Originating in Piedmont, the Broglie-family established itself in France when the otherwise Italian nobleman Francesco Maria took up service for France during the Thirty Years' War. By 1643, he was naturalised as a Frenchman and consequently changed his name to François Marie de Broglie.
Having already a long list of Italian titles, such as Count of Revel, François-Marie was made Comte de Broglie for his services. He was also made governor of La Bassé.
Olympe outlived her husband by a staggering 53 years, dying in Paris in 1709. The couple had a single child:
- Victor-Maurice, Comte de Broglie
2) Victor-Maurice de Broglie & Marie de Lamoignon
Victor-Maurice followed in his father's footsteps and entered the army where he had the immense good luck of serving under both the Grand Condé and Turenne. He was made marèchal de camp in 1676, then Lieutenant General before finally reaching Marèchal de France right before his death.
Victor-Maurice followed in his father's footsteps and entered the army where he had the immense good luck of serving under both the Grand Condé and Turenne. He was made marèchal de camp in 1676, then Lieutenant General before finally reaching Marèchal de France right before his death.
Marie was the daughter of the Comte de Launay-Courson, with her father being a maitre des requetes. The couple had three children:
- Charles Guillaume, Marquis de Broglie
- Marie-Madeleine, Baronne de Bonrepos
- François Marie, Comte de Broglie
Oddly enough, it would be François Marie who was elevated to the dukedom of Broglie despite Charles Guillaume being very much alive - and with a male heir. The line can therefore be said to have divided in two: the Marquis de Broglie and the Duc de Broglie.
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| Victor-Maurice |
Marquis de Broglie
1) Charles Guillaume de Broglie & Marie Madeleine de Voisin
Charles also followed his grandfather's military career and was made lieutenant general. Charles was 21 years older than his wife when they married in 1710; sadly, Marie Madeleine died at just 32 years after having given Charles two children:
- Marie-Françoise, Comtesse de Lignerac
- Charles Guillaume Louis de Broglie, Marquis de Broglie
2) Charles Guillaume Louis de Broglie & (1) Théodore-Élisabeth-Catherine de Besenval (2) Agathe Émilie de Menou
Charles and Théodore were married in 1733; she was the daughter of the colonel general of the Swiss guards. When she died in 1778, the newly widowed Charles remarried to Agathe who was 41 years his junior. Agathe was the daughter of the Marquis de Menou.
Charles Guillaume Louis had a son by his first wife, Théodore:
- Achille-Joseph, Marquis de Broglie
3) Achille-Joseph
The young Achille-Joseph was about to embark on his own military career; at the age of 17, he was colonel of his own infantry regiment when he was killed by wounds sustained in the battle of Sunderhausen. He had not married nor had children.
Duc de Broglie
1) François Marie de Broglie & Thérèse Gillette Locquet de Grandville
Named for his grandfather, this François Marie is likely the most famous member of the family; it was he who managed to bring the family into the ducal class of the aristocracy while also earning the title of Marèchal de France. Truly, there were few conflicts which he was not involved in. Having fought in the Wars of both the Spanish and Austrian Successions, he also served in the king's Italian campaign. He was finally made Duc de Broglie in 1742 and governor of Alsace, dying two years later.
The couple had five children:
- Victor François, Duc de Broglie
- Charles François, Marquis de Ruffec
- François, Comte de Revel
- Marie-Thérèse, Marquise de Lameth
- Charles, bishop
2) Victor François de Broglie & (1) Marie Anne Dubois de Villers (2) Louise Augustine Crozat
Victor François also managed to become Marèchal de France, serving under his own father for a time. Having partaken in both the Seven Years' War and the American colonies' struggle for independence, he returned to France where the revolution soon broke out. He remained a staunch royalist who continued to offer his military services while in exile.
Marie Anne had four sons by her husband but none survived childhood.
Louise was a lady-in-waiting to the king's youngest daughters, Mesdames Victoire, Sophie and Louise. She accompanied her husband into emigration during the revolution.
Louise and Victor had nine children:
- Louise-Augustine-Thérèse, Comtesse de Damas-Crux
- Charlotte-Amédée, Comtesse d'Helmstadt
- Charles-Louis-Victor, Prince de Broglie
- Auguste Joseph, Prince de Revel
- Adélaide-Françoise
- Charles-Louis-Victor, abbot
- Maurice-Jean-Madeleine, abbot
- Aglaé-Charlotte-Marie, Marquise de Murat
- Victor Amédée Marie, Prince de Broglie
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| François-Marie |
Interesting facts and anecdotes:
- Francois-Marie was nearly killed when his camp was raided unexpectedly by enemy troops on 14 September 1734 but he managed to escape
- Victor-Francois briefly served as Minister of War to Louis XVI before fleeing France
- Charles-Francois (second son of the Francois-Marie) distinguished himself as a diplomatic agent in Louis XV's secret department Secret du Roi
- Victor (son of the second Duc de Broglie) was killed during the revolution
- Charles-Guillaume was given six cannons by the king which he was allowed to use for defense and decoration at his private estate
The line is still existent.
Image gallery of the House of Broglie:
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| Victor-Francois de Broglie |
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| Louise Augustine |
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| Charles-Francois |
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