Antoine Louis Marie de Gramont, 8th

Duke of Gramont The title of Duke of Gramont (''duc de Gramont'') is a French List of French dukedoms, dukedom and former List of French peerages, peerage. It was created in 1648 for French Marshal Antoine III de Gramont. History The family of Gramont was a Kin ...

(17 August 1755 – 28 August 1836), was the 8th Duke of Gramont, he was also Prince of

Bidache Bidache (; ; )BIDAXUNE

. Antoine served as a French military officer, diplomat and parliamentarian.

Early life and career

Antoine Louis Marie de Gramont was born on 17 August 1775, in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Prior to his marriage he was known by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

of ''Comte de Louvigny''. On 16 April 1780, Antoine married

Aglaé de Polignac Aglaé Louise Françoise Gabrielle de Polignac (7 May 1768 – 30 March 1803) was the daughter of Yolande de Polastron, Gabrielle de Polastron, the favourite and confidante of Marie Antoinette, and her husband, the Jules, 1st Duke of Polignac, 1s ...

(1768–1803), the daughter of Yolande de Polastron, Duchess of Polignac. The couple managed to reproduce 3 children; Corisande de Gramont (1782 – 1865),

Aglaé de Gramont Aglaé de Gramont (Aglaé Angélique Gabrielle; 17 January 1787 – 21 January 1842) was a French noblewoman, aristocrat, socialite, and the addressee of the poems of Alexander Pushkin. Biography Birth and background Aglaé Angélique Gabrie ...

(1787 – 1842), and

Héraclius de Gramont, 9th Duke of Gramont Héraclius de Gramont, 9th Duke of Gramont (''Antoine Geneviève Héraclius Agénor''; 17 July 1789 – 3 March 1855), 9th Duke of Gramont, Duke of Guiche, Prince of Bidache, ''etc.'' was a 19th-century French aristocratic Army general and courti ...

(1789 – 1855. Up to this point, he was accorded the

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

of ''Duc de Guiche''. Since he was the

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the Dukedom of Gramont. In 1801, he succeeded a cousin as the 8th Duke of Gramont and the Prince of Bidache. He served as a captain in the Royal ''

Garde du Corps A ''Garde du Corps'' (French for lifeguard (military), lifeguard) is a military unit formed of Royal Guard, guards. A ''Garde du corps du roi, Garde du Corps'' was first established in France in 1445. From the 17th century onwards, the term was us ...

'' before fleeing to Britain at the outset of the French Revolution. In 1805 he joined the British

10th Light Dragoons The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince ...

as a cornet, was promoted to lieutenant later that year and made captain of a troop in 1809, serving in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. He remained loyal to the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

, becoming a military commander under

Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême (6 August 1775 – 3 June 1844) was the elder son of Charles X of France and the last Dauphin of France from 1824 to 1830. He was a ''petit-fils de France'' at birth, and was initially known as Lo ...

. He later served briefly as French ambassador to the

Court of St James's The Court of St James's serves as the official royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The court formally receives all ambassadors accredited to the United Kingdom. Likewise, ambassadors representing the United Kingdom are formally ...

under the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

References

1755 births 1836 deaths People from Versailles People from Gironde People of the Bourbon Restoration Peers of France Antoine 8 Dukes of Guiche Antoine 8 Nobility of the First French Empire French generals 18th-century French military personnel 19th-century French diplomats Ambassadors of France to the United Kingdom Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Louis Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration Knights of Malta 10th Royal Hussars officers British Army personnel of the Peninsular War 18th-century French diplomats {{France-diplomat-stub

Early life and career

See also

References