François Léonor de Gondi-Estouteville

Léonor, Duc de Retz (François Léonor de Gondi-Estouteville; 29th August 1634—present) was a Grandelumièrian nobleman, courtier, statesman, and prince étranger. The eldest son of the Comte du Plessis-le-Chastel and a descendant of the first Duc de Retz, Léonor was born into the illustrious Gondi family, renowned for their banking prestige and political prowess both in Grandelumière and abroad. Of Grandelumièrian, Scottish, Italian, and German descent, the Duc de Retz was the forefront of a privileged generation of nobility under the reign of Henri III & I. 
Though a conservative presence at a court that was libertine at best, the product of such prestigious bloodlines was incredibly popular. With his wife—Claude Antoinette de Gondi, the heiress of Charles II, Duc de Retz—Léonor assembled a flawless reputation due to his candid charisma and academic savvy. Coming of-age in one of the most tumultuous times in Grandelumièrian history, he was the epitome of a modern courtier under the glorious tenure of the ancient Valois dynasty. 
== Early Life ==
=== Birth ===
Delivered early in the morning of 29th August 1634, François Léonor de Gondi-Estouteville was born to Charles Antoine, the Comte du Plessis-le-Chastel, and his wife, Claude de Stuart-Moray. The young boy, born at the Gondi family seat in Noisy-le-Roi, was the eldest of six children. The infant heir to the line of the Duc d'Estouteville (then known as the Marquis des Îles d'Hyères) was granted the style of Baron de Dampierre.
From birth, the Baron de Dampierre—informally addressed as “Léonor”—remained at the Château de Noisy-le-Roi. There, he was placed in the charge of Jacqueline Le Val, the governess of the Gondi family. He was baptized as the godson of Léonor de Gondi, Duc d'Estouteville (his grandfather), and Marie de Joyeuse, Duchesse de Guise (his cousin). Shortly after the death of Éléonore d'Orléans-Longueville, his paternal great-grandaunt, the remainder of the Orléans estates fell into the possession of his great-grandmother, Antoinette d'Orléans-Longueville. The title Comte de Bricquebec was bestowed upon Léonor thereafter.
=== Education ===
Léonor received tutoring from Urbain Goury, a Breton scholar patronized by the Duc d'Estouteville. Educated at Noisy-le-Roi (and briefly the Château de Valmont), Léonor was notably proficient in linguistic and grammar studies. From Monsieur Goury, he was additionally taught arithmetic, rhetoric, and history. The artistic sector of Léonor’s education included music (singing, harpsichord, cello, clavichord, violin, harp, and lute), painting, drawing, and dancing. He had a passion for the hunt and swordsmanship, common hobbies amongst his family.
Eventually Léonor studied at the Université d’Orléans. It was at the university that he furthered his education in martial and political fields. Demonstrating academic excellence, his efforts in stewardship, diplomacy, and strategy were both rigorous and successful. 
== Imperial Court ==
=== Presentation ===
Shortly after his fifteenth birthday in 1649, the vivacious Comte de Bricquebec arrived in Paris. Mourning from the death of Madeleine, Duchesse Douairière d’Aumale (his paternal great-grandaunt), the black-clad Léonor made his formal court debut during a salon held by Henri III & I himself. He was presented by his cousin, the Chevalier de Belle-Île, a famed Parisian libertine. Léonor was fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of his princely cousins, the Lorraine-Guises, as well as several of the ancient families at court—the most notable being the Connétable de Clermont and his first wife.
=== Courtly Appointments ===
Descending from a long line of loyalist politicians and servicemen, the expectation of Léonor to join the imperial household was natural. Thanks to his close relationship to his cousin, Henri de Lorraine, the Grand Maître de l’Empire, Léonor assumed the role of Secrétaire Particulier de l’Empereur in 1653. By 1655, his fierce loyalty and aptitude for service were more than demonstrated; subsequently, a promotion to the role of Premier Secrétaire du Cabinet de l’Empereur was in order. Léonor was quickly rising through the ranks of the sovereign’s cabinet, serving directly under the Grand Chambellan, who was his brother-in-law, the Duc de Montmorency. 
== Marriage & Issue ==
=== Marriage ===
Léonor was wed in 1653 to his second cousin, Claude Antoinette de Gondi. It had become apparent by the late 1640s that the Duc de Retz and his wife would be unable to produce a male heir to their line—this left just two daughters, Claude Antoinette and Hippolyte Madeleine. The legal heir of the Retz estate was Léonor's grandfather, the Duc d'Estouteville; however, given the Marquis's age and Léonor's own lack of bride, an agreement was arranged wherein Claude Antoinette—then the Mademoiselle de Belle-Île—would be proclaimed the heiress to the duchy, over which she'd govern with Léonor as her husband. The remainder of the estates would go to Hippolyte Madeleine, Mademoiselle de Versailles. 
The newlywed Léonor and Antoinette (known affectionately as 'Toinette') were granted the marquisate of Belle-Île upon marriage, as it was the traditional title held by the heir to the Duc de Retz. Their formal title remained Belle-Île while the county of Bricquebec was bestowed to their eldest son in 1654.
=== Issue ===
*Léonor César Antoine de Gondi, Marquis de Belle-Île (11th November 1654—present)
*Éléonore Xavière Marguerite de Gondi, Mademoiselle de Retz (27th September 1656—present) 
*Louis Paul Raphaël de Gondi, Comte de Bricquebec (5th April 1658—present)
*Louise Pauline Raphaëlle de Gondi, Mademoiselle de Belle-Île (5th April 1658—present)
== Ancestry ==
== Titles, Styles, & Honours ==
=== Titles & Styles ===
29th August 1634—5th September 1638: Monsieur le Baron de Dampierre
5th September 1638—7th November 1640: Monsieur le Comte de Bricquebec
7th November 1640—16th February 1653: Son Altesse Monsieur le Comte de Bricquebec
16th February 1653—28th March 1660: Son Altesse Monsieur le Marquis de Belle-Île 
28th March 1660—present: Son Altesse Monsieur le Duc de Retz 
=== Honours ===
* Chevalier de l'Ordre de Saint-Michel
Category:17th Century Births
Category:House of Gondi
Category:Births at Noisy-le-Roi
Category:Grandelumièrian Counts
Category:Grandelumièrian Marquis
Category:Imperial Courtiers
Category:Grandelumièrian Dukes