Philippe François de Berghes (1646–1704) was a diplomat and military commander in the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

and became the first bearer of the title of prince of Grimberghen.

Family

He was born into the

House of Glymes The House of Glymes was an old Belgian nobility, Belgian noble family, an illegitimate branch of the Reginarids, House of Reginarid, which ruled the Duchy of Brabant. Glymes or Glimes is a municipality of Incourt, Belgium, Incourt. Their descend ...

on 17 September 1646, the fifth child and eldest son of Eugène de Berghes, second count of Grimbergen, and Florence-Marguerite de Renesse, lady of Feluy and

Écaussinnes Écaussinnes (; ; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 Écaussinnes had a total population of 11,135. The total area is 34.77 km2 which gives a population density of 320 inhabitants ...

. His grandfather

René de Renesse, 1st Count of Warfusée René III of Renesse, Viscount of Montenaecken, Baron of Gaesbeeck, Lord of Elderen (ca. 1580 – Liège, 17 April 1637) was a Dutch nobleman, who became the 1st Count of Warfusée in 1609. He acquired Gaasbeek Castle in 1615. Family He was ...

is a descendant of

Henry III of Nassau-Breda Count Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg-Dietz (12 January 1483 – 14 September 1538), Lord (from 1530 Baron) of Breda, Lord of the Lek, of Dietz, etc. was a count of the House of Nassau. He was born in Siegen, the son of Count John V of Nassau- ...

. He succeeded his father and became the third count of Grimbergen. He was the older brother of Georges-Louis de Berghes. In 1674 he married Marie-Jacqueline de Lalaing, with whom he had three children. After his death he was succeeded by his son Alphonse Dominique François de Berghes, who became the 2nd Prince of Grimberghen and a

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 ...

. His main residences were the princely castle in Grimbergen inherited from his father, and the castle of Feluy inherited from his mother.

Career

Berghes served in the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders (; ) was a field army of the Spanish Army based in the Spanish Netherlands between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was one of the longest-serving field armies of the early modern era, being founded in 1567 and disbanded in 170 ...

, initially as commander of a Walloon regiment in the service of King

Charles II of Spain Charles II (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without an heir, leading to a European Great Power conflict over the succ ...

, rising to the rank of general in 1684 and being appointed councillor of war. On 23 May 1686 the king rewarded him for 20 years of service with the title of prince. On 17 March 1694 he was created

Knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th century !Year of induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , 1467, , Founde ...

, being invested by

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian II (11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726), also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Electorate of Bavaria, Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spani ...

. Alphonse Le Roy, "Berghes, Philippe-François de Glymes, prince de", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

''
vol. 2
(Brussels, 1868), 239-240. In 1688 he was sent as envoy to

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

to congratulate him on the birth of the Prince of Wales. In 1693 he carried out a similar mission to the court of the King of Denmark. In 1690 he was appointed governor and captain general of the

county of Hainaut The County of Hainaut ( ; ; ; ), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled the present-day border of Belgium and France. Its most important towns included Mons, Belgium, Mons (), n ...

, directing the defence of

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

during the siege of 1691. He was appointed governor of Brussels on 17 April 1695, and led the defence of the city during the

Bombardment of Brussels During the Nine Years' War, the French Royal Army carried out a bombardment of Brussels from August 13–15, 1695. Led by King Louis XIV and the François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi, Duke of Villeroi, French forces bombarded the city in an a ...

later that year. He died in Brussels on 12 September 1704.

Ancestry

References

{{Reflist Glymes family Knights of the Golden Fleece 1646 births 1704 deaths People from the Spanish Netherlands Princes of the Holy Roman Empire