Charles Maurice de Talleyrand - Périgord Charles Maurice de Talleyrand - Périgord , prince de Bénévent , then prince de Talleyrand ( ; 1754 – 1838 ) was a French diplomat . He worked successfully from the regime of Louis XVI , through the French Revolution and then under Napoleon I , Louis XVIII , Charles X , and Louis - Philippe . Known since the turn of the 19th century simply by the name Talleyrand , he remains a figure that polarizes opinion . Some regard him as one of the most versatile , skilled and influential diplomats in European history , and some believe that he was a traitor , betraying in turn , the Ancien Régime , the French Revolution , Napoleon , and the Restoration . He is also notorious for leaving the Catholic Church after ordination to the priesthood and consecration to the episcopacy . Early life . Talleyrand was born into an aristocratic family in Paris . His father , Count Daniel de Talleyrand - Périgord , was 20 years of age when Charles was born . A congenital leg limp left young Talleyrand unable to enter the expected military career and caused him to be called later " " ( French for " the lame devil " ) among other nicknames . Deprived of his rights of primogeniture by a family council , which judged his physical condition incompatible with the traditional military careers of the Talleyrand . His own father had a long career in the Army , reaching the rank of Lieutenant general . He was instead directed to an ecclesiastic career . His uncle Alexandre Angélique de Talleyrand - Périgord , then Archbishop of Reims , considerably assisted and encouraged him in this endeavor . It would appear that the family , while prestigious and ancient , was not particularly prosperous , and saw church positions as a way to gain wealth . Talleyrand attended the Collège d ' Harcourt and seminary of Saint - Sulpice until the age of 21 . He was ordained a priest in 1779 , when he was 25 . In 1780 , he became Agent - General of the Clergy , a representative of the Catholic Church to the French Crown . In this important position , he was instrumental in drafting a general inventory of church properties in France as of 1785 , along with a defence of " inalienable rights of church " , a stance he was to deny later . In 1789 , through the influence of his father and family , the already notably non - believing Talleyrand was appointed Bishop of Autun . In 1801 , Pope Pius VII laicized Talleyrand , an event most uncommon at the time in the history of the Church . French Revolution . Shorty after he was ordained as Bishop of Autun , Talleyrand attended the Estates - General of 1789 , representing the clergy , the First Estate . During the French Revolution , Talleyrand strongly supported the anti - clericalism of the revolutionaries . He assisted Mirabeau in the appropriation of Church properties . He participated in the writing of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and proposed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy that nationalised the Church , and swore in the first four constitutional bishops , even though he had himself resigned as Bishop following his excommunication by Pope Pius VI in 1791 . During the " Fête de la Fédération " on 14 July 1790 , Talleyrand celebrated Mass . Notably , he promoted public education in full spirit of the Enlightenment . In 1792 , he was sent twice , though unofficially , to Britain to avert war . Besides an initial declaration of neutrality during the , his mission ultimately failed . In September 1792 , he left Paris for England just at the beginning of September Massacres , yet declined " émigré " status . Because of incriminating papers found in the armoire de fer , the National Convention issued a warrant for his arrest in December 1792 . His stay in England was not uneventful either ; in March 1794 , he was forced to leave the country by Pitt ' s expulsion order . He then arrived in the United States where he stayed until his return to France in 1796 . During his stay , he supported himself by working as a bank agent , involved in commodity trading and real estate speculation . He was the house guest of Senator Aaron Burr of New York and collaborated with Theophile Cazenove , who lived at Market Street , Philadelphia . Talleyrand years later refused the same generosity to Burr because Talleyrand had been friends with Alexander Hamilton , whom Burr had killed in a duel . Talleyrand is also reputed to have stayed at the Wilson House in Oyster Bay , New York . After 9 Thermidor , he mobilised his friends ( most notably the abbé Martial Borye Desrenaudes and Germaine de Staël ) to lobby in the National Convention and then the newly established Directoire for his return . His name was then suppressed from the " émigré " list and he returned to France on 25 September 1796 . In 1797 , he became Foreign Minister . He was implicated in the XYZ Affair which escalated the Quasi - War with America . Talleyrand saw a possible political career for Napoleon