page_title: House of Croÿ
section_title: The line of Croÿ-Aerschot
hierarchical_section_title: House of Croÿ / The line of Croÿ-Aerschot
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait at bust-length, in a fur-lined coat.
context_page_description: The House of Croÿ is a family of European mediatized nobility, which held a seat in the Imperial Diet from 1486, and was elevated to the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1594. In 1913, the family had branches in Belgium, France, Austria and Prussia.
  This dynastic house, which originally adopted its name from the Château de Crouy-Saint-Pierre in French Picardy, claimed descent from the Hungarian Prince Marc, who allegedly settled in France in 1147, where he married an heiress to the barony of Croÿ. The Croÿ family rose to prominence under the Dukes of Burgundy. Later, they became actively involved in the complex politics of France, Spain, Austria, and the Low Countries.
context_section_description: Antoine was succeeded as count of Porcéan by his eldest son, Philippe I de Croÿ, governor of Luxembourg and Ligny. Philippe I de Croÿ was raised together with Charles the Bold, who arranged Philippe's marriage to Jacqueline of Luxembourg in 1455. The bride's father was extremely against the alliance and attempted to win his daughter back by force, but the Count of Porcéan closed the borders of Luxembourg and announced that the marriage had been consummated. In 1471 Philippe defected to the king of France with 600 knights but returned to Burgundy to fight for Charles during the Battle of Nancy. During the battle he was taken prisoner. Following Charles's death, Philippe de Croÿ helped arrange the betrothal of his heiress, Marie, with Emperor Maximilian I. Toward the end of his life, he was employed by the Emperor as governor of Valenciennes, lieutenant general of Liege, and captain general of Hainaut. Philippe commissioned a remarkable church in Château-Porcien, in which he was buried upon his death in 1511.
  Among Philippe's sons, Antoine, Bishop of Thérouanne, predeceased his father and lies buried in Cyprus. More notable was Guillaume de Croÿ (1458–1521) (Guillermo de Chièvres, Chievres or Xebres in Spanish documents). As a tutor to Carlos I of Spain (afterwards Emperor Charles V), Guillaume became the power behind the Spanish throne during his pupil's minority, obtaining for himself the titles of Marquis of Aarschot and Duke of Soria and Archi. The Spanish aristocracy detested him as a foreigner, accusing him of pillaging the treasury and other irregularities, causing a wave of civil unrest to spread through Castile. Guillaume attended the Diet of Worms, where he was poisoned on 28 May 1521, apparently by German nobles afraid of his influence on imperial politics.
  Guillaume's nephew and namesake, Guillaume III de Croÿ (1497–1521), was tutored by the Spanish humanist Juan Luís Vives. As it appeared unlikely he would succeed to the lands of his grandfather, Philippe I, he was steered toward the church. Family interests ensured his rapid promotion: he was elected bishop of Cambrai at the age of eighteen, and made a cardinal a few months later. Within a year, Charles V bestowed upon his young friend the archbishopric of Toledo, making him the primate of Spain. This unprecedented move brought Spain to the brink of a civil war. Guillaume accompanied his uncle and Charles to Worms, where on 6 January he died at the age of 23, following a fall from his horse. His tomb is in the Celestine monastery of Louvain, founded by his father.
  
  Guillaume III's elder brother, Philippe II de Croÿ (1496–1549), succeeded to the County of Porcéan upon his father's death in 1514. Like his predecessors, he was Governor of Hainault and senior knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, but it is as Charles V's general that he is best remembered. In 1533 Charles V created Philippe Duke of Soria and Archi and grandee of Spain. Earlier, he had become marquis of Renty and exchanged the lordship of Longwy in Normandy for that of Havré, which his descendants would develop as the family seat. His first wife was a cousin, Anne de Croÿ, Princess of Chimay. She died in 1539, and nine years later Philippe married Anna of Lorraine, leaving offspring by both marriages. 
  Philippe II's eldest son, Charles I de Croÿ (1522–51), inherited the principality of Chimay from his mother and succeeded to the duchy of Aarschot upon his father's death. He was assassinated in Quievrain two years later, leaving no children by his marriage to Louise of Lorraine-Guise. Thereupon Chimay and Aarschot passed to Philippe II's second son, Philippe III.
  Philipe de Croÿ, Duke of Aerschot (1526–1595), was made 216th knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece by Philip II of Spain. In 1567 his cousin Antoine III de Croÿ, 1st Prince of Porcéan died without issue by his marriage to Catherine of Cleves, and the principality of Porcéan devolved upon Philippe. His devotion to the Roman Catholic Church, which he expressed by showing his delight at the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, led Philip II t
caption: Guillaume II de Croÿ (1458–1521), Duke of Sora and Archi, godfather and tutor of the emperor Charles V, prime minister of Burgundy
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