Henri of Lorraine, Count of Harcourt

Henri de Lorraine (20 March 1601 – 25 July 1666, Royaumont Abbey), known as Cadet la Perle, was a French nobleman. He was count of Harcourt, count of Armagnac, count of Brionne and viscount of Marsan. Henri served in the royal army against the Huguenot revolt. He fought and defeated a Spanish army at Chieri, relieved the fortress of Casale, and took the city of Turin. He rescued the royal family during the first Fronde and failed in an attempt to create an independent principality for himself during the second Fronde. He died on 25 July 1666.

Life Henri was the younger son of Charles I, Duke of Elbeuf and his wife Marguerite de Chabot, countess of Charny. He first saw active duty at the siege of Prague in November 1620. In the 1630s, he served in the royal military during the fighting against the Huguenot revolt. In 1637, Henri commanded an army during the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), where he defeated a numerically superior Spanish army, near Chieri, which allowed him to relieve the besieged fortress of Casale. Henry led the Siege of Turin (1640), taking the city after a siege of three months. Henri then fought in Sardinia and Catalonia, where he was named viceroy in 1645. He was later defeated in Catalonia in 1646.

During the first Fronde, Henri moved the royal family to safety. During the second Fronde, seizing on the troubles facing Mazarin, he sought to establish an independent principality for himself along the Rhine. It was rapidly crushed. After his falling out with Mazarin, he withdrew to his estate at Royaumont, where he died in 1666, burdened by considerable debts.

Marriage and issue In February 1639, Harcourt married Marguerite-Philippe du Cambout (1622–74). They had six children: Armande Henriette of Lorraine (1640–1684), Abbess of Notre-Dame de Soissons Louis, Count of Armagnac (1641–1718), called Monsieur le Grand, Grand Squire of France Philippe of Lorraine (1643–1702), called the Chevalier de Lorraine and long-term lover of Philippe of France, Duke of Orléans (the only brother of King Louis XIV) Alfonse Louis of Lorraine (1644–1689), Abbot of Royaumont, called the Chevalier d'Harcourt Raimond Bérenger of Lorraine (1647–1686), Abbot of Faron de Meaux, called the Abbé d'Harcourt Charles of Lorraine (1648–1708), Viscount then Count of Marsan