The title ofDuke of Saint-Cloud was created in 1674. The intention behind the creation was to provide a noble title to be held by theArchbishop of Paris for the time being.
TheBishop of Paris had only received the titleArchbishop in relatively recent times, on October 20, 1622, so as to recognize the emergence of Paris as the royal capital. It was common enough in France for a number of bishoprics to be joined automatically to a noble title. There were, for example, theBishop-Count of Beauvais, theBishop-Count of Châlons and theBishop-Count of Noyon.
In this way, the incumbents of three ancientbishoprics in the kingdom had along with the title of the ecclesiasticalsee also the secular noble title ofDuke andpeer of France, the latter being a particularly high distinction for a restricted circle of the nobility.
The three cases prior to 1674 were the Archbishop ofRheims and the Bishops ofLaon andLangres. To these was added, then, the case of thearchbishopric of Paris. In the existing cases, the title of the dukedom was the same as thebishopric. Presumably in the case of Paris, it seemed inappropriate for the bishop of the royal capital beDuke of Paris and so the dukedom orduchy created was given an alternative name.
So it was that in 1674 the domain and lordships ofSaint-Cloud,Maisons-Alfort,Créteil,Ozoir-la-Ferrière, andArmentières-en-Brie were erected into a duchy of Saint-Cloud, although the title was not registered in theparlement until 1690. The first to bear the title wasFrançois de Harlay de Champvalon, who had been Archbishop since 1671. It was then held by his successors at Paris till the Revolution.
These four dukedoms, not being hereditary, did not become extinct on the death of the holder, but were assumed by the legitimate successor to the bishopric.
However, all four dukedoms orduchies, along with the entirePeerage of France, were abolished during theFrench Revolution, on August 4, 1789, theNight of the Abolition of Feudalism.