Charles de Lorraine (8 April 1648 – 13 November 1708) was the Count of Marsan. He was the youngest son of the

Count of Harcourt Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and brother of the

Chevalier de Lorraine Philippe of Lorraine (1643 – 8 December 1702), known as the Chevalier de Lorraine, was a French nobleman, descendant of the Dukes of Elbeuf, member of the House of Guise, cadet branch of the House of Lorraine. He was the renowned lover of Phi ...

Biography

Charles was the youngest son of

Henri de Lorraine, Count of Harcourt Henri de Lorraine (20 March 1601 – 25 July 1666, Royaumont Abbey), known as ''Cadet la Perle'', was a French nobleman. He was count of Harcourt, count of Armagnac, count of Brionne and viscount of Marsan. He was the younger son of Charle ...

and

Marguerite Philippe du Cambout Marguerite-Philippe du Cambout (1624 – 9 December 1674) was a French noblewoman. Life Marguerite du Cambout was born in 1624.Her parents were Charles du Cambout, Marquis of Coislin () and Philippe de Beurges, dame de Seury.Her father was Marqu ...

. As a member of the

House of Guise The House of Guise ( , ; ; ) 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 Joinville. Origin The House of Guise was founded as a c ...

, a cadet branch of the

House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine () 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 Francis of Lorraine to Maria Ther ...

, he was a

Foreign Prince Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

at the Court of France. The youngest son, he was given an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

in the form of the County of Marsan at birth. At his death, it was given to his eldest son Charles Louis. The latter was also known as the Prince of Pons. The youngest of six children, five sons and one daughter, his siblings included

Louis, Count of Armagnac Louis of Lorraine (7 December 1641 – 13 June 1718) was the Count of Armagnac from his father's death in 1666. The ''Grand Squire of France'', he was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Guise, itself a cadet branch of the sovereign House ...

Grand Squire of France The Grand Écuyer de France or Grand Squire of France or Grand Equerry of France was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France and a member of the Maison du Roi ("King's Household") during the Ancien Régime. The name "écuyer", the French ...

and the

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, lover of

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans ''Monsieur'' Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (21 September 1640 – 9 June 1701) was the younger son of King Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria, and the younger brother of King Louis XIV. He was the founder of the House of Orléans, a ...

. His other brothers were Abbots of Royaumont (Alfonse Louis) and Faron de Meaux (Raimond Bérenger).

Madame de Sévigné Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution) Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement ...

referred to him as ''le petit Marsan''. At the age of 35, he married "Catherine" Thérèse de Goyon de Matignon a daughter of Henri Goyon and Marie Françoise Le Tellier, herself a sister of

François Michel Le Tellier de Louvois François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; ...

. She was an aunt of

Jacques I, Prince of Monaco Jacques I (Jacques François Léonor Goyon de Grimaldi; 21 November 1689 – 23 April 1751) was Prince of Monaco from 1731 to 1733. He was also Duke of Valentinois from 1716 until 1733, and Count of Thorigny. For ten months preceding his re ...

. Madame de Sévigné noted that he married Catherine for the fortune she had been left by her later husband. Catherine was previously married to Jean-Baptiste Colbert de Seignelay, son of

Jean Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

, and was already the mother of four children. The couple were married on 22 September 1696 and had three children, two of whom survived infancy. Catherine died in childbirth with her last child, a daughter named Marie who died some 9 days after birth. Charles never married again. He was created a knight of the

Order of the Holy Spirit The Order of the Holy Spirit (; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost) is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of France. It should not be c ...

, the most prestigious military knighthood of 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 {{disambig ...

, on 31 December 1688 at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. His two brothers, Louis and Philippe, were also created members of the order on the same day. Charles died in Paris at the age of 60. His last male line descendant was Camille, Prince of Marsan, brother of the last Count of Marsan. His last female line descendant, through his granddaughter "Louise" Henriette Gabrielle (

Duchess of Bouillon There have been duchesses of Bouillon, Belgium, Bouillon, in present-day Belgium, since the tenth century. Lady of Bouillon Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty, ?-1100 :''Sold to the Bishopric of Liège'' House of La Marck, ?-1588 House of La Tour ...

by marriage) was her only surviving son

Jacques Léopold de La Tour d'Auvergne Jacques Léopold de La Tour d'Auvergne (Jacques Léopold Charles Godefroy; 15 January 1746 – 7 February 1802) was a member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne, the sovereign dukes of Bouillon, Belgium, Bouillon. He was the last Duke of Bouil ...

, the last

Duke of Bouillon The Duchy of Bouillon () was a duchy comprising Bouillon, Belgium, Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium. The state originated in the 10th century as property of the Lords of Bouillon, owners of Bouillon Castle. Crusad ...

. He has no known descendants.

Issue

* Charles Louis de Lorraine, Count of Marsan, Prince of Pons (21 October 1696 – 2 November 1755) married Élisabeth de Roquelaure and had issue; * Jacques Henri de Lorraine, ''Chevalier de Lorraine'' (24 March 1698 – 2 June 1734) married Anne Marguerite Gabrielle de Beauvau had no issue; died in the Siege of Philippsburg. *Marie de Lorraine (7 December 1699 – 16 December 1699) died in infancy.

Ancestry

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Of Marsan 1648 births 1708 deaths House of Guise House of Lorraine 18th-century French nobility 17th-century French people Counts of Marsan Princes of Lorraine