Charles Philippe d'Albert, 4th Duke of Luynes (30 July 1695 – 2 November 1758) held the title Duke of Luynes from 1712 to 1758. He wrote an important memoir of life at the court of Louis XV.

Early life

Charles-Philippe was a grandson of Charles Honoré d'Albert, duc de Luynes the Duke of Chevreuse. He was a great-great-grandson of the first Duke of Luynes, Charles d'Albert, and his wife Marie de Rohan, one of the leading members of the Fronde. His grandmother Jeanne-Marie Colbert was a daughter of the famous Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV's minister of finance. His great-aunt was Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes, the mistress of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia. A second cousin was Maria Vittoria Francesca of Savoy who lived in France and was the wife of Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignan.

Career

Luynes was a Peer of France and cavalry officer. He was part of the intimate group that she called her "gentlefolk" (honnêtes gens). He wrote a journal of historic events and facts about the court, a work which has no pretension of literary merit, but is valuable as a document for the study of the aristocratic society of his time.

Personal life

He was twice married. His first marriage took place on 24 February 1710 to Louise-Léontine de Bourbon (1696–1721), Princess of Neuchatel, a granddaughter of Louis de Bourbon, Count of Soissons, and Anne de Montafié, Countess of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis (heiress of Jeanne-Françoise de Coeme, Lady of Lucé and Bonnétable). Before her death in 1721, they were the parents of: In 1732, Charles-Philippe married Marie Brulart; she was the widow of the marquis de Charost, and became lady-in-waiting to the Queen Maria Leszczyńska, the consort of King Louis XV of France. He died at the Château de Dampierre and was buried at the Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris.

Descendants

Through his son Marie Charles, he was a grandfather of Louis Joseph Charles Amable d'Albert de Luynes, Duke of Luynes (1748–1807), who had an active military and political career like his father.

Ancestry