François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi

François de Neufville, 2ème duc de Villeroy (7 April 1644 – 18 July 1730) was a French soldier.

Villeroy was born in Lyon into noble family which had risen into prominence in the reign of Charles IX. His father Nicolas V de Neufville, marquis de Villeroy, Marshal of France (1598-1685) was governor of the young King Louis XIV who later made him a duke.

François was brought up in close relations with Louis XIV and became a member of his inner circle. As a young child, he played with the King and his younger brother the Prince Philippe in the Palais Royal (home of Louis XIV and his mother Anne d'Autriche) and the nearby Hotel de Villeroy (home of the young François de Villeroy and his father the governor Nicolas V de Villeroy - the historic Hotel de Villeroy is located 500 m walking distance from the Palais Royal on 34 rue des Bourdonnais / 9 rue des Déchargeurs). Even though Francois de Villeroy was 6 years younger than Louis XIV they were friends, probably because the young Louis XIV enjoyed the role of protector to a younger child.

An intimate of the king, a finished courtier and leader of society and a man of great personal gallantry, Villeroy was marked out for advancement in the army, which he loved, but where career soldiers had always a juster appreciation of his incapacity than Louis. In 1693, without having exercised any really important and responsible command, he was made Marshal of France. In 1695, when François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg died, he obtained the command of the army in Flanders (see War of the Grand Alliance); William III found him a far easier opponent than the "little hunchback" (the duc de Luxembourg). Villeroy was responsible for the senseless bombardment of Brussels in 1695, which occasioned its reconstruction in the 18th century giving it the regularity and unity of architecture seen today (although it was again damaged in both World Wars).

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