Leopold, Duke of Lorraine
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- See Leopold Joseph for similarly named royalty
Leopold Joseph called le bon (the good), (Innsbruck, September 11, 1679 – Lunéville , March 27, 1729), was Duke of Lorraine from 1690 to his death.
Before 1697 and from 1702 to 1714, his duchy was occupied by France. He was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, exiled in the Austrian court, and Archduchess Eleonora Maria Josefa of Austria (1653–1697), daughter of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and widow of Michael I of Poland.
Upon the death of his father in 1690, he was sent to Vienna for a military education. He was engaged in the siege of Temesvar and was involved on the Rhine in the finishing stages of the War of the Grand Alliance.
Leopold recovered Lorraine in 1697, lost by his father to Louis XIV of France, under the dispositions of the Treaty of Ryswick, which returned Lorraine and the Duchy of Bar to the ducal family.
He entered Nancy on August 17, 1698 and married a niece of Louis XIV on October 13. His whole reign was focused on neutrality and on not enraging his powerful neighbour. He reconstructed and repopulated his war-stricken duchy, encouraging immigration. At the end of his reign the duchy was safe and prosperous.
Under his reign, the castle of Lunéville was built. It was called the Lorraine Versailles.
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[edit] Ancestors
| Leopold, Duke of Lorraine | Father: Charles V, Duke of Lorraine |
Paternal Grandfather: Nicholas II, Duke of Lorraine |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Francis II, Duke of Lorraine |
| Paternal Great-grandmother: Christina of Salm |
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| Paternal Grandmother: Claude of Lorraine |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Henry II, Duke of Lorraine |
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| Paternal Great-grandmother: Margerita Gonzaga |
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| Mother: Eleonora Maria Josefa of Austria |
Maternal Grandfather: Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Maria Anna of Bavaria |
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| Maternal Grandmother: Eleanor Gonzaga |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Charles II, Duke of Mantua |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Maria Gonzaga |
[edit] Marriage and children
On October 13, 1698 at Fontainebleau he married Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (1676–1744), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, and of Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine.
They had 13 children :
- Léopold (August 26, 1699 – April 2, 1700)
- Elisabeth Charlotte (October 21, 1700 – May 4, 1711)
- Louise Christine (November 13, 1701 – November 18, 1701)
- Marie Gabrièle Charlotte (December 30, 1702 – May 11, 1711)
- Louis (January 28, 1704 – May 10, 1711)
- Josepha Gabrièle (February 16, 1705 – March 25, 1708)
- Gabrièle Louise (March 4, 1706 – June 13, 1710)
- Léopold Clement Charles (April 25, 1707 – June 4, 1723)
- Francis Stephen (December 8, 1708 – August 18, 1765), his successor, married Maria Theresa of Austria and became Holy Roman Emperor.
- Eléonore (June 4, 1710 – July 28, 1710)
- Elisabeth Therese (October 15, 1711 – July 3, 1741), married in 1737 Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia.
- Charles Alexander Emmanuel (December 12, 1712 – July 4, 1780), governor of the Austrian Netherlands and army commander.
- Anne Charlotte (1714–1773), abbesse at Essen.
[edit] Expansion
In 1708, his cousin Charles IV, Duke of Mantua, was deposed by the emperor, and later died without legitimate heirs, and the House of Gonzaga went extinct in male line. The Lorraines represented an opinion that the Duchy of Montferrat, which was inheritable by females, belonged to them as Charles' next heir. The emperor, who had used Montferrat as a reward in his arrangements and ceded it to the Dukes of Savoy, finally compensated the Lorraines by granting them the Silesian duchy of Teschen.
[edit] See also
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles V |
Duke of Lorraine 1690–1729 |
Succeeded by Francis III Stephen |
| Preceded by Charles VI |
Duke of Teschen 1722–1729 |
Succeeded by Francis I |
