The titles of Duc d'Elchingen and Prince de la Moskowa were created by Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, for the Marshal of France Michel Ney. Both were victory titles; Ney was created duc d'Elchingen in 1808, after the Battle of Elchingen, and prince de la Moskowa ("prince of the Moskva") in 1812, after the Battle of Borodino outside Moscow. In 1814, Ney became a peer of France. On his execution in 1815, the peerage was revoked, but it was restored in 1831.
Clauses in the titles' patents of creation caused the title of prince de la Moskowa to pass to Ney's eldest son, Joseph, and that of duc d'Elchingen to pass to his second son, Michel. This ensured that the two titles would never be held by the same person if there was another heir living, a similar situation to the British titles of Duke of Hamilton and Earl of Selkirk.
The two titles were reunited in 1928 and both became extinct with the death of the last heir in 1969.
Read more about Prince De La Moskowa: Ducs D'Elchingen (1808), Princes De La Moskowa (1813)
Famous quotes containing the word prince:
“The last public hanging in the State took place in 1835 on Prince Hill.... On the fatal day, the victim, a man named Watkins, peering through the iron bars of his cell, and seeing the townfolk scurrying to the place of execution, is said to have remarked, ‘Why is everyone running? Nothing can happen until I get there.’”
—Administration for the State of Con, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)