born Sept. 25, 1734, Paris, France
died Feb. 17, 1803, Ettenheim, Baden
French clergyman.
A cardinal and bishop of Strasbourg (1779–1801), he spent much of his time at the French court. He was involