Charles III de Blanchefort-Créquy, sieur de Blanchefort, prince de Poix, duc de Créquy was a French peer and soldier, who also served Louis XIV as diplomat and advisor.
Life
Charles III was the eldest of three sons born to born to Charles de Blanchefort, and Anne Grimoard du Roure. His youngest brother François de Créquy, became a Marshal of France; his other brother Alphonse became the 6th duke of Lesdiguières in 1703 but was less successful than his siblings. In 1653, he married Anne-Armande de Saint-Gelais who later became chief Lady-in-waiting to Queen Maria Theresa. They had one daughter, Madeleine de Créquy, who married Charles-Belgique Hollande de La Trémoïlle,
Career
Charles served in the French army during the Franco-Spanish War, 1635-1659; he was wounded at the Siege ofOrbetello in July 1646 and promoted Lieutenant-general. He was rewarded by Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin for his loyalty to Louis XIV during the 1648-1653 civil war known as the Fronde 1648-1653 made him comte de Créquy and raised him to a peer of France in 1652. The latter half of his life was spent at court, where he held the office of first gentleman of the royal chamber, which had been bought for him by his grandfather. Louis XIV of France promoted the comte de Créquy to a duchy-peerage in his favour, by letters patent at Melun in June 1662, registered with the Parliament of Paris on 15 December 1663, in virtue of letters of surannation on 11 December that year, and in the chambre des comptes on 12 April 1677. This peerage became extinct after the death of his only child Madeleine de Créquy, – it included the town of Poix, the viscountcy of Esquennes, the châtellenie of Agnières, and the lands and lordships of Arnehou, Blangy, Cempuis, Croixrault, Eramecourt, Escantu, Essilières, Frettemolle, Hélincourt, la Rue Notre-Dame, Saint-Clair and Vandricourt. In 1659 the comte de Créquy was sent to Spain with gifts for the infantaMaria Theresa of Spain, and on a similar errand to Bavaria in 1680 before the marriage of the dauphin. He was ambassador to Rome from 1662 to 1665, and to England in 1677; and became governor of Paris in 1675. He died in Paris on 13 February 1687. His only daughter, Madeleine, married Charles Belgique Hollande de La Trémoille. While the comte de Créquy was ambassador to Rome in 1662 and there was insulted by the pro-Austrian pope Alexander VII in the Corsican Guard Affair. Alexander's Corsican Guard pulled down Charles' house, wounding his wife's servants and valets and killing one of Charles' pages. Louis XIV demanded that the governor of Rome, Alexander's nephew, come to apologise in person for this insult and that a pyramid be built in Rome in memory of the repairs.
