Charles III de Blanchefort-Créquy, sieur de Blanchefort, prince de Poix, duc de Créquy (24 March 1624 – 13 February 1687) was a French peer and soldier, who also served

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

as diplomat and advisor.

Life

Charles III was the eldest of three sons born to Charles de Blanchefort (ca. 1598–1630), and Anne Grimoard du Roure (ca. 1601–1686). His youngest brother

François de Créquy François de Blanchefort de Créquy, later Marquis de Marines (2 October 1629 – 3 February 1687), was a 17th-century French noble and soldier, who served in the wars of Louis XIV of France. He came from a powerful and well-connected family, ...

(1629–1687), became a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

; his other brother Alphonse (1628–1711) became the 6th duke of Lesdiguières in 1703 but was less successful than his siblings. In 1653, he married Anne-Armande de Saint-Gelais (1637–1709) who later became chief Lady-in-waiting to Queen Maria Theresa. They had one daughter, Madeleine de Créquy (1655-1707), who married Charles-Belgique Hollande de La Trémoïlle,

Career

Charles served in the French army during the Franco-Spanish War, 1635–1659; he was wounded at the Siege of

Orbetello Orbetello is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. It is located about south of Grosseto, on the Lagoon of Orbetello, which is home to an important Natural Reserve. History Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan set ...

in July 1646 and promoted Lieutenant-general. He was rewarded by

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

and

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

for his loyalty to

during the 1648-1653 civil war known as the

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

1648–1653 made him comte de Créquy and raised him to a

peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

in 1652. The latter half of his life was spent at court, where he held the office of first gentleman of the royal chamber, which had been bought for him by his grandfather. In 1659 the comte de Créquy was sent to Spain with gifts for the ''infanta''

Maria Theresa of Spain Maria Theresa of Spain (; ; 10 September 1638 – 30 July 1683) was Queen consort of France, Queen of France from 1660 to 1683 as the wife of King Louis XIV. She was born an Infante, Infanta of Spain and Portugal as the daughter of King Philip IV ...

, and on a similar errand to

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

in 1680 before the marriage of the ''dauphin''. He was ambassador to Rome from 1662 to 1665, and to England in 1677; and became governor of Paris in 1675. He died in Paris on 13 February 1687. His only daughter, Madeleine, married

Charles Belgique Hollande de La Trémoille 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 ...

(1655–1709). While the comte de Créquy was ambassador to Rome in 1662 and there was insulted by the pro-Austrian

pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

in the Corsican Guard Affair. Alexander's Corsican Guard pulled down Charles' house, wounding his wife's servants and valets and killing one of Charles' pages. Louis XIV demanded that the governor of Rome, Alexander's nephew, come to apologise in person for this insult and that a pyramid be built in Rome in memory of the repairs.Dictionnaire Bouillet, p. 475

Notes

References

* Marie Louise RODEN, ''Church Politics in Seventeenth-Century Rome: Cardinal Decio Azzolino, Queen Christina of Sweden and the Squadrone Volante'' (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 2000). Attribution: * Endnote: **For a detailed genealogy of the family and its alliances see

Louis Moréri Louis Moréri (25 March 1643 – 10 July 1680) was a French priest and encyclopedist. Moreri was the author of '' Le Grand Dictionaire historique, ou le mélange curieux de l'histoire sacrée et profane'' (literally, ''The Great Historical Dictio ...

, ''Dictionnaire historique: Annuaire de la noblesse française'' (1856 and 1867). *

Life

Career

Notes

References

Further reading