Charles III | |
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Duke of Elbeuf | |
Born | 1620 Hôtel d'Elboeuf, Paris, France |
Died | May 4, 1692 Hôtel d'Elboeuf, Paris, France |
(aged 71–72)
Spouse | Anne Élisabeth de Lannoy Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne Françoise de Montault de Navailles |
Issue Detail |
Anne Élisabeth, Princess of Vaudémont Henri, Duke of Elbeuf Emmanuel Maurice, Duke of Elbeuf Suzanne Henriette, Duchess of Mantua Louise Anne, Princess of Navailles |
House | House of Lorraine |
Father | Charles II, Duke of Elbeuf |
Mother | Catherine Henriette de Bourbon |
Charles III (1620–4 May 1692) was the third Duke of Elbeuf and member of the House of Lorraine. He succeeded his father Charles II, Duke of Elbeuf, to the Duchy-Peerage of Elbeuf. His mother was an illegitimate daughter of Henry IV of France and Gabrielle d'Estrées. He was also a Peer of France as well as titular Duke of Guise, Count of Harcourt, Lillebonne and Rieux.
Born at the Hôtel d'Elboeuf in Paris, he was the eldest son of Charles II, Duke of Elbeuf, and his wife Catherine Henriette de Bourbon, legitimised daughter of Henry IV of France and Gabrielle d'Estrées.
A member of the House of Guise founded by Claude, Duke of Guise, he was a male line descendant of René II, Duke of Lorraine.
His paternal first cousins included the Chevalier de Lorraine (lover of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans), Count of Armagnac; his maternal cousins included Louis XIV of France and the above mentioned Duke of Orléans.
He was known as the Count of Harcourt-Elbeuf while his father was alive; from circa 1650, he styled himself as the prince d'Harcourt, the county of Harcourt being one of the subsidiary titles of his father. He served in Italy (1641) and Picardy (1642) under the command of his uncle Henri, Count of Harcourt. Charles took great part in the Thirty Years' War; he was with le Grand Condé (then the Duke of Enghien) at the famous victory at Rocroi in 1643. He was also a part of battles at Thionville and Sierck, as well as the siege of Gravelines (1644); he latter fought in the Battle of Nördlingen (1645) as well as at Trier.