CountHenri Marie Ghislain de Merode (1782–1847) was a member of theBelgian Senate and writer.
Henri de Merode was born in Brussels on 15 August 1782, the eldest of the four sons ofCharles de Merode [fr;nl] (1762–1830) and Marie d'Ongnies de Mastaing, princess of Grimbergen. He inherited the titles prince of Grimbergen, count of Merode and of the Holy Roman Empire, marquis ofWesterloo andprince of Rubempré. He was also awarded the titles ofGrandee of Spain and Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold.[1] In about 1894 he fled with his father from the revolutionary French forces taking over the Austrian Netherlands and moved to elsewhere in the Holy Roman Empire. He returned to the general area of Brussles, now part of the French Republic, with his father in 1800. On 26 August 1805 he married Louise-Jeanne de Thézan du Poujol (1787–1862).[1] His father was mademayor of Brussels (1805-1809) and member of theSenate of the French First Empire (1809–1814) and the family was therefore awarded the title ofCount of the First French Empire. His father was also member of theProvisional Government of Belgium (1814–1815) underWilliam of Orange.
Having declined to serve in public office under theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands, Merode supported the aims of theBelgian Revolution, in which his younger brothersFélix andFrédéric [fr;nl] played an active role, but sat out the fighting on an estate in France.
In the1831 Belgian general election, the first since the declaration of independence in 1830, he was elected to the BelgianSenate. The following year, his wife was appointed aslady-in-waiting toQueen Louise.[1] In 1835,King Leopold sent him to Vienna as an extraordinary ambassador to extend condolences on the death ofFrancis II and congratulatingFerdinand I of Austria on his accession, while also officially communicating the birth of Leopold, Duke of Brabant (the futureLeopold II of Belgium). Merode wasre-elected senator in 1839 but resigned his seat. He died in Brussels on 23 September 1847.[1]
De Merode marriedLouise-Jeanne de Thézan du Poujol (Paris, 14 January 1787 – Brussels, 27 April 1862) on 26 August 1806 in Paris. She was the daughter of Viscount Jean de Thézan and Françoise de Noailles.
They usually lived in theChâteau de Trélon [fr;de], nearAvesnes, in France.
They had the following children:
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