Florimond Claude, comte de Mercy-Argenteau (20 April 1727 – 25 August 1794) was an Austrian diplomat, statesman of French noble ancestry, in the service of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

Early life

He was born in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, Prince-Bishopric of Liege, into an old noble family to Antoine Ignace Charles, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau (1692-1767),

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

, and his wife, Thérèse Henriette de Rouvroy de Berlus et de Pondrome (1705-1729).

Career

He entered the diplomatic service of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Paris 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 ...

in the train of Reichsfürst Wenzel Anton of Kaunitz-Rietberg. He became Austrian ambassador in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

at the court of King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, in St. Petersburg at the court of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

, and then Austrian ambassador in Paris at the court of King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

in 1766. In Paris, his first work was to strengthen the Franco-Austrian alliance, which was cemented in 1770 by the marriage of the Dauphin, afterwards

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, with Archduchess Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna of Austria, youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa, afterwards known as Queen

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

. When Louis and Marie Antoinette ascended the throne of France in 1774, Mercy-Argenteau became one of the most powerful personages at the French court due to his influence over Marie Antoinette, which made her unpopular with the French nobility and French people. He was in Paris during the turbulent years that led up to the French Revolution, and gave powerful aid to the finance ministers Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne and Jacques Necker. In 1792, he became governor-general of the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

, where the Brabant Revolution had just been suppressed by Austria. There, his ability and experience made him a very successful governor. Although at first in favour of moderate courses, Mercy-Argenteau supported the action of Austria in making war upon its former ally after the outbreak of the French Revolution, and in July 1794, he was appointed Austrian ambassador to Britain, but he died a few days after his arrival in London.

Private life

Florimond Claude never married, but had an extramarital affair with an opera singer from

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

, Claude Josèphe ''Rosalie'' Levasseur, Baronne de l'empire (1749-1826), daughter of Jean-Baptiste Levasseur. They had one son: *Alexandre Henri Joseph de Noville (1783-1830), married Louise Wilhelmine Delacroix (1790-1818). After Florimond's death, Rosalie married in 1806 to André Maxime de Fouchier, Seigneur de Chanvrolles (1732-1817).

Descendants

Through his son Alexandre, he was a grandfather of Loÿsa de Noville (1807-1875), who married Louis Isidore Thirion (1797-1879); had one daughter: Delphine Thirion (1831-1859), married Charles Debonnaire de Gif (1822-1866); had one daughter Loÿsa Debonnaire de Gif (1851-1927), married Paul de Boissonneaux de Chevigny (b. 1838), member of the

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

In popular culture

* He was played by Henry Stephenson in the 1938 film ''Marie Antoinette''. * He was played by Steve Coogan in the 2006 film of the same name. * He was portrayed by Nathan Willcocks in 2022 TV series

. * He was portrayed by Micha Lescot in the 2023 film '' Jeanne du Barry''.

Notes

References

* 1727 births 1794 deaths People from Liège Walloon people Ambassadors of the Holy Roman Empire Ambassadors to the Kingdom of Sardinia Ambassadors to the Russian Empire Ambassadors to France {{europe-noble-stub