Philip II de Croÿ (1496–1549) was Seigneur de Croÿ, Count of Porcéan and first

Duke of Aarschot The Duke of Aarschot (or ''Aerschot'') was one of the most important aristocratic titles in the Low Countries, named after the Brabantian city of Aarschot. The title was held by the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg. The present Duke is Leo ...

. Philip belonged to the powerful

House of Croÿ The House of Croÿ () is an old European noble family of princely and historically sovereignty, sovereign rank, which held a seat in the Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet from 1486, and was elevated to the rank of Princes of the Holy Ro ...

. He was the eldest son of Henry de Croy, and Charlotte de Châteaubriand. His grandfather was Philip I of Croy, his uncle William II de Croÿ, chief tutor and First Chamberlain to

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

, and his younger brothers were

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Archbishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.

, and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, Prince-Bishop of Cambrai. Philippe II de Croÿ succeeded to the County of Porcéan upon his father's death in 1514. In 1521 he inherited the titles of his uncle William : amongst others, Duke of Soria and Archi, and Count of Beaumont. Like his predecessors, he was Governor of Hainault and Senior Knight of 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 ...

, but it is as Charles V's general that he is best remembered. He fought against the French in the

Italian War of 1521–1526 The Italian War of 1521–1526, sometimes known as the Four Years' War, () was a part of the Italian Wars. The war pitted Francis I of France and the Republic of Venice against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V ...

, and played an important role in the conquest of Tournai (1521). On 1 April 1533 Charles V created Philippe ("our cousin", as he styled him) Duke of Aarschot and

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 ...

First Class. Earlier, he had become Marquess of Renty and exchanged the lordship of

Longwy Longwy (; older , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. The inhabitants are known as ''Longoviciens''. In ...

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 ...

for that of

Havré Havré (; ) is a sub-municipality of the city of Mons located in the province of Hainaut, Wallonia, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1977. On 1 January 1977, it was merged into Mons. Etymology The village's name would likely origi ...

, which his descendants would develop as a family nest.

Marriage and children

Philippe's first wife was a distant cousin, Anne de Croÿ (1502–1539), Princess of

Chimay Chimay (, ) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is 197.10 km2 which gives a population density ...

, daughter of Charles I de Croÿ and great granddaughter of Jean II de Croÿ, Count of Chimay. They had: * Charles II (1522–1551), 2nd Duke of Aarschot, 3rd

Prince of Chimay Prince of Chimay is a title of Belgian nobility, Belgian and Dutch nobility associated with the town of Chimay in what is now Belgium. The title is currently held by Philippe de Caraman-Chimay, 22nd Prince de Chimay (b. 1948). The main residence ...

, 3rd Count of Beaumont * Louise (1524–1585), married Maximilian of Burgundy, Marquis de Vere et de Vlissingen (died 1558) and John of Burgundy, Lord of Sommelsdijk (died 1586). * Philippe III (1526–1595), 3rd Duke of Aarschot, 4th

, 4th Count of Beaumont * William (1527–1565), 2nd Marquis de Renty, one daughter Anne de Croy d. 1609 * Antoine (1530–1530) * Louis (1533–1533) Nine years after Anna's death, Philippe married

Anna of Lorraine Anna of Lorraine (25 July 1522 – 15 May 1568) was a princess of the House of Lorraine. She was Princess of Orange by her first marriage to René of Châlon, and Duke of Aarschot, Duchess of Aarschot by her second marriage to Philippe II de ...

(1522–1568), daughter of

Antoine, Duke of Lorraine Antoine (4 June 148914 June 1544), known as the Good, was Duke of Lorraine from 1508 until his death in 1544. Raised at the French court, Antoine would campaign in Italy twice: once under Louis XII and the other with Francis I. During the G ...

and widow of René of Châlon. They had one son, born after Philippe's death: * Charles Philippe de Croÿ, Marquis d’Havré (1549–1613), had issue

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Croy, Philippe Ii De 1496 births 1549 deaths Phillippe II Philippe Knights of the Golden Fleece Grandees of Spain Stadtholders of Hainaut