Philippe-Charles, 3rd Count of Arenberg
Encyclopedia
Philippe-Charles d'Arenberg (Barbancon, October 18, 1587 – Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, September 25, 1640) was the third sovereign prince of Arenberg
Arenberg
Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a historic county, principality and finally duchy located in modern Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian aristocratic family.- History :...

 and 6th Duke of Aarschot
Duke of Aarschot
The Duke of Aarschot was one of the most important titles in the Low Countries, named after the Flemish city of Aarschot. The title was held by the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg...

.

He was the son of Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg
Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg
Princely Count Charles of Arenberg, duke of Aarschot , baron of Zevenbergen, knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, was the second Princely Count of Arenberg and a leading aristocrat of the Habsburg Netherlands, who served as a courtier, soldier, minister and diplomat.-Background and early...

 and Anne de Croy, daughter of Philipe de Croÿ, Duke of Aerschot
Philipe de Croÿ, Duke of Aerschot
Philipe de Croÿ, third Duke of Aarschot, Prince of Chimay, Count of Porcean , was governor-general of Flanders, and inherited the estates of the ancient and wealthy family of Croÿ...

.

He was named Duke of Aarschot in 1616, and attained the highest honors in the Habsburg Netherlands
Habsburg Netherlands
The Habsburg Netherlands was a geo-political entity covering the whole of the Low Countries from 1482 to 1556/1581 and solely the Southern Netherlands from 1581 to 1794...

, including the Order of the Golden Fleece
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...

.

He fell from grace in 1634, and spent the last six years of his life under house arrest in Madrid. The arrest occurred while he was on a diplomatic mission in Spain. Charged with requesting Philip IV
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...

 to grant the States General
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...

 of the southern Netherlands the power to negotiate a truce or peace with the United Provinces
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...

, Aarschot was sent to Spain in December 1633 as the highest-ranking member of the nobility of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...

. Although initially received with great consideration by Philip IV, he was denounced four months after his arrival, accused of participating in the 1632 conspiracy to overthrow Spanish rule in the Netherlands. While admitting knowledge of the plot, he denied involvement in it and maintained his innocence. Despite letters from the Archduchess Isabella
Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Austria was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France, together with her husband Albert. In some sources, she is referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia...

 written on his behalf, Aarschot was imprisoned for some months before being placed under house arrest, in December 1634. Three years later his wife and eldest son joined him, but they were not allowed to reside in his quarters. Aarschot's depressing and restrictive circumstances brought on a debilitating disease, to which he succumbed in 1640. Shortly before his death, Philip IV sent word that his case was under review and a favorable outcome was expected; the duke was too ill to rally, however, and he died the day after receiving the king's message.

Art Collector

Philippe-Charles d'Arenberg was a great art-collector and purchased paintings from artists like Paul de Vos
Paul de Vos
Paul de Vos was a Flemish Baroque painter.De Vos was born in Hulst near Antwerp, now in the Dutch province of Zeeland. Like his older brother Cornelis and younger brother Jan, he studied under the little-known painter David Remeeus...

, Frans Snyders, Gaspar de Crayer, and Salomon Noveliers, court painter to the archdukes in Brussels. The best known of several Rubens
Rubens
Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...

 paintings that Arenberg owned was the Wolf and Fox Hunt, believed to be the work today in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The duke of Aarschot was also responsible for the acquisition of Rubens's late Martyrdom of St. Andrew for the Flemish Hospital in Madrid, where it still remains today.

Marriage and children

He married three times:
  • on September 21, 1610 with Pierre Hippolyte Anne de Melun, Baronesse de Caumont
    Caumont
    Caumont is the same as Chaumont in common French and the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Caumont, Aisne, Picardy*Caumont, Ariège, Aquitaine*Caumont, Eure, Haute-Normandie*Caumont, Gers, Aquitaine*Caumont, Gironde, Aquitaine...

    , died 1615
  • on June 28, 1620 with Isabelle Claire de Berlaymont, Comtesse de Lalaing, died 1630
  • on March 29, 1632 with Countess Maria Cleopha von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
    Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
    -Noble jurisdictions:Prince Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and descendants of his nephew Ferdinand ruled over the Kingdom of Romania, as Karl Eitel did not have children...

     (1599–1685)

and had nine children, two sons and seven daughters.


The sons were :
  • Philippe François, 1st Duke of Arenberg
    Philippe François, 1st Duke of Arenberg
    Philippe François de Ligne, , 7th Duke of Aarschot, 1st Duke of Arenberg, a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, was the first son of the second marriage of Philippe Charles, Comte d'Arenberg and Isabelle Claire de Berlaymont.On 14 July 1642 Philippe François married 15 year old Magdalena de...

     (1625–1674)
  • Charles Eugene, 2nd Duke of Arenberg
    Charles Eugene, 2nd Duke of Arenberg
    Charles Eugene, 2nd Duke of Arenberg , a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1678, became 2nd Duke of Arenberg in 1674 on the death of his step brother Philippe François, 1st Duke of Arenberg...

    (1633–1681)

Further reading

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