Prosper Louis, VII. duc d'Arenberg

• Family life

Prosper-Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg (28 April 1785, Enghien – 27 February 1861) was also the 13th Duke of Aarschot, 2nd Duke of Meppen and 2nd prince of Recklinghausen.[1][2][3]

In 1801, Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg, Prosper's father, lost the former Duchy of Arenberg on the left bank of the Rhine but received a larger duchy on the right bank in 1803.

In 1808 Arenberg married Stéphanie Tascher de La Pagerie a niece of Joséphine de Beauharnais (Empress of the French Empire).

His wife was given the present Hotel de Chimay, known as the Hôtel de La Pagerie in Paris in 1808.

He was granted new lands by her husband Napoleon Bonaparte (expanding his holdings from 413 km² to 3,388 km²) and gained the additional titles of Duke of Meppen and Prince of Recklinghausen. He lost his sovereignty over his lands in 1810 when Arenberg was mediatised into France but retain the style of HSH (His Serene Highness), which is still used by his descendant.[1][2][3]

Arenberg was colonel of the Belgian Chevau-Légers d'Arenberg which fought in the Peninsular War and was wounded captured by the British at the Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos on 28 October 1811.[1]

Arenberg took no part in the 1815 Waterloo Campaign other than to attend the Duchess of Richmond's ball, but his contacts among the British did not save his lands which were lost when they were overrun by the Prussians and the Hanoverians. In 1816 he divorced his first wife and married again in 1819 to Princess Maria-Ludmille de Lobkowicz.[4] Maria-Ludmille and Arenberg had seven children, the third eldest and the first boy Engelbert Auguste, inherited his father's titles becoming the 8th Duke of Arenber

• Children of Duke Louis-Engelbert of Arenberg and Pauline Louise Brancas (1755 † 1812): Peter of Alcantara (1790-1877), the first French Duke of Arenberg, Pauline (1774-1820), Louis-Prosper (1785-1861), 7th Duke of Arenberg. Thumbnail of 1791.
• Prosper-Louis was a son of Louis-Engelbert of Arenberg and Pauline Louise Brancas (23 November 1755 † August 10, 1812 - 5 rue d'Antin, Paris), daughter of Louis-Léon (1733 † 1824), 3rd Duke of Lauraguais (1755), 6th Duke of Villars.
• He married, on the order of Empereur1, February 1, 1808 in Paris, Stephanie Tascher of Pagerie (1788 - Fort Royal † October 26, 1832 - Paris), niece of the Empress Josephine elevated to a French princess. Divorced 29 August 1816, the marriage was annulled by judgment of the Civil Court of the department of Seine Aug. 29, 1816, by sentence of officialdom in Paris March 27, 1817, finally bubble of Pope Pius VII August 21, 1818 .
• He married, in second nuptials, January 26, 1819, Princess Ludmilla Lobkowicz (March 15, 1798 - January 8, 1868 † Prague - Brussels), whom he had:
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• Vie familiale Les enfants du duc Louis-Engelbert d'Arenberg et de Pauline-Louise de Brancas (1755 † 1812) : Pierre d'Alcantara (1790-1877), 1er duc français d'Arenberg, Pauline (1774-1820), Prosper-Louis (1785-1861), 7e duc d'Arenberg. Miniature de 1791.

Prosper-Louis était un des fils de Louis-Engelbert d'Arenberg et de Pauline-Louise de Brancas (23 novembre 1755 † 10 août 1812 - 5 rue d'Antin, Paris), fille de Louis-Léon (1733 † 1824), 3e duc de Lauraguais (1755), 6e duc de Villars.

Il épousa, sur ordre de l'Empereur1, le 1er février 1808 à Paris, Stéphanie Tascher de la Pagerie (1788 - Fort-Royal † 26 octobre 1832 - Paris), nièce de l'impératrice Joséphine élevée au rang de princesse française. Divorcés le 29 août 1816, ce mariage a été annulé par jugement du tribunal civil du département de la Seine le 29 août 1816, par sentence de l'officialité de Paris le 27 mars 1817, enfin par bulle du pape Pie VII le 21 août 1818.

Il épousa, en seconde noces, le 26 janvier 1819, la princesse Ludmilla Lobkowicz (15 mars 1798 - Prague † 8 janvier 1868 - Bruxelles), dont il eut :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosper_Louis,_7th_Duke_of_Arenberg