during the Italian campaigns of 1796 to 1797 . He wrote many letters to Napoleon , and the two became close allies . Talleyrand was against the destruction of the Republic of Venice , but he complimented Napoleon when peace with Austria was concluded ( Venice was given to Austria ) , probably because he wanted to reinforce his alliance with Napoleon . Consulate . Together with Napoleon ' s younger brother , Lucien Bonaparte , he was instrumental in the 1799 " coup d ' état " of 18 Brumaire , establishing the French Consulate government . Soon after he was made Foreign Minister by Napoleon , although he rarely agreed with Napoleon ' s foreign policy . The Pope also released him from the ban of excommunication in the Concordat of 1801 , which also revoked the Civil Constitution of the Clergy . Talleyrand was instrumental in the completion of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 . In March 1804 , he may have been involved in the kidnapping and execution of the Duke of Enghien , which was a " cause célèbre " in Europe , as an echo of the execution of Louis XVI : a charge made later by François - René de Chateaubriand . Talleyrand advocated against violence , most notably speaking out against the guillotine , and during the coup of 18 Brumaire he ensured that Barras could leave Paris safely . Talleyrand was also an integral player in the German Mediatisation , or Reichsdeputationshauptschluss . While the Treaty of Campo Formio had , on paper , stripped German princes of their lands beyond the left bank of the Rhine , it was not until the Treaty of Lunéville that this was enforced . The French annexed these lands and it was deemed proper that the deposed sovereigns receive new territories on the Right Bank of the Rhine . As many of these rulers gave out bribes in order to secure new lands Talleyrand became quite wealthy . He gained an estimated 10 million francs in the process . This was the first blow in the destruction of the Holy Roman Empire . Napoleon forced his hand into marriage in September 1802 to longtime mistress Catherine Grand ( née Worlée ) . Talleyrand purchased the Château de Valençay in May 1803 , upon the urging of Napoleon . This would later be the site of the imprisonment of the Spanish Royalty after Napoleon ' s invasion from 1808 – 1813 . French Empire . In May 1804 , Napoleon bestowed upon him the title of Grand Chamberlain of the Empire . In 1806 , he was made Sovereign Prince of Benevento ( or Bénévent ) . Talleyrand was opposed to the harsh treatment of Austria in the 1805 Treaty of Pressburg and of Prussia in the Peace of Tilsit in 1807 . In 1806 , after Pressburg and just as in 1803 , he profited greatly from the reorganization of the German lands , this time into the Confederation of the Rhine . He was then shut out completely from the negotiations at Tilsit . After her famous failed imploring of Napoleon to spare her nation , Queen Louise of Prussia wept and was consoled by Talleyrand . This gave him a good name among the elites of the European countries outside France . Talleyrand breaks with Napoleon . He resigned as minister of foreign affairs in 1807 , because of a myriad of suggested reasons , some genuine and others not . In essence , he traded his position as minister for the imperial title of Vice Grand Elector . The ill - fated Peninsular War , initiated in 1808 , was the breaking point for Talleyrand concerning his loyalty to the Emperor . His actions at the Congress of Erfurt , in September – October 1808 , helped to thwart Napoleon ' s plans . It was here that he counselled Tsar Alexander nightly on how to deal with Napoleon . The Tsar ' s attitude towards Napoleon was one of apprehensive opposition . Talleyrand repaired the confidence of the Russian monarch and together they rebuked Napoleon ' s attempts to form a direct anti - Austrian military alliance . Of course , this was not why Talleyrand had been brought to the conference . In fact , Napoleon had expected him to help convince the Tsar to accept all of his proposals , yet , somehow he never discovered the acts of treason committed by Talleyrand in Erfurt . After his resignation in 1807 from the ministry , Talleyrand began to accept bribes from hostile countries , particularly Austria and Russia to betray Napoleon ' s secrets . Talleyrand and Fouché , who were typically enemies in both politics and the salons , had a rapprochement in late 1808 and entered into discussions over the imperial line of succession . Napoleon had yet to address this matter and the two men knew that without a legitimate heir France would crumble into chaos in the wake of Napoleon ' s possible death . Even Talleyrand , who believed that Napoleon ' s policies were leading France to ruin , understood the necessity of peaceful transitions of power . However , Napoleon received word of their actions and deemed them treasonous . This perception caused the famous dressing down of Talleyrand in front of Napoleon ' s marshals , during