Auguste Charles Antoine de Strasbourg

## Marquis de Strasbourg

Chevalier de Metz

Monsieur le Marquis de Strasbourg, c. 1762

### House

House of Lorraine (illegitimate)House of Lorraine-Strasbourg (legitimised branch)

### Spouse

Louise Eloise de Pouilly † (m. 1731, d. 1761)Alexandrine Louise de La Rochefoucauld (m. 1761)

### Issue

With Louise Eloise de Pouilly:Jacques Henri de Strasbourg

Marie Anne de Strasbourg †

Louise Marie de Strasbourg †

Louis François de Strasbourg

Louis Étienne de Strasbourg

Joseph Louis de Strasbourg †

Louise Charlotte de Strasbourg

Antoine Frédéric de Strasbourg

Marguerite Marie de Strasbourg

Léopold Claude de Strasbourg †

Léopoldine Anne de Strasbourg

Marie Thérèse de Strasbourg

Élisabeth Cecile de Strasbourg

Gabriel Marc de Strasbourg †

Auguste Philippe de Strasbourg

With Alexandrine de La R.:

Amélie Marie de Strasbourg †

Armand Bastien de Strasbourg

Louis Donatien de Strasbourg †

Robert Jean de Strasbourg

Tristan Valentin de Strasbourg

Anne-Pénélope de Strasbourg

### Siblings

Claude Louis de Lorraine, Marquis de StrasbourgMarie Philippine de Lorraine, Mademoiselle de Commercy

Leopoldine Antoinette, Princesse de Lorraine (half)

### Mother

Gabrielle Athénaïs de La Tour d'Auvergne, Marquise de Strasbourg (ses droits) †

### Father

Léopold III, Roi de Lorraine et de Bourgogne †

### Religion

Roman Catholicism

**Antoine, Marquis de Strasbourg, Légitimé de Lorraine, Chevalier de Metz** (Auguste Charles Antoine; born April 4th, 1715) is the second-born natural son of King Léopold III of Lorraine and his *maîtresse-en-titre,* Gabrielle Athénaïs de La Tour d'Auvergne, Marquise de Strasbourg. He was legitimised by his father in 1716, from which point he was known as *Chevalier de Metz.* Due to his mother's position as Marquise de Strasbourg in her own right, his elder brother inherited this style upon her death. His brother was childless, which led to Antoine becoming Marquis de Strasbourg upon his brother's death in 1733. As a *Légitimé de Lorraine*, he possessed certain privileges roughly beneath those of a *Prince du Sang.* However, Antoine's massive inheritance upon his father's death led to him becoming independently wealthy, making him able to run his own affairs mostly away from the royal court. This wealth was mostly lost when he was arrested by the Prince des Vosges in 1767, though he was later rescued in March 1768 and escaped Lorraine, fleeing to Saxony.

Antoine has been best known for his blunt personality, sharp wit and general rudeness. He has been known as garish and haughty - when discussing his royal origin preferring not to mention his illegitimate birth. However, Antoine has been better known for the scandals surrounding his personal life. He married twice, fathering twenty-one livebirth children, while at the same time holding numerous mistresses and fathering countless illegitimate children. His illegitimate children have been estimated to be over fifty, a staggering amount. This has led to the common discussion at court about Antoine's lust and infidelity - a jape especially pushed forward by the Prince des Vosges and Princesse Douairière de Vaudémont, who were Antoine's natural rivals at court. He was expelled from the court of Élisabeth I in 1748 and was expelled again after a brief return to the court of Léopold IV in 1767. He was arrested in 1767, then freed by the people.

## Biography

### **Birth**

Auguste Charles Antoine de Lorraine de Strasbourg was born on April 4th, 1715 at the Château de Lunéville. At birth, he was known as *Auguste de La Tour d'Auvergne,* until he was recognised as the son of King Léopold III and became known as *de Lorraine*. He was the second child of Léopold III's famous mistress, Gabrielle Athénaïs de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had been created Marquise de Strasbourg in the year of Antoine's birth. Athénaïs never married, so to make it reasonable for her to remain at court, the King had officially granted her this title. His birth was controversial - King Léopold interrupted a meeting of the Conseil to attend the birth, which was considered improper. Further, Queen Sophie Charlotte's household were forced to assist in the initial care of the child - adding to the initial distaste after the birth of an illegitimate child. Even more irritating was the fact that the Cardinal-Archbishop of Nancy, Louis-Nicolas de Guise, was forced to baptise the child much to his displeasure. Almost immediately after his birth, Léopold III had him legitimised - as he had done with his older brother - making him a ***Légitimé de Lorraine,*** carrying the style of ***Chevalier de Metz.***