Charles Olivier de Saint-Georges de Vérac

[1][Note 1] He married Marie Charlotte Joséphine Sabine de Croÿ d'Havré, the daughter of the Duke of Havré on 14 April 1760.

[1] After this accomplished military career he entered the diplomatic service in 1772, when he was sent as an envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the court of Hesse-Kassel.

Both were deeply involved in the internal politics of the country, Vérac on the side of the Patriots, the opponents of the Orangist party of the stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange.

During the Patriot Revolt of 1785-1787 Vérac financially supported the Free Corps that occasionally fought the Dutch States Army troops of the stadtholder.

[3] After the incident on 28 June 1787 of the arrest of Princess Wilhelmina, the spouse of the stadtholder, who was the sister of king Frederick William II of Prussia,[Note 3] a European diplomatic crisis developed.

[6] Vérac's biographer Michaud speculates that the recall was motivated by the fact that Vérac opposed the return of the stadtholder as military governor of The Hague (a post he had been deprived of by the States of Holland in 1786),[1] but this is unlikely as it was official policy of both the French government and the Dutch government in power at the time, just as he had faithfully executed the French policy towards the Patriots.

[6] After his recall Vérac remained for two years sous la remise ("on the backburner") before he was again given a diplomatic post, this time as ambassador to the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1789.

King Louis XVIII of France gave him the (this time military) rank of Lieutenant-General, and did him the honor of allowing him to participate in the "Grandes Entrées".