which Napoleon famously claimed that he could " break him like a glass , but it ' s not worth the trouble " and added with a scatological tone that Talleyrand was " a turd in a silk stocking " , to which the minister coldly retorted , once Napoleon had left , " Pity that so great a man should have been so badly brought up ! " Talleyrand spent the last few years of the empire working as an informant for Austria and ( sometimes ) Russia . He opposed the further harsh treatment of Austria in 1809 after the War of the Fifth Coalition , also known as the War of 1809 . He was also a critic of the French invasion of Russia in 1812 . He was offered to resume his role in late 1813 , but Talleyrand could see that Napoleon ' s power was nearing its end . On 1 April 1814 he led the French Senate in establishing a provisional government in Paris , of which he was elected president . On 2 April the Senate officially deposed Napoleon with the Acte de déchéance de l ' Empereur and by 11 April had created the Treaty of Fontainebleau and a new constitution to re - establish the Bourbons as monarchs of France . Restoration . When Napoleon was succeeded by Louis XVIII in April 1814 , Talleyrand was one of the key agents of the restoration of the House of Bourbon , while opposing the new legislation of Louis ' rule . Talleyrand was the chief French negotiator at the Congress of Vienna , and , in that same year , he signed the Treaty of Paris . It was due in part to his skills that the terms of the treaty were remarkably lenient towards France . As the Congress opened , the right to make decisions was restricted to four countries : Austria , the United Kingdom , Prussia , and Russia . France and other European countries were invited to attend , but were not allowed to influence the process . Talleyrand promptly became the champion of the small countries and demanded admission into the ranks of the decision - making process . The four powers admitted France and Spain to the decision - making backrooms of the conference after a good deal of diplomatic maneuvering by Talleyrand , who had the support of the Spanish representative , Pedro Gómez Labrador , Marquis of Labrador . Spain was excluded after a while ( a result of both the Marquis of Labrador ' s incompetence as well as the quixotic nature of Spain ' s agenda ) , but France ( Talleyrand ) was allowed to participate until the end . Russia and Prussia sought to enlarge their territory at the Congress . Russia demanded annexation of Poland ( already occupied by Russian troops ) , and this demand was finally satisfied , despite protests by France , Austria and the United Kingdom . Austria was afraid of future conflicts with Russia or Prussia and the United Kingdom was opposed to their expansion as well – and Talleyrand managed to take advantage of these contradictions within the former anti - French coalition . On 3 January 1815 , a secret treaty was signed by France ' s Talleyrand , Austria ' s Metternich and Britain ' s Castlereagh . By this tract , officially a secret treaty of defensive alliance , the three powers agreed to use force if necessary to " repulse aggression " ( of Russia and Prussia ) and to protect the " state of security and independence " . This agreement effectively spelled the end of the anti - France coalition . Talleyrand , having managed to establish a middle position , received some favours from the other countries in exchange for his support : France returned to its 1792 boundaries without reparations , with French control over papal Avignon , Montbéliard ( Mompelgard ) and Salm , which had been independent at the start of the French Revolution in 1789 . It would later be debated which outcome would have been better for France : allowing Prussia to annex all of Saxony ( Talleyrand ensured that only part of the kingdom would be annexed ) or the Rhine provinces . The first option would have kept Prussia farther away from France , but would have needed much more opposition as well . Some historians have argued that Talleyrand ' s diplomacy wound up establishing the faultlines of World War I , especially as it allowed Prussia to engulf small German states west of the Rhine . This simultaneously placed Prussian armed forces at the French - German frontier , for the first time ; made Prussia the largest German power in terms of territory , population and the industry of the Ruhr and Rhineland ; and eventually helped pave the way to German unification under the Prussian throne . However , at the time Talleyrand ' s diplomacy was regarded as successful , as it removed the threat of France being partitioned by the victors . Talleyrand also managed to strengthen his own position in France ( ultraroyalist s had disapproved of the presence of a former " revolutionary " and " murderer of the Duke d ' Enghien " in the royal cabinet ) . Napoleon ' s return to France in 1815 and his subsequent defeat , the Hundred Days , was a reverse for the diplomatic victories of