxime Le Grelle s.j., Brouage Quebec, Foi de Pionniers, Imprimerie A. Bordessoules, 1976. *Maxime Le Grelle s.j., Champlain nous voilà. *Roland Le Grelle, « Demeures familiales aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles », in Legrelliana n° 2, août 1997, p. 61-67 and Legrelliana n°3, septembre 1998, p. 41-51. *Roland Le Grelle, Guide pratique de la famille Le Grelle, 1988, 42 pp. *Roland Le Grelle, Lex Molenaar (avec Roland Le Grelle), Een groot Antwerps verhaal. Graaf Daniel Le Grelle. De kroniek van een man en zijn stad in een tijd van grote veranderingen, Anvers, 2012.


Related Links

* *List of noble families in Belgium * *Biographie Nationale de Belgique, National Biography of Belgium * * * * * Bernard Le Grelle


References

{{Portal , Belgium Belgian noble families Dutch noble families