Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine

Prince Charles Alexander Emanuel of Lorraine (; ; 12 December 1712 in Lunéville – 4 July 1780 in Tervuren ) was a Lorraine-born Austrian general and soldier, field marshal of the Imperial Army, and governor of the Austrian Netherlands.

Early life Portrait of Prince Charles Alexander as a young boy. Painted by Pierre Gobert,

Charles was the son of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine,

At Leuthen, the Austrians were overwhelmingly defeated by an army half their size, with fewer guns, and tired after a long march over 12 days. Charles and his second in command, Count Leopold Joseph von Daun, sank "in the depths of despondency", and the Prince could not fathom what had happened. Charles had a mixed record against Frederick in past encounters but had never fared so badly as at Leuthen. After this crushing defeat, Maria Theresa replaced him with Daun; Charles retired from military service and subsequently served as the governor of the Austrian Netherlands. Though an unsuccessful military leader, Charles proved to be a competent administrator, well-liked by the population. Under him, the Austrian Netherlands flourished, and he was deeply involved in the cultural life of his province.

Family and private life

Because Charles ruled by right of his marriage to Maria Anna of Austria, Maria Anna's death very shortly after marriage created a situation in which his mistress Elisabeth de Vaux and their children had to be kept secret. His children were to present themselves only under the surnames of their mothers in public if they were in the Netherlands.

Though there is obscurity about his private affairs after the death of Maria Anna, it is known that from his mistress Elisabeth de Vaux, Charles had a son, Charles Alexandre Guillaume Joseph, and a grandson through the same; a stillborn daughter by an unnamed mistress; a son, Charles Frédéric, by an unnamed mistress; a son, Jean Nicholas, and a daughter, Anne Françoise, by an unnamed mistress. With his mistress Regina Elisabeth Bartholotti von Porthenfeld (b.1725) he had a daughter, Maria Regina Johanna von Merey, later Baroness von Hackelberg-Landau (1744-1779). Some of his children were known to have lived in Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium temporarily or permanently. This included his first son Charles Alexandre Guillaume Joseph, who was later known to have returned to Lunéville in Lorraine to claim a substantial inheritance, and to have a son named Gustav Auguste in 1788. He died in Nancy.

Architecture He had the Château de la Favorite (Lunéville) constructed as his retreat.

In Brussels, he had constructed the Palace of Charles of Lorraine. Also, he renovated Tervuren castle and the Château of Mariemont. Further, he commissioned the Château Charles in Tervuren.

Ancestry