Pierre Paul, marquis d'Ossun (29 January 1713 – 20 March 1788) was a French diplomat 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 ...

Biography

He was the son of Gaspard, marquis d'Ossun (1675-1721) and Marie Charlotte de Pas (1689-1759). In 1744-1745 he was a Capitain-lieutenant in the ''Cavalerie de la Gendarmerie''. Promoted to brigadier in 1747, he would become a

maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général'') ...

in 1761.
In 1751 he entered the diplomatic corps to become the French ambassador to the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

. From 1759 to 1777, d'Ossun was French ambassador in Madrid. His appointment as Ambassador in Madrid coincided with the death of King

Ferdinand VI of Spain Ferdinand VI (; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), called the Learned (''el Prudente'') and the Just (''el Justo''), was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the third ruler of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was the ...

and the ascension to the throne of King

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

, who was until

King of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in Southern Italy was ruled by monarchs from its establishment in 1816 to its incorporation into the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. History Joachim Murat was the first king to rule a kingdom called "Two Sicilies" by th ...

. It was in fact at the request of Charles III, who appreciated d'Ossun as Ambassador in the Two Sicilies, that d'Ossun followed him to Madrid. In Madrid, d'Ossun played an important role in the conclusion of the 3rd

Pacte de Famille The ''Pacte de Famille'' (, Family Compact; ) is one of three separate, but similar alliances between the Bourbon kings of France and Spain. As part of the settlement of the War of the Spanish Succession that brought the House of Bourbon of Fr ...

between France and Spain, which led to Spain participating in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. During his 18 years stay in Madrid, he became a

and received 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 ...

. After his return to France, Louis XVI appointed him in 1778 minister in the Council of State, and awarded him the

Order of the Holy Spirit The Order of the Holy Spirit (; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost) is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of France. It should not be c ...

Marriage and children

d'Ossun married 3 times. All his wives died very young. Only his third wife Louise Thérèse Hocquart delivered a son : * Charles Pierre Hyacinthe d'Ossun (1750-1790) who married

Geneviève de Gramont Genevieve (; ; also called ''Genovefa'' and ''Genofeva''; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) was a consecrated virgin, and is one of the two patron saints of Paris in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Her feast day is on 3 January. Reco ...

Première dame d'honneur ''Première dame d'honneur'' (, ), or simply ''dame d'honneur'' (), was an office at the royal court of France. It existed in nearly all French courts from the 16th-century onward. Though the tasks of the post shifted, the dame d'honneur was norm ...

to Queen Marie Antoinette.Man8rove
/ref>

References

{{reflist

Sources

Histoire de l'Europe
Order of the Holy Spirit Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Grandees of Spain 1788 deaths 1713 births French nobility Ambassadors of France to Spain