Eugène-Alexandre de Montmorency-Laval, 4th Duke of Laval (20 July 1773 – 2 April 1851), was a 19th-century French soldier.
| Eugène-Alexandre de Montmorency-Laval | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Laval Marquis of Montmorency | |
| Born | Eugène-Alexandre de Montmorency-Laval 20 July 1773 |
| Died | 2 April 1851 (aged 77) |
| Spouse |
Maximilienne de Béthune-Sully
(m. 1802; died 1833)Constance de Maistre
(m. 1833; died 1851) |
| House | House of Montmorency House of Laval |
| Father | Anne-Alexandre-Marie de Montmorency-Laval |
| Mother | Marie Louise Mauricette de Montmorency-Luxembourg |
Early life
editEugène-Alexandre was born on 20 July 1773.[1] He was the fourth son of Anne-Alexandre-Marie de Montmorency-Laval, 2nd Duke of Laval, and Marie-Louise de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1750–1829), a daughter of Count Joseph Maurice Annibal de Montmorency-Luxembourg.[2] Among his siblings were elder brother, Anne-Adrien-Pierre de Montmorency-Laval, the French ambassador to the United Kingdom.[3]
His paternal grandparents were Guy André Pierre de Montmorency-Laval, 1st Duke of Laval, and Jacqueline de Bullion de Fervaques.[2]
Career
editLike his elder brother Achille (who died of a wound he received in the defense of Bundenthal), he fought in the campaigns of 1793, 1794 and 1795, in the Army of Condé. Returning to France, he became a member of the right-wing royalist organisation known as the Chevaliers de la Foi (Knights of Faith).[4]
He became Marshal of the King's Camps and Armies and a Knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint-Louis, before he was promoted to Lieutenant-General of the Armies.[1]
In 1837, he inherited the title of Duke of Laval from his brother Anne-Adrien-Pierre. Before that, he was called the Marquis of Montmorency.[1]
Personal life
edit
In 1802, he married Maximilienne de Béthune-Sully (1772–1833), widow of the Count of Chârost, heiress to the Château de Beaumesnil. Having vowed to have a chapel built there if the Bourbons returned to power, they kept their word on the accession of King Louis XVIII and the chapel was consecrated in 1820.[1]
After the death of his first wife, he married Françoise Xavière Nicole Constance de Maistre (1793–1882) on 26 November 1833 in Genoa. She was a daughter of Joseph de Maistre, Count of Maistre, a philosopher who was the author of the St Petersburg Dialogues. [5]
The Duke died, without issue, on 2 April 1851, upon which the dukedom of Laval became extinct. He left the Château de Beaumesnil to his brother-in-law, Rodolphe de Maistre, Count of Maistre.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Saint-Allais, Nicolas Viton de (1835). Annuaire historique, généalogique et héraldique de l'ancienne noblesse de France (in French). L'auteur. p. 201. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ a b Bois, François-Alexandre Aubert de La Chesnaye Des (1761). Dictionnaire généalogique, héraldique, chronologique et historique, contenant l'origine et l'état actuel des premières Maisons de France, des maisons souveraines & principales de l'Europe... les familles nobles du royaume... par M. D. L. C. D. B. [Aubert de La Chesnaye Des Bois] (in French). chez Duchesne. p. 712. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ Viton), M. de Saint-Allais (Nicolas; Saint-Allais, Nicolas Vinton de (1873). Nobiliaire universel de France: ou Recueil général des généalogies historiques des maisons nobles de ce royaume (in French). Au Bureau du Nobiliaire universel de France, Réimprimé à la Librairie Bachelin-Deflorenne. p. 310. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ Irving, Henry Brodribb (1906). Occasional Papers Dramatic and Historical. London: Bickers and Sons. pp. 185–227.
- ^ worldstatesmen.org, Provinces of France before 1791 section Nice, Governors, 1837 - May 1848, Rodolphe de Maistre, comte de Maistre (b. 1789 - d. 1866)
- ^ Buckley, Cornelius Michael (24 October 2013). Stephen Larigaudelle Dubuisson, S.J. (1786–1864) and the Reform of the American Jesuits. University Press of America. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-7618-6232-1. Retrieved 26 June 2024.