Charles Eugène
Prince of Lambesc Duke of Elbeuf
Born	(1751-09-25)25 September 1751 Palace of Versailles,France
Died	2 November 1825(1825-11-02) (aged 74) Vienna,Austria
Names Charles Eugène de Lorraine
House	House of Lorraine
Father	Louis de Lorraine
Mother	Louise-Julie-Constance de Rohan-Rochefort [fr]
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of France Habsburg Monarchy
Branch/service	Colonel-Proprietor – 5th Chevauxleger Regiment: 20 February 1804 – 10 June 1819
Years of service	1788–1815
Rank	• Grand Equerry for Louis XVI, 1775–1791 • General of Cavalry • Colonel andProprietor 21st/7th Cuirassier Regiment 22 June 1794 – 21 November 1825 • Captain of the FirstArcièren Life Guard: 31 December 1806 – 21 November 1825
Battles/wars	War of the First Coalition Battle of Tournai Battle of Fleurus Battle of Amberg Battle of Würzburg War of the Second Coalition Battle of Engen

Prince Charles Eugène of Lorraine-Brionne, Duke of Elbeuf (25 September 1751 – 2 November 1825) was the head of and last male member of theHouse of Guise, thecadet branch of theHouse of Lorraine which dominated France during theWars of Religion, remained prominent asprinces étrangers atcourt throughout theancien régime, and participated in theémigré efforts to restore theBourbons to the throne. He was an officer in the French andHabsburg militaries during theFrench Revolutionary andNapoleonic Wars.

Charles Eugène was born on 25 September 1751 inVersailles,France, toLouis de Lorraine, Prince of Brionne by his third wife, Princess Louise ofRohan-Rochefort (1734-1815). Charles Eugène was apeer of France and Prince of Lorraine, styled as thePrince of Lambesc. One of four children, he had a younger brother,Joseph Louis, Prince of Lorraine-Vaudémont, and two younger sisters,Princess Joséphine of Lorraine andPrincess Anne Charlotte of Lorraine. Through Princess Joséphine, who marriedVictor Amadeus II, Prince of Carignano, Charles Eugène was an uncle ofCharles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignano and a great uncle of the future KingCharles Albert of Sardinia.^[1]

He married twice; first to a richPolish noblewoman, AnnaCetner (1764–1814), whom he wed on 20 May 1803. She was a daughter of IgnacyCetner,Palatine of Bełz (1728-1800) and Countess LudwikaPotocka (1744-1800). The couple had no issue.

After the death of his first wife, he married again toVictoire de Folliot de Crenneville (1766–1845) on 23 Jan 1816. Victoire, the former governess ofEmpress Marie Louise, was the daughter of French nobleman François MédericFolliot de Crenneville (1735-1802) and Anne Pierrette Charlotte du Poutet (b. 1746). At the time of her marriage to Prince Charles Eugène, Victorie had already been widowed twice: first as Baroness du Poutet and second as Countess vonColloredo-Wallsee. Again, the couple had no children and they divorced in 1817.^[2]

The eldest of House of Lothringen-Lambesc served as the King of France'sGrand Equerry.^[3] Charles Eugène became Colonel and Proprietor (Chief) of theRoyal Allemand-Dragoons in 1778 and was promoted to Marshal of the Camp in the French Army on 9 March 1788. He received the Commander's Cross of theOrder of Saint Louis.^[4]

In the early days of theFrench Revolution, Charles Eugène's Allemand Dragoons were an important element in the protection ofLouis XVI and his Court. On 12 July 1789, Charles Eugène rode at the head of his dragoons across thePlace of Louis XV into theTuileries Gardens, against a mob that had gathered there and forced the group out of the garden.^{[citation needed]}

In the course of the attack, many were injured, twenty-two protesters died,^[5] and Charles Eugène was held popularly responsible, although no charges were filed.^[6]

He defended the royal palace in the riot at theTuileries Gardens in July 1789. Initially, he served in the French army, but at the outset of France's wars with Austria, he picked up the Bourbon cause in Germany.

When hostilities between France and the Habsburgs reached a crisis point in 1791, he left his Allemand Dragoons and followed the Bourbon cause with his younger brother,Joseph Louis, Prince of Lorraine-Vaudémont.^[7]

On 18 June 1791, the prince was appointedmajor general in the Austrian army. In October 1791, he was given command of a brigade composed of theFreikorps (volunteers) "Degelmann" and 37th Dragoon Regiment inFlanders.^[8]

On 1 February 1793, his regiment, the 37th Dragoons, was taken into Habsburg service and in 1798, it was united with the 10th Cuirassier Regiment. At theBattle of Tournai on 22 May 1794, he charged the French infantry on the heights of Templeuve with four squadrons (approximately 1,000 men) of the 18th Chevauxleger Regiment "Karaiczay", cutting down 500 men and taking three guns. On 22 June 1794, he was appointed Colonel andProprietor of the 21st of Cuirassier Regiment in recognition of his actions. In theBattle of Fleurus, on 26 June 1794, he charged with four squadrons of 5th CarabinersAlbert to rescue part of Campaign MarshalPrince von Kaunitz's infantry, which had been surrounded by three French cavalry regiments.^[7] This unlikely charge against another cavalry force more than five times its size took the French by surprise; the French cavalry scattered, giving Kaunitz time to organize an orderly withdrawal of his own force from the field.^[9]

On 4 March 1796, Charles Eugène was promoted toLieutenant Field Marshal. In 1796 he served in Germany under Field MarshalDagobert Sigmund von Wurmser in the Army of the Upper Rhine; on 11 May of that year, he was awarded the Commander's Cross of theMilitary Order of Maria Theresa. He fought with distinction at theBattle of Amberg on 24 August and in theBattle of Würzburg on 2 September, commanding a brigade of cavalry.^[9]

In theWar of the Second Coalition, the Prince fought inSwabia at theBattle of Engen. After this campaign, the prince was posted to the Habsburg provinceGalicia, where he was governor general. On 3 December 1806, he was promoted to General of the Cavalry and a few weeks later, captain of the FirstArcièren Life Guard [de].

In Vienna; he was also awarded theOrder of the Golden Fleece in 1808.^[9]

After the restoration of Louis XVIII, prince Charles Eugène was again created a Peer of France. Louis XVIII furthermore created himDuke of Elbeuf and appointed him aMarshal of France.^[7] Because of the popular hostility against him in France, relating to the incident in the Tuileries in July 1789, he never exercised these privileges and he died at the age of 74 in Vienna on 21 November 1825. As neither Charles Eugène, nor his younger brother Joseph Louis (who had predeceased him in 1812) had any children, the male line of the old Lorraine lines of Elbœuf, Harcourt, and Armagnac came to an end.^[9]

This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• (in German) Ebert, Jens-Florian."Lothringen". Die Österreichischen Generäle 1792–1815. Napoleon Online.DE. Accessed 23 January 2010.
• Smith, Digby.Lothringen-Lambesc. Leopold Kudrna and Digby Smith (compilers). A biographical dictionary of all Austrian Generals in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1792–1815. The Napoleon Series, Robert Burnham, editor in chief. April 2008 version. Accessed 23 January 2010.
• Spawforth, Antony.Versailles: a biography of a palace. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008,ISBN 9780312357856

• 1751 births
• 1825 deaths
• Royalty from Versailles
• Austrian military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
• Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
• Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria
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• House of Guise
• House of Lorraine
• Dukes of Elbeuf
• 18th-century French nobility
• 19th-century French nobility
• French generals
• Princes of Lorraine
• 18th-century peers of France
• Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration

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