Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt

Marshall Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt
Marshall Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt
Born	1605
Died	24 March 1657 (aged 51–52) Le Fayel, Kingdom of France
Allegiance	France
Years of service	1622–1652
Rank	Marshal of France
Commands held	French Viceroy of Catalonia, 1642–1645, 1651–1652
Battles/wars	Huguenot rebellions La Rochelle; Saint-Martin-de-Ré War of the Mantuan Succession Castelnaudary Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659) Les Avins; Leuven; Turin; Catalan Revolt Montmeló; Lleida (1642); Lleida (1644); Barcelona (1651)

Philippe, Comte de la Mothe-Houdancourt (1605 – 24 March 1657) was a French soldier and Marshal of France, who served as Viceroy of Catalonia when it was occupied by France during the Franco-Spanish War. He was awarded the Spanish title of Duke of Cardona in 1642, but this was disputed and not commonly used.

In November 1644, he was arrested on charges of treason, and imprisoned for four years. On release, he joined the 1648 uprising against the Crown known as the Fronde, but switched sides in 1651, and was re-appointed Viceroy of Catalonia. After failing to prevent the loss of Barcelona in 1652, he retired from active service, and died in 1657.