Lamoral, 1st Prince of Ligne (19 July 1563, in

Château de Belœil A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaki ...

– 6 February 1624, in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

) was a diplomat in the 17th century.

Early life

Lamoral, Count and after 1601 first Prince de Ligne and Prince d'Épinoy, was the son of Philip, Count of Ligne (died 1583), and his wife, Countess Marguerite de Lalaing (died 1598), daughter of Philip, Count of Hoogstraten. He was the uncle of Rasse of Gavre, 1st Marquess of Ayseau.

Biography

As a diplomat, the first Prince de Ligne was involved in many historic events of his time. He represented Archduke Albert of Austria and

Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain Isabella Clara Eugenia (; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, which comprised the Low Countries and the north of modern France, with her husband Archd ...

at the French court of

Henri IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

, in Spain and again in Paris, to congratulate King

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

with his marriage with the daughter of

Philip III of Spain Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...

. During this mission, he discussed several issues with the French political leaders. In 1601 he received from

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...

the hereditary title of ''Prince de Ligne''. In 1621 Prince Lamoral I was made

grandee of Spain Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

by King

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

for his services rendered to the Crown. He was also made a Knight in the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

Marriage and children

In 1584 Lamoral married Anne-Marie de Melun (died 1634), Marquise de Roubaix, daughter of Hugues II de Melun (1520–1553). They had five children: # Yolande (1585–1611), married in 1599 to Charles Alexandre de Croÿ, Marquis d’Havré (1581–1624), son of Charles Philippe; had one daughter. # Florent (1588–1622), Marquis of Roubaix, married in 1608 with Princess Louise of

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

(1594–1667), daughter of Henri de Lorraine-Chaligny. They had: ## Albert Henri (1615–1641), 2nd Prince de Ligne, married his cousin Princess Claire Marie of

Nassau-Siegen Nassau-Siegen was a principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed between 1303 and 1328, and again from 1606 to 1743. From 1626 to 1734, it was subdivided into Catholic and Protestant parts. Its capital was the city of Siegen, found ...

(1621–1695), daughter of Ernestine Yolande de Ligne and John VIII, Count of Nassau-Siegen; no issue. ## Claude Lamoral (1618–1679), 3rd Prince of Ligne, married his brother's widow; had issue. # Anne (1590–1651), married Felipe Folch de Cardona, Marquis of Guadelesta ; had one daughter: ## Maria Felipa (b. 1614), who married Don Francisco de Palafox y Blanes, Marquis of Ariza, Señor de Cortes. # Lambertine (1593–1651), married firstly Philibert de La Baume, Marquis of Saint-Martin-le-Châtel (1586–1610); had one daughter. She married secondly Count Christopher of Ostfriesland. She married for the third time, Jean Baptiste de La Baume, 4.Marquis of Saint-Martin-le-Châtel (1593-1641). # Ernestine Yolande (1594–1668), married in 1618 to John VIII, Count of Nassau-Siegen (1583–1638); had issue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligne, Claude-Lamoral Ier 1563 births 1624 deaths Diplomats People from the Spanish Netherlands Grandees of Spain #01 Knights of the Golden Fleece Princes of Epinoy #01 Stadtholders of Artois