François-Annibal d'Estrées

François-Annibal d'Estrées, portrait of Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin

François-Annibal d'Estrées, Duke d'Estrées (* 1573 ; † May 5, 1670 in Paris ) was a French diplomat, military leader and Marshal of France .

Life

François-Annibal was a son of Antoine IV. D'Estrées and Françoise Babou de La Bourdaisière , and the brother of Gabrielle d'Estrées , the lover of Henry IV . He had already received the diocese of Noyon in 1594 when, following his inclination, he joined the army under the name of a marquis de Coeuvres . He was appointed lieutenant-general by the king .

Under Maria de Medici he was used on several diplomatic missions; In 1624 he was given command of the combined troops of France, Venice and Savoy in order to remove the strategically important area of ​​the Three Leagues from the control of Austria and Spain (→ Bündner Wirren ). With the reinforcement of mercenaries from the Confederation and the Three Leagues, he conquered first the area of ​​today's Graubünden and then the Graubünden subject areas of Bormio, Valtellina and Chiavenna by spring 1625 . For this successful campaign he received the marshal's baton in 1626 . In 1630 he tried to wrest Mantua from the imperial forces, but had to capitulate and received supreme command over the Rhine Army, at whose head he took Trier in 1632 .

From 1636 to 1648 he was envoy extraordinary to Rome . When Louis XIV ascended the throne , the Marquisat Coeuvres was raised to the Duchy of Estrées and François-Annibal was appointed governor of the Île de France and Soissons . He died in Paris on May 5, 1670 and left his work Mémoires de la régence de Marie de Médicis (Paris 1666).

His son was Jean II. D'Estrées , who also became Marshal of France in 1681 ; his son Victor-Marie d'Estrées received the marshal's baton in 1703.