Robert III Clément

Robert III Clément (c. 1120/1130 – c. 1182) was a French nobleman and courtier who served as tutor and senior Minister of State to Philip II of France. Two of his sons, Albéric and Henry I Clément, were appointed the first and third Marshals of France respectively.

Life and career Born to Robert II Clément and Mahaut de Tourneau sometime between 1120 and 1130, Robert inherited the seigneurie of Mez on his brother Aubry's death in 1148. He had accompanied Aubry to the Holy Land in 1147 as part of the Second Crusade, but returned to France after his brother's death at Constantinople in 1148. Robert then set about recovering property of the Lordship of Mez that Aubry had sold to the Ferrières Abbey in order to fund their journey, contesting the sale on the grounds that he, as the heir to the title, had never ratified it. In 1178, he (alongside Giles) was one of the judges in the suit between Barthelemy of Paris and the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Robert was appointed tutor to a young Philip II, with Robert of Auxerre noting in his work that he was also appointed guardian of the prince by his father Louis VII, although the exact nature of Robert's later relationship with the young monarch is not clear, with some sources putting Robert as simply one of the chiefs among Philip's ministers (alongside Giles) rather than a straightforward guardian or regent.

Family Robert had three sons with Hersende de Mez: Albéric, Henry and Hugh. While both Albéric and Henry would go on to serve at court and in the armies of the French sovereign, Hugh entered the Church, serving as abbé of St Spire de Corbeil (1190-1196), and later Dean of Notre-Dame de Paris (1200-1203).