Armand, duc d'Aiguillon

Who was Armand, duc d'Aiguillon?

Armand II de Vignerot du Plessis de Richelieu, duke of Aiguillon succeeded his father Emmanuel-Armand de Richelieu, duc d'Aiguillon.

In 1789, as a member of the National Assembly, he became one of the first to ally himself with the Third Estate and to renounce the privileges of the nobility. He became a general in the Republican Army, but had to flee during the Reign of Terror of 1793–1794.

According to Michael Kelly in his Reminiscences, the Duc d'Aiguillon was, in 1796, in London with the revolutionaries Charles Lameth and the orator Dupont. He states that the Duc had been 'one of the twelve peers of France, who, in former days, had an immense fortune, was a great patron of the arts, and so theatrical that he had a box in every theatre in Paris. He was particularly fond of music, and had been a pupil of Viotti.' Kelly introduced them to Richard Sheridan and other friends, though the Duke of Queensberry refused to meet d'Aiguillon. On learning that the Duc's fortune was entirely lost or sequestered, Kelly arranged for him to make a little money by copying sheet-music, which he did secretly during the day, continuing to attend the theatre in the evening. Eventually an order came from the Alien Office of the British Government that he and his friends must leave England in two days. The Duke went to Hamburg, and was condemned to be shot. 'They told me that he died like a hero,' wrote Kelly. The Duke left his favourite Danish dog in Kelly's care, shedding many tears on parting from it: the animal outlived its master, but pined and died soon afterwards.