Philippe d'Auvergne

Philippe d'Auvergne (13 November 1754 – 18 September 1816) was a British naval officer and the adopted son of Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne the sovereign Duke of Bouillon. He chose a career in the Royal Navy that spanned a period of history where Great Britain was at the centre of wars and empire building and took him from Boston and the War of Independence to espionage with French Royalists; prisoner of war to shipwrecked; all this whilst hoping to become a Walloon ruler or, at least, heir to a princely fortune. Early life Philippe D'Auvergne was born in Jersey, where his family had lived for four centuries. His mother Elizabeth, the daughter of Philip Le Geyt, died giving birth to him. His father, Charles Dauvergne, was an ex-British Army officer, advisor to British Cabinet Committees and aide-de-camp to various Governors; they included John Huske, Governor from 1749 to 1761, who left Charles £2,000 when he died in January 1761. His younger half brother, Corbet James D'Auvergne (born 1767), also joined the Royal Navy, and was associated with Jane Austen. D'Auvergne was educated in Jersey, then England and France. He was fluent in French and English and had a mathematical mind, later to be used in various scientific studies and research. Much of his youth was spent sailing around the coast of Jersey. Navy D'Auvergne joined the Royal Navy, and became a midshipman in 1770. He was trained aboard the Royal Yacht , under the command of Captain John Campbell. The Royal Yacht was used as a training vessel, for picked men. This was far easier than the usual training on a man-of-war. Accounts of Philippe's life put this down to Earl Howe, later Vice Admiral of England and First Lord of the Admiralty. Howe had befriended Charles d'Auvergne, whilst commanding the flotilla stationed at Jersey during 1756.