Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg (28 April 1785,

Enghien Enghien (; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1January 2006, Enghien had a total population of 11,980. The total area is , which gives a population density of 295 inhabitants per km2. ...

– 27 February 1861) was the Duke of

Arenberg Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12th c ...

, a principality 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 ...

. He was also the 13th

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 ...

, 2nd Duke of

Meppen Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Möppen'') is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems (river), Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from t ...

and 2nd prince of

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; ) is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghaus ...

.Staff
The dukes of Arenberg

. Accessed 7 July 2008Staff
Ducal and princely families of Belgium: House of ArenbergEuropedia
Accessed 7 July 2008 In 1801, Louis Engelbert, Duke of Arenberg, Prosper's father, lost the former

Duchy of Arenberg Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12th c ...

on the left bank of the Rhine but received a larger duchy on the right bank in 1803. In 1808 Arenberg married Stéphanie Tascher de La Pagerie (1788-1832), niece of

Joséphine de Beauharnais Joséphine Bonaparte (, born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie; 23 June 1763 – 29 May 1814) was the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I and as such Empress of the French from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 Janua ...

(Empress of the French Empire). His wife was given the present

Hôtel de Chimay The Hôtel de Chimay (), originally the Hôtel de La Bazinière (), is a hôtel particulier, a type of large townhouse of France, built in 1635 on a site that is now at 17 quai Malaquais in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Since 1883, it has been a ...

, known as the ''Hôtel de La Pagerie'' in Paris in 1808. He was granted new lands by Joséphine's husband

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(expanding his holdings from 413 km² to 3,388 km²) and gained the additional titles of Duke of Meppen and Prince of Recklinghausen. He lost his sovereignty over his lands in 1810 when

was mediatised into France but retain the style of HSH (''His Serene Highness''), which is still used by his descendant. Arenberg was colonel of the Belgian Chevau-Légers d'Arenberg which fought in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, during which he was wounded and captured by the British at the

Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos The Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos took place on 28 October 1811 during the Peninsular War. An allied force under General Rowland Hill trapped and defeated a French force under General Jean-Baptiste Girard, forcing the latter's dismissal by ...

on 28 October 1811. In England he was on parole, first at

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

and then

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the United Kingd ...

. After an incident with the

Commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

he was ordered by the Transport Board to be taken to the

Norman Cross Prison Norman Cross Prison in Huntingdonshire, England, was the world's first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp or "depot". Constructed in 1796–97, it was designed to hold prisoners of war from France and its allies during the French Revolutionary W ...

. A number of prisoners had broken parole and daily reporting was being implemented, which was taken to impugn on his honour. After time spent at Norman Cross, he agreed to comply with this requirement and parole was agreed. An offer to exchange him was said to have been declined by Napoleon, as the two officers were not of equal rank. He was later provided passports. Arenberg took no part in the 1815

Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign, also known as the Belgian campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two War of the Seventh Coalition, Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied arm ...

other than to attend the

Duchess of Richmond's ball The Duchess of Richmond's ball was a ball hosted by Charlotte Lennox, Duchess of Richmond, in Brussels on 15 June 1815, the night before the Battle of Quatre Bras. Charlotte's husband Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, was in command of a r ...

, but his contacts among the British did not save his lands which were lost when they were overrun by the Prussians and the

Hanoverians The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

. In 1816 he divorced his first wife and married again in 1819 to Princess Maria-Ludmille de

Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the ce ...

.Called ''Maria Ludmilla Pss von Lobkowicz'' in some sources Maria-Ludmille and Arenberg had seven children, the third eldest and the first boy Engelbert Auguste, inherited his father's titles becoming the 8th Duke of Arenberg. A younger son, Charles, was the second husband of the former Princess of Serbia Júlia Hunyady de Kéthely.

Art collection

In 1833 he inherited the art collection of Auguste Marie Raymond d'Arenberg, who began intensively collecting art from his retirement in 1830 until his death in 1833. Many of these works were catalogued in the

ducal palace Several palaces are named Ducal Palace (Italian: ''Palazzo Ducale'' ) because it was the seat or residence of a duke. Notable palaces with the name include: France *Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, Dijon *Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy *Pa ...

in Brussels in 1829 & 1855 and later again in 1904 in Düsseldorf. File:Vermeer-Portrait of a Young Woman.jpg, ''

Study of a Young Woman ''Study of a Young Woman'' (also known as ''Portrait of a Young Woman'' or ''Girl with a Veil'') is a painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, completed between 1665 and 1667, and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The painti ...

'', by

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...

File:A Girl Receiving a Letter by Gabriel Metsu, Timken Museum of Art.JPG, ''A Girl Receiving a Letter'', by

Gabriel Metsu In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

File:Tobias Healing his Father by Rembrandt - Staatsgalerie - Stuttgart - Germany 2017.jpg, ''Tobias Healing his Father'' by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arenberg, 7th Duke of Arenberg, Prosper Louis 1785 births 1861 deaths People from Enghien Prosper Louis Prosper Louis Prosper Louis Members of the Prussian House of Lords Members of the First Chamber of the Diet of the Kingdom of Hanover French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Napoleonic Wars prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom German military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars

Art collection

See also

References and notes