Charles de L'Aubespine

Charles de L'Aubespine

Charles de L'Aubespine , Marquis de Châteauneuf (* 1580 ; † 1653 in Leuville-sur-Orge ) was the grandson of Claude de L'Aubespine , Baron de Châteauneuf. He was at the time of King Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. twice keeper of seals and chancellor of France .

He began his political career as the French ambassador in the Netherlands (1609), the Valtellina (1626) and England (1629). On November 14, 1630, Cardinal Richelieu made him the keeper of the seal, as he took part in the cardinal's revenge on the marshals Louis de Marillac and Henri II. De Montmorency and their executions.

On February 25, 1633 Richelieu withdrew his office and had him thrown in a dungeon of the Angoulême castle , where he lived until the death of King Louis XIII. In 1643 he was incarcerated because he was accused of having betrayed state secrets to his lover, the Duchess of Chevreuse , which she in turn is said to have passed on to Spain. Only the death of Louis XIII. and the succession to the throne of Louis XIV under the reign of his mother Anna of Austria led to his liberation, although it was discovered as early as 1637 that Anna of Austria herself was the source of the betrayal and the Duchess of Chevreuse was her postwoman.

Shortly after his liberation, he joined François de Vendôme and the Duchess of Chevreuse, whose Cabale des Importants aimed to remove the new first minister, Cardinal Jules Mazarin . The conspiracy failed at the outset, Vendôme went to prison for five years, the Duchess into exile, but at the beginning of the Fronde (1648) a reconciliation took place that freed him and allowed her to return.

For Charles de L'Aubespine this reconciliation led to Anna of Austria appointing him Chancellor of France on March 2, 1650. His renewed dismissal the following year (April 4, 1651) was justified with his too close ties to the Fronde. There was another reconciliation with the court, but he died shortly afterwards (1653).

literature

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