Talleyrand ; the second peace settlement was markedly less lenient and it was fortunate for France that the business of the Congress had been concluded . Talleyrand resigned in September of that year , either over the second treaty or under pressure from opponents in France . For the next fifteen years he restricted himself to the role of " elder statesman " , criticising — and intriguing — from the sidelines . However , when King Louis - Philippe came to power in the July Revolution of 1830 , Talleyrand agreed to become ambassador to the United Kingdom , a post he held from 1830 to 1834 . In this role , he strove to reinforce the legitimacy of Louis - Philippe ' s regime , and proposed a partition plan for the newly independent Belgium . Private life . Aristocratic women were a key component of Talleyrand ' s political tactics , both for their influence and their ability to cross borders unhindered . His presumed lover Germaine de Staël was a major influence on him , and he on her . Though their personal philosophies were most different , ( she , a romantic ; he , very much of baroque sensibilities ) , she assisted him greatly , most notably by lobbying Barras to permit Talleyrand to return to France from his American exile , and then to have him made foreign minister . He lived with Catherine Worlée , born in India and married there to Charles Grand . She had traveled about before settling in Paris in the 1780s , where she lived as a notorious courtesan for several years before divorcing Grand to marry Talleyrand . Talleyrand was in no hurry to marry , and it was after repeated postponements that Napoleon obliged him in 1802 to formalize the relationship or risk his political career . Spite has lastingly accused Worlée of stupidity , unjustly . After her death in 1834 , Talleyrand lived with Dorothea von Biron , the divorced wife of his nephew , the Duke of Dino . Talleyrand ' s venality was celebrated ; in the tradition of the " ancien régime " , he expected to be paid for the state duties he performed — whether these can properly be called " bribes " is open to debate . For example , during the German Mediatisation , the consolidation of the small German states , a number of German rulers and elites paid him to save their possessions or enlarge their territories . Less successfully , he solicited payments from the United States government to open negotiations , precipitating a diplomatic disaster ( the " XYZ Affair " ) . The difference between his diplomatic success in Europe and failure with the United States illustrates that his diplomacy rested firmly on the power of the French army that was a terrible threat to the German states within reach , but lacked the logistics to threaten the USA not the least because of the Royal Navy domination of the seas . After Napoleon ' s defeat , he withdrew claims to the title " Prince of Benevento " , but was created Duke of Talleyrand with the style " Prince de Talleyrand " for life , in the same manner as his estranged wife . Described by biographer Philip Ziegler as a " pattern of subtlety and finesse " and a " creature of grandeur and guile " , Talleyrand was a great conversation alist , gourmet , and wine connoisseur . From 1801 to 1804 , he owned Château Haut - Brion in Bordeaux . He employed the renowned French chef Carême , one of the first celebrity chefs known as the " chef of kings and king of chefs " , and was said to have spent an hour every day with him . His Paris residence on the Place de la Concorde , acquired in 1812 and sold to James Mayer de Rothschild in 1838 , is now owned by the Embassy of the United States . Talleyrand has been regarded as a traitor because of his support for successive regimes , some of which were mutually hostile . According to French philosopher Simone Weil , criticism of his loyalty is unfounded , as Talleyrand served not every regime as had been said , but in reality " France behind every regime " Near the end of his life , Talleyrand became interested in Catholicism again while teaching his young granddaughter simple prayers . The Abbé Félix Dupanloup came to Talleyrand in his last hours , and according to his account Talleyrand made confession and received extreme unction . When the abbé tried to anoint Talleyrand ' s palms , as prescribed by the rite , he turned his hands over to make the priest anoint him on the back of the hands , since he was a bishop . He also signed , in the abbé ' s presence , a solemn declaration in which he openly disavowed " the great errors which . . . had troubled and afflicted the Catholic , Apostolic and Roman Church , and in which he himself had had the misfortune to fall . " Many , however , have doubted the sincerity of the conversion given Talleyrand ' s history . He died on 17 May 1838 and was buried in Notre - Dame Chapel , near his Castle of Valençay . Today , when speaking of the art of diplomacy , the phrase " he is a Talleyrand " is used to denote a statesman of great resource and skill .