Charles Eugène of Lorraine (25 September 1751 – 2 November 1825) was the head of and last male member of the

House of Guise The House of Guise (pronunciation: �ɥiz Dutch: ''Wieze, German: Wiese'') was a prominent French noble family, that was involved heavily in the French Wars of Religion. The House of Guise was the founding house of the Principality of Joinvil ...

, the

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, tit ...

of the

House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine (german: link=no, Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Fra ...

which dominated France during the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

, remained prominent as '' princes étrangers'' at

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

throughout the ''

ancien régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

'', and participated in the ''

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followin ...

'' efforts to restore the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

to the throne. He was an officer in the French and Habsburg militaries during the

French Revolutionary The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

and

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

wars.

Biography

Anne Duchess of Elbeuf Née Cetner (1764-1814)

Born on 25 September 1751 in Versailles (city), Versailles, France, to Louis, Prince of Brionne and his third wife, Princess Louise of House of Rohan, Rohan (1734-1815). Charles Eugène was a Peerage of France, peer of France and Prince of Lorraine, styled as the ''Prince of Lambesc''. One of four children, he had a younger brother and two younger sisters. Through his sister, Princess Joséphine of Lorraine, he was an uncle of Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignano and great uncle of the future King Charles Albert of Sardinia.

First marriage

He married twice; firstly to a rich Szlachta, Polish noblewoman, Anna :pl:Cetnerowie herbu Przerowa, Cetner (1764–1814), whom he wed on 20 May 1803. She was daughter of Ignacy :File:POL_COA_Przerowa.svg, Cetner, :pl:Wojewodowie bełscy, Palatine of Bełz (1728-1800) and Countess Ludwika Potocki, Potocka (1744-1800). The couple had no issue.

Second marriage

After the death of his first wife, he married again to Victoire de Folliot de Crenneville (1766–1845) on 23 Jan 1816, former governess of Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise, Empress of the French. She was daughter of French nobleman François Méderic :File:Wappen_der_Grafen_Folliot_de_Crenneville.jpg, Folliot de Crenneville (1735-1802) and Anne Pierrette Charlotte du Poutet (b. 1746). At the time of her marriage to Prince Charles Eugène Viktoria was already twice widowed: Baroness du Poutet and Countess von Colloredo-Mansfeld, Colloredo-Wallsee. Again, the couple had no children and they divorced in 1817.

Military career

French military service

The eldest of House of Lothringen-Lambesc served as the King of France's Grand Squire of France, Grand Equerry. Charles Eugène became Colonel and Proprietor (Chief) of the Régiment de Royal-Allemand, Royal Allemand-Dragoons in 1778 and was promoted to Marshal of the Camp in the French Army on 9 March 1788. He received the Commanders Cross of the Order of Saint Louis. Lambesc entrant aux Tuileries

In the early days of the French Revolution, Charles Eugène's Allemand Dragoons were an important element in the protection of the Louis XVI of France, Louis' Court. On 12 July 1789, Charles Eugène rode at the head of his dragoons across the Place de la Concorde, Place of Louis XV into the Tuileries Gardens, against a mob that had gathered there and forced the group out of the garden. In the course of the attack, many were injured, and Charles Eugène was held popularly responsible, although no charges were filed. He defended the royal palace in the riot at the Tuileries Gardens in July 1789. Initially he served in the French army, but at the outset of France's wars with Austria, he picked up the Bourbon cause in Germany. When hostilities between France and the Habsburgs reached a crisis point in 1791, he left his Allemand Dragoons and followed the Bourbon cause with his younger brother, Joseph, Prince of Vaudémont. Ebert
"Lothringen"

Habsburg military service

On 18 June 1791, the prince was appointed major general in the Austrian army. In October 1791, he was given command of a brigade composed of the Freikorps (volunteers) "Degelmann" and 37th Dragoon Regiment in Flanders.Digby Smith, ''Lothringen-Lambesc''. Leopold Kudrna and Digby Smith (compilers). A biographical dictionary of all Austrian Generals in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1792–1815. The Napoleon Series, Robert Burnham, editor in chief. April 2008 version. Accessed 23 January 2010. On 1 February 1793, his regiment, the 37th Dragoons, was taken into Habsburg service and in 1798, it was united with the 10th Cuirassier Regiment. At the Battle of Tournai on 22 May 1794, he charged the French infantry on the heights of Templeuve with four squadrons (approximately 1,000 men) of the 18th Chevauxleger Regiment "Karaiczay", cutting down 500 men and taking three guns. On 22 June 1794, he was appointed Colonel and Proprietor (Inhaber), Proprietor of the 21st of Cuirassier Regiment in recognition of his actions. In the Battle of Fleurus (1794), Battle of Fleurus, on 26 June 1794, he charged with four squadrons of 5th Carabiners ''Albert'' to rescue part of Campaign Marshal Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg, Prince von Kaunitz's infantry, which had been surrounded by three French cavalry regiments. This unlikely charge against another cavalry force more than five times its size took the French by surprise; the French cavalry scattered, giving Kaunitz to organize an orderly withdrawal of his own force from the field.Smith, ''Lothringen-Lambesc''. Accessed 23 January 2010. On 4 March 1796, Charles Eugène was promoted to Feldmarschallleutnant, Lieutenant Field Marshal . In 1796 he served in Germany under Field Marshal Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser in the Army of the Upper Rhine; on 11 May of that year, he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Order. He fought with distinction at the Battle of Amberg on 24 August and in the Battle of Würzburg on 2 September, commanding a brigade of cavalry. In the War of the Second Coalition, the Prince fought in Swabia at the Battle of Stockach (1800), Battle of Engen. After this campaign, the prince was posted to the Habsburg province Galicia (eastern Europe), Galicia, where he was governor general. On 3 December 1806, he was promoted to General of Cavalry and a few weeks later, captain of the First ''Arcièren'' Life Guard in Vienna; he was also awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1808.

Bourbon restoration

Upon the Bourbon restoration in 1815, his dynastic dignities were restored to him, but due to widespread unpopularity in France, he never returned to exercise his privileges. He died in Vienna in 1825. After the restoration of Louis XVIII, he was created again Peer of France, and his dignities further enhanced by the title ''Duke of Elbeuf''. Louis XVIII furthermore appointed him as a Marshal of France. Because of the popular hostility against him in France, relating to the incident in the Tuileries in July 1789, he never exercised these privileges and he died at the age of 74 in Vienna on 21 November 1825. As he had no children, and with his death, and his brother's, the male line of old Lothringen lines of Elbœuf, Harcourt, and Armagnac ended.

Ancestry

Sources

Notes and citations

Bibliography

* Ebert, Jens-Florian.
"Lothringen"
Die Österreichischen Generäle 1792–1815. Napoleon Online.DE. Accessed 23 January 2010. *Digby Smith, Smith, Digby. ''Lothringen-Lambesc''. Leopold Kudrna and Digby Smith (compilers). A biographical dictionary of all Austrian Generals in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1792–1815. The Napoleon Series, Robert Burnham, editor in chief. April 2008 version. Accessed 23 January 2010. * Spawforth, Antony. ''Versailles: a biography of a palace''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008, {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Eugene, Prince Of Lambesc 1751 births 1825 deaths People from Versailles Austrian Empire military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Louis 19th-century Austrian military personnel Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars House of Guise House of Lorraine Dukes of Elbeuf 18th-century French nobility 19th-century French nobility French generals French military personnel Princes of Lorraine 18th-century peers of France Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration