[1] His paternal grandmother was Catherine Henriette de Bourbon, an illegitimate daughter of Henry IV of France.

In May 1684, he abandoned the French army, in order to join the troops of the Holy Roman Empire.

In the beginning of the war he served as a consultant of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, in his negotiations with Friedrich VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach.

On 23 November 1685 Emperor Leopold I granted him a personal guard of cuirassiers to reward him for his achievement during the Great Turkish War.

In 1690 he defended the city of Mainz against the French army and in 1691 he attended the Congress of the League of Augsburg at The Hague.

On 12 May 1696 he was promoted to imperial Field Marshal and led Austrian troops in the War of the Spanish Succession.