Philippe-François de Glymes, prince de Berghes (1646-1704)

Philippe François de Berghes (1646–1704) was a diplomat and military commander in the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...

and became the first bearer of the title of prince of Grimberghen.

Family

He was born into the

House of Glymes The House of Glymes was a noble house of Belgium, of descendants of a bastard branch of the Dukes of Brabant. Glymes or Glimes is a municipality of Incourt. Their descendants of the branch of Grimberghen are styled as the Prince de Grimberghen ...

on 17 September 1646, the fifth child and eldest son of Eugène de Berghes, second count of Grimbergen, and Florence-Marguerite de Renesse, lady of

Feluy Feluy ( wa, Felû) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Seneffe, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The first mention of the village is from 673, but the settlement probably dates back to the time of the Gauls. ...

and

Écaussinnes Écaussinnes (; pcd, Les Scassenes; wa, Les Scåssenes) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 Écaussinnes had a total population of 11,135. The total area is 34.77 km2 which gives a p ...

. His grandfather

René de Renesse, 1st Count of Warfusée René III of Renesse, Viscount of Montenaecken, Baron of Gaesbeeck, Lord of Elderen (ca. 1580 – Liège, 17 April 1637) was a Dutch nobleman, who became the 1st Count of Warfusée in 1609. He acquired Gaasbeek Castle in 1615. Family He was t ...

is a descendant of

Henry III of Nassau-Breda Count Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg-Dietz (January 12, 1483, Siegen – September 14, 1538, Breda), Lord (from 1530 Baron) of Breda, Lord of the Lek, of Dietz, etc. was a count of the House of Nassau. He was the son of Count John V of Nassau-D ...

. He succeeded his father and became the third count of Grimbergen. He was the older brother of

Georges-Louis de Berghes Georges-Louis de Berghes (1662–1743) was the 94th prince-bishop of Liège. Life De Berghes was born into the old House of Glymes on 5 September 1662, the son of Eugene de Berghes, 2nd Count of Grimberghen, brother of Philippe François de Berg ...

. In 1674 he married Marie-Jacqueline de Lalaing, with whom he had three children. After his death he was succeeded by his son Alphonse Dominique François de Berghes, who became the 2nd Prince of Grimberghen and a

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

. His main residences were the princely castle in Grimbergen inherited from his father, and the castle of Feluy inherited from his mother.

Career

Berghes served in the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders ( es, Ejército de Flandes nl, Leger van Vlaanderen) was a multinational army in the service of the kings of Spain that was based in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for being the longe ...

, initially as commander of a Walloon regiment in the service of King

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War o ...

, rising to the rank of general in 1684 and being appointed councillor of war. On 23 May 1686 the king rewarded him for 20 years of service with the title of prince. On 17 March 1694 he was created

Knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Knights of the Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th Century !Year of Induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , ...

, being invested by

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459� ...

Alphonse Le Roy Alphonse Le Roy (1822–1896) was a professor at the University of Liège, in Belgium, who contributed over 150 entries to the ''Biographie Nationale de Belgique''. Life Le Roy was born in Liège on 28 July 1822, the only son of Louis-Nicolas Le R ...

, "Berghes, Philippe-François de Glymes, prince de", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' ( French; "National Biography of Belgium") is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ' ...

''
vol. 2
(Brussels, 1868), 239-240. In 1688 he was sent as envoy to

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

to congratulate him on the birth of the Prince of Wales. In 1693 he carried out a similar mission to the court of the King of Denmark. In 1690 he was appointed governor and captain general of the

county of Hainaut The County of Hainaut (french: Comté de Hainaut; nl, Graafschap Henegouwen; la, comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belg ...

, directing the defence of

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

during the siege of 1691. He was appointed governor of Brussels on 17 April 1695, and led the defence of the city during the

Bombardment of Brussels The bombardment of Brussels by troops of Louis XIV of France on August 13, 14 and 15, 1695, and the resulting fire were together the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels. Brussels was mostly untouched by most other confli ...

later that year. He died in Brussels on 12 September 1704.

Ancestry

References

{{Reflist Glymes family Knights of the Golden Fleece 1646 births 1704 deaths Belgian princes