Henri, Count of Harcourt


Henri de Lorraine, known as Cadet la Perle, was a French nobleman. He was count of Harcourt, count of Armagnac, count of Brionne and viscount of Marsan. He was the younger son of Charles I, Duke of Elbeuf and his wife Marguerite de Chabot, countess of Charny.

Life

He did his first military service at the siege of Prague in November 1620 and because of his bravery he was nicknamed Cadet la Perle by his companions after the pearl he wore in his ear.
In France he fought the Protestants and took part in the Siege of La Rochelle and Saint-Jean-d'Angély. He was made a knight in the Order of the Holy Spirit in 1633, Grand Squire of France in 1643 and Seneschal of Burgundy.
In 1637 he fought in Piedmont during the Franco-Spanish War, where he defeated a Spanish army, very superieur in numbers near Chieri. He was also in charge of the Siege of Turin, where he took the city after a siege of three months. He then fought in Sardinia and Catalonia, where he was named viceroy in 1645.
During the Fronde, he remained loyal to the regent-queen Anne of Austria, but clashed with Mazarin, and retreated in the Alsace.

Marriage and issue

Henri married, in February 1639, Marguerite-Philippe du Cambout, and had: