Henri Charles de La Trémoille

Henri Charles de La Trémoille (17 December 1620 – 14 September 1672) was a French nobleman and military commander. He was the son of

Henry de La Trémoille Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

, duc of Thouars and of La Trémoille, and his wife, Marie de La Tour d'Auvergne. In 1628, La Trémoille's father, Henri III of Trémoïlle, converted himself and his children to

Catholicism 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 ...

, but La Trémoille's mother convinced him to reconvert to

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

when he reached the age of majority. In 1638, he joined the army of his uncle,

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...

. In 1648, he married the Calvinist Émilie of Hesse-Kassel, the daughter of William V of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). They had five children, including Charles Belgique, his heir, and Charlotte Amélie de la Trémoille. In October 1651, during

the Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the pr ...

, he came out against

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

and supported Condé openly. As a result, in 1656 he was imprisoned in Amiens. La Trémoille's mother obtained his release after several months of imprisonment. He was then relegated in Poitou then turned over to serve in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. In 1668, he returned from Holland to manage the affairs of the duchy of Thouars, his father being weakened by the

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

, and he again re-converted to Catholicism, taking away the children from his wife who fled to the Netherlands. He died two years before his father in 1672; it was thus his elder son,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, who succeeded as the fourth

duke of Thouars The first viscounts of Thouars appeared at the end of the 9th century, somewhat earlier than those of Châtellerault, Lusignan, etc. They represented the count of Poitou (also the duke of Aquitaine) in the territory he had enfeoffed to them. Th ...

. 1620 births 1672 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism French Roman Catholics Dukes of La Trémoille Henri Charles Dukes of Thouars 17th-century French people People of Byzantine descent 17th-century peers of France {{France-noble-stub