House of Castries

The city of Castries in the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia was named after one of its members.

[citation needed] Family tradition holds that one of the family's members was saint Roch, the pilgrim apostle who dedicated his life to the service of the sick and plague-victims in the 13th century.

The La Croix de Castries family, however, was not ennobled until the end of the 15th century, as Nobles of the Sword.

The ducal title, fallen into disuse due to the death of the third duke without issue, was re-created as a courtesy title in 1907 by René Edmond Marie Gabriel de La Croix de Castries (1842–1913), comte de Castries, an old diplomat belonging to a cadet branch of the family.

The house of Castries has included a marshal of France, a navy minister, several lieutenant generals and major generals, knights knighted by the king, and masters of the royal bedchamber.