Charles d'Albert | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of the 1st Duke of Luynes, byFrans Pourbus the Younger | |
| Grand Constable of France | |
| In office 31 March 1621 – 15 December 1621 | |
| Monarch | Louis XIII |
| Preceded by | Henri I de Montmorency |
| Succeeded by | François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1578-08-05)5 August 1578 |
| Died | 15 December 1621(1621-12-15) (aged 43) Château de Longueville,Guienne |
| Cause of death | Scarlet fever |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | Honoré d'Albert (brother) Antoinette d'Albert de Luynes (sister) Charles Honoré d'Albert, duc de Luynes (grandson) Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes (granddaughter) |
| Children | Louis Charles, Duke of Luynes |
| Parents |
|
Charles d'Albert, 1stDuke of Luynes (French:[ʃaʁldalbɛʁ]; 5 August 1578 - 15 December 1621) was aFrench courtier and afavourite ofLouis XIII. In 1619, the king made himDuke of Luynes and aPeer of France, and in 1621,Constable of France. Luynes died ofscarlet fever near the end of that year at the height of his influence.
He was the eldest son of Anne de Rodulf and Honoré d'Albert (1540–1592),seigneur deLuynes (in today'sdépartementBouches-du-Rhône inProvence), who was in the service of the three lastValois kings and ofHenri IV, the firstBourbon king.[1] His brotherHonoré d'Albert, 1st Duke of Chaulnes, was governor ofPicardy andMarshal of France (1619), and defended his province successfully in 1625 and 1635.[2] His sisterAntoinette d'Albert de Luynes was a lady-in-waiting to the queen.
Charles was brought up at court and attended thedauphin, later Louis XIII. The king shared his fondness for hunting and rapidly advanced him in favour.
In 1615, he was appointed commander of theLouvre Palace and counsellor, and the following yearGrand Falconer of France. He used his influence over the king in the court intrigues against the queen-motherMarie de' Medici and her favouriteConcini. It was Luynes who, withVitry, captain of the guard, arranged the plot that ended in Concini's assassination in 1617, and secured all the latter's possessions inItaly and France.[2]
Also in 1617, he was appointed captain of theBastille and lieutenant-general ofNormandy. He employed extreme measures against thepamphleteers of the time, but sought peace in Italy and with theProtestants.[2]
In August 1619, he negotiated theTreaty of Angoulême by which Marie de' Medici was accorded complete liberty. The same month he was made governor ofPicardy andDuke of Luynes. He had recently purchased the Comté deMaillé on theLoire, about 10 miles west ofTours, and the king erected Maillé into the Duchy ofLuynes, which included about 50parishes and extended to the western wall of Tours and around it on three sides. On 14 November 1619, he was officially received as a duke and aPeer of France at a ceremony in the great hall of theParlement of Paris.[3] His rapid rise to power made him a host of enemies, who looked upon him as but a second Concini.[2] He suppressed an uprising of nobles in 1620.[2]
In 1621, at the king's request, Luynes agreed to lead an expedition against the Protestants in the southwest, even though Luynes had for a long time been opposed to the campaign.[4] As part of the agreement, Louis appointed himConstable of France, even though Luynes had slight military ability or achievement. He was sworn in on 2 April.[5] Luynes received the post in part by default: the obvious choice, theDuke of Lesdiguières, was a Protestant and refused to abjure. Later, after Luynes's death, Lesdiguières converted and became constable.[6] Luynes was involved in the failure of theSiege of Montauban (17 August – 2 November), for which he received much criticism, although he had not been the field commander.[7] The Duke died ofscarlet fever in December 1621 at Château deLongueville in the midst of the campaign.[2][8]
In 1617, he married PrincessMarie Aimée de Rohan, Mademoiselle de Montbazon (1600–1679), who was 22 years his junior, daughter ofHercule, Duke of Montbazon and, his first wife, Marie de Bretagne d'Avaugour. Together, they were the parents of:[9]
Luynes died ofscarlet fever on 15 December 1621, aged 43, at Château deLongueville inGuienne.[2][8] After his death, his widow remarried toClaude de Lorraine, Duke of Chevreuse (a son ofHenry I, Duke of Guise), with whom she had three daughters. Upon Claude's death in 1655, theChevreuse peerage became extinct and the duchy was sold to Marie. After her death on 12 August 1679, Louis-Charles, Marie's son from her marriage to the Duke of Luynes inherited the duchy of Chevreuse, and his descendants have held it since.
Through his son Louis, he was posthumously a grandfather of six, includingCharles Honoré d'Albert, duc de Luynes (1646–1712) andJeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes (1670–1736), best known today as the mistress ofKingVictor Amadeus II ofSardinia.[9]
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Luynes s.v. Charles".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 147.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Media related toCharles d'Albert at Wikimedia Commons| French nobility | ||
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| New creation | 1stDuke of Luynes 1619–1621 | Succeeded by |
