Philippe de Croÿ, 3rd Duke of Aarschot, 4th Prince of Chimay, Count of Porcean (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 10 July 1526

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, 11 December 1595), was

Stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, and inherited the estates of the ancient and wealthy family of Croÿ. Becoming a soldier, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece by

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

, king of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and was afterwards employed in diplomatic work.

Life

He was the second son of

Philippe II de Croÿ Philip II de Croÿ (1496–1549) was Seigneur de Croÿ, Count of Porcéan and first Duke of Aarschot. Philip belonged to the powerful House of Croÿ. He was the eldest son of Henry de Croy, and Charlotte de Châteaubriand. His grandfather was ...

(1496–1549) and Anna de Croÿ (1501–1539).
After the death of his elder brother

Charles II de Croÿ Charles II de Croÿ (31 July 1522 – Quiévrain, 24 June 1551) was Seigneur de Croÿ, 2nd Duke of Aarschot, 3rd Prince of Chimay and 3rd Count of Beaumont. He was the eldest son of Philippe II de Croÿ, Duke of Aarschot, and Anne de Croÿ, Princ ...

in 1551, he became 3rd

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 Le ...

, 4th

Prince of Chimay Prince of Chimay is a title of 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. The main residence of the princely family is Ch ...

and 4th Count of

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

. He took part in the troubles in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and in 1563 refused to join

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

and others in their efforts to remove Cardinal Granvelle from his post. This attitude, together with Aarschot's devotion to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, which he expressed by showing his delight at the

Massacre of St. Bartholomew The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French W ...

, led Philip of Spain to regard him with still greater favor, which, however, was withdrawn in consequence of Aarschot's ambiguous conduct when welcoming the new governor, John of Austria (''Don Juan de Austria''), to the Netherlands in 1576. In spite, however, of his being generally distrusted by the inhabitants of the Netherlands, he was appointed governor of the

citadel of Antwerp Antwerp Citadel ( es, Castillo de Amberes, nl, Kasteel van Antwerpen) was a pentagonal bastion fort built to defend and dominate the city of Antwerp in the early stages of the Dutch Revolt. It has been described as "doubtlesse the most matchlesse ...

when the Spanish troops withdrew in 1577. After a period of vacillation he deserted Don John towards the end of that year. Jealous of the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

, he was then the head of the party which induced the Archduke Matthias (afterwards emperor) to undertake the sovereignty of the Netherlands, and soon afterwards was appointed Stadtholder of Flanders by the state council. A strong party, including the burghers of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, distrusted the new stadtholder and Aarschot, who was taken prisoner during a riot at Ghent, was only released on promising to resign his office. He then sought to regain the favor of Philip of Spain, and having been pardoned by the king in 1580 again shared in the government of the Netherlands; but he refused to serve under the count of Fuentes when he became governor-general in 1594, and retired to

, where he died in December 1595.

Family

Philip III married on 24 January 1558, to Johanna Henriette van Halewyn, daughter of Jean III de Halewyn, Vicomte de Nieuwpoort and Jossyne de Lannoy. They had 3 children: *

Charles III de Croÿ Charles III de Croÿ (Beaumont, Hainaut, 1 July 1560 – Beaumont, 12 January 1612) was Seigneur de Croÿ, 4th Duke of Aarschot, 5th Prince of Chimay and 5th Count of Beaumont. He played an important role on both sides of the Dutch Revolt. He ...

(1560–1612), Duke of Aarschot, married 1) Marie de Brimeu and 2) Dorothée de Croy-Havré. No issue. *Anne de Croÿ (1563–1635), married

Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg Princely Count Charles of Arenberg, duke of Aarschot (''jure uxoris''), baron of Zevenbergen, knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, (22 February 1550, in Vollenhove – 18 January 1616, in Enghien) was the second Princely Count of Arenberg ...

. *Margareth de Croÿ (1568–1614), married 1) Pierre de Henin Bossu and 2) Wratislaw of

Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to: Historical states * Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559) * Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614) * Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698) * Fürstenberg-Fürsten ...

. After the death of his first wife, on 1 May 1582 he married Jeanne de Blois-Trélon († 1605), daughter of Louis II de Blois, Seigneur de Trélon, and Charlotte d'Humières.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Croy, Philippe de 1526 births 1595 deaths People from Valenciennes Flemish nobility Philippe Knights of the Golden Fleece Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (Spanish Empire) Recipients of Spanish royal pardons