House of Croÿ
Among the more illustrious members of the House of Croÿ were two bishop-dukes of Cambrai, two cardinals (one being also the Archbishop of Toledo and another being the Archbishop of Rouen), five bishops (those of Thérouanne, Tournai, Cammin, Arras, and Ypres), one prime minister of Philip the Good, one finance minister, archchancellor, chief admiral, godfather and tutor of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (himself godfather to another Croÿ), one Grand-Bouteiller, one Grand-Maitre and one Marshal of France; one Grand Equerry of the King of Spain, several imperial field marshals and twenty generals, four finance ministers of the Netherlands, two governors of the Netherlands and Belgium, one Russian field marshal; numerous ministers, ambassadors and senators in France, Austria, Belgium, and a record of thirty-two knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Securing for himself the post of governor general of the Netherlands and Luxembourg, he presided over the pro-French party at the court of Philip the Good and was one of the judges at the trial for treason in 1458 of Duke of Alençon.
A year earlier, he had married his daughter to Count Palatine Louis I of Pfalz-Zweibrücken in order to increase his influence in the orbit of the Holy Roman Empire.
Agnes de Croÿ was his sister and the mistress of Duke John the Fearless, by whom she had a natural son, the future bishop of Cambrai and archbishop of Trier.
The bride's father was extremely against the alliance and attempted to win his daughter back by force, but the Count of Porcéan closed the borders of Luxembourg and announced that the marriage had been consummated.
As a tutor to Carlos I of Spain (afterwards Emperor Charles V), Guillaume became the power behind the Spanish throne during his pupil's minority, obtaining for himself the titles of Marquis of Aarschot and Duke of Soria and Archi.
The Spanish aristocracy detested him as a foreigner, accusing him of pillaging the treasury and other irregularities, causing a wave of civil unrest to spread through Castile.
Guillaume attended the Diet of Worms, where he was poisoned on 28 May 1521, apparently by German nobles afraid of his influence on imperial politics.
Family interests ensured his rapid promotion: he was elected bishop of Cambrai at the age of eighteen, and made a cardinal a few months later.
Guillaume III's elder brother, Philippe II de Croÿ (1496–1549), succeeded to the County of Porcéan upon his father's death in 1514.
Earlier, he had become marquis of Renty and exchanged the lordship of Longwy in Normandy for that of Havré, which his descendants would develop as the family seat.
Philippe II's eldest son, Charles I de Croÿ (1522–51), inherited the principality of Chimay from his mother and succeeded to the duchy of Aarschot upon his father's death.
His devotion to the Roman Catholic Church, which he expressed by showing his delight at the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, led Philip II to regard him with great favor.
Jealous of William the Silent's influence, he was then the head of the party which induced Archduke Matthias (afterwards emperor) to undertake the sovereignty of the Netherlands, and soon afterwards was appointed governor-general of Flanders by the state council.
He then sought to regain the favor of Philip of Spain, and having been pardoned by the king in 1580 again shared in the government of the Netherlands; but he refused to serve under the Count of Fuentes when he became governor-general in 1594, and retired to Venice, where he died in December 1595.
He served as a hereditary marshal of the Holy Empire in the Battle of White Mountain, and advised Archduke Albert of Austria, Governor of Netherlands in the capacity of his chamberlain.
When Charles Alexandre was shot dead in his palace at Brussels on November 5, 1624, French courtiers put the blame upon Genevieve and her reputed lover, the Marquis of Spinola.
One innocent man was condemned on that account and was immured in a fortress until a true culprit admitted his guilt to a confessor 32 years later.
As his father died a month after his birth, Ernst Bogislaw was brought up by his mother, Anne de Croy (also known as Anna of Pomerania in her native land, where he was styled Prince of Massow and of Neugarten[3]).
A close friend of Queen Marie Antoinette, she was appointed by her to the vacant post of royal governess for the future Louis XVII.
The line of Counts of Rœulx descends from Jean III de Croÿ (1436–1505), the second son of Antoine le Grand and younger brother of Philippe I. Jean III's grandson, Adrien de Croÿ, 1st Count of Rœulx, served as governor of Flanders and Artois before his death in combat in 1553.
In 1609, the senior line of the Counts of Rœulx became extinct, and the county passed to a cadet branch, represented by Eustache de Croÿ (1608–73), governor of Lille and Douai.
Charles Eugene fought with success in the Imperial Austrian Army against the Turks and participated in both the liberation of Vienna in 1683 and the attack on Belgrade in 1690.
In 1697 he entered the Russian service and was put in charge of Peter I's forces fighting in Livonia during the initial stages of the Great Northern War.
After suffering a humiliating defeat in the Battle of Narva on 20 November 1700, Charles Eugene was taken prisoner by the Swedes and died at their fortress of Reval on 30 January 1702.
On demand of his creditors, his body was not buried for more than a century (190 years-until 1897), and, when mummified, was exhibited in a glass coffin as a curiosity, with fees paid by tourists as a price of admission used to settle his debts.
He died in Bohemia in 1612, leaving two daughters and four sons, of whom the eldest, Jean de Croÿ, Count of Solre, inherited his titles and distinguished himself at the Spanish court.
From three of Auguste's sons – Alfred, Ferdinand and Philipp Franz – descend the three extant branches of the House of Croÿ, residing in Germany and France.
Duchess Alexandra died on 23 September 2015;[citation needed] her funeral took place at St Jakobus Kirche in Dülmen on 3 October 2015.
