Armand-Charles de la Porte de La Meilleraye
Encyclopedia
Armand Charles de La Porte de La Meilleraye, Duke of La Meilleraye (1632 – 9 November 1713) was a French general, who was Grand Master
Grand Master of Artillery
The Grand Master of Artillery or Grand Maître de l'artillerie was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France during the Ancien Régime....

 and Captain General
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...

 of Artillery.

Biography

The son of Charles de La Porte
Charles de La Porte
Charles de La Porte was a French nobleman and general. He was marquis then duke of La Meilleraye, duke of Rethel and peer of France, baron of Parthenay and of Saint-Maixent, count of Secondigny, seigneur of Le Boisliet, La Lunardière, La Jobelinière and Villeneuve.In 1639 he became Marshal of...

 and nephew of Richelieu, Armand-Charles was marquis de La Porte. He later became marquis de La Meilleraye and then duc de Mayenne
Mayenne, Mayenne
Mayenne is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is situated on the river Mayenne.-History:In medieval times, the town was the seat of the Lords of Mayenne...

. Upon his marriage, he became the duc Mazarin. In addition, he was made a French peer
Peerage of France
The Peerage of France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. It was abolished in 1789 during the French Revolution, but it reappeared in 1814 at the time of the Bourbon Restoration which followed the fall of the First French Empire...

, duc de La Meilleraye and peer of France, prince de Château-Porcien
Château-Porcien
Château-Porcien is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.-Population:-References:*...

, marquis de Montcornet
Montcornet
Montcornet is the name of several communes of France:* Montcornet, Aisne, in the Aisne department* Montcornet, Ardennes, in the Ardennes department...

, as well as comte de Marle and de La Fère. He served as Grand Master
Grand Master of Artillery
The Grand Master of Artillery or Grand Maître de l'artillerie was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France during the Ancien Régime....

 of the French Artillery in 1646 or 1648.

He died at Meilleray
Meilleray
Meilleray is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-External links:* *...

 in 1713.

Family and issue

On 1 March 1661, he married Hortense Mancini
Hortense Mancini
Hortense Mancini, duchesse Mazarin , was the favourite niece of Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister of France, and a mistress of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland...

, the favorite niece and heiress of the immensely wealthy Cardinal Mazarin. The marriage proved quite unhappy due to the duke's mistreatment of his wife, and Hortense fled from France in 1668 in order to escape her husband. She eventually moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, where she became the mistress of King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

.

The duke and his wife had four children:
  • Marie Charlotte de La Porte Mazarin (28 March 1662 - 13 May 1729), who married Louis Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, comte d'Agénias, duc d'Aiguillon
  • Marie Anne de La Porte Mazarin (1663 - October 1720), who became an abbess,
  • Marie Olympe de La Porte Mazarin (1665 - 24 January 1754), who married Louis Christophe Giqault, marquis de Bellefonds et de Boullaye
  • Paul Jules de La Porte, duc Mazarin et de La Meilleraye (25 January 1666 - 7 September 1731), who married Félice Armande Charlotte de Durfort


He died at Meilleray
Meilleray
Meilleray is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-External links:* *...

 in 1713.

Sources

  • Guyard de la Fosse, Histoire de Mayenne
  • Bibliothèque nationale de France
    Bibliothèque nationale de France
    The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...

    , fr. 11. 468
  • Pinard
    Pinard
    Pinard is a family name, and may refer to:*Fetal stethoscope *Ciel, mon Pinard! – the Quebec cookery program with Daniel PinardSee also*Pienaar, surname...

    , Chronologie militaire, t. IV, p. 201
  • Relation d'Ezéchiel Spanheim
  • Grosse-Duperon, Souvenirs du Vieux-Mayenne
  • Grosse-Duperon, Etude sur Fontaine-Daniel
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