Antoine de Gramont, 4th Duke of Gramont

Antoine de Gramont
4th Duke of Gramont
Undated portrait of Antoine de Gramont.
Born	January 1672
Died	16 September 1725(1725-09-16) (aged 53)
Nationality	French
Spouse(s)	Marie Christine de Noailles
Issue	Louis de Gramont, 6th Duke of Gramont
Parents	Antoine Charles IV de Gramont
Mother	Marie Charlotte de Castelnau
Occupation	Marshal of France

Antoine de Gramont, 4th Duke of Gramont (January 1672 – 16 September 1725), Duke of Guiche, was a Marshal of France.

Early life

French military figure and member of the House of Gramont, he was the oldest child of Antoine Charles IV de Gramont and Marie Charlotte de Castelnau (1648 – 29 January 1694), daughter of Marshal Castelnau.

Biography

At the age of thirteen, he became a musketeer and by 1687 he had become head of his regiment. He participated in the Siege of Philippsburg (1688) and the Battle of Landen (1693). He was made brigadier in 1694 and served in Flanders.

In 1696, he was serving under Marshal Catinat and Marshal Boufflers, and was himself made a marshal (of Flanders) and Colonel General of Dragoons in 1702. In 1704, he made lieutenant of the royal arms and, on 26 October 1704, Colonel General of the French guards. He became envoy to Philip V of Spain in 1705. He was wounded at the Battle of Malplaquet (1709).

In 1712, he became Lieutenant General of Bayonne and Lieutenant General and Governor of Navarre and Béarn. In 1715, he became Counselor of Regents and War and in 1720, acquired the title of Duke of Gramont. In 1724, he became Marshal of France. He died a year later, evidently in his palace.

Personal life

He had married Marie Christine de Noailles (1672-1748), daughter of Anne Jules de Noailles, 2nd Duke of Noailles and his wife, Marie Françoise de Bournonville (1654-1748). They had 5 children :

• Antoine VI de Gramont (1688-1741), lieutenant-general, no surviving sons.
• Louis de Gramont, 6th Duke of Gramont (1689-1745), colonel-general, had male issue.
• Marie-Adélaïde de Gramont (1700-1740), married François Armand de Gontaut, son of Charles Armand de Gontaut, Duke of Biron.
• Catherine-Charlotte-Thérèse de Gramont (1707-1755), married Philippe-Alexandre, prince de Bournonville (died 1727) and Jacques Louis de Rouvroy, son of Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon.
• Louis François de Gramont (1708-1714).

References

Saint-Allais, Nicolas Viton de (1833), De l'ancienne France (in French), Paris: M. de Saint-Allais, p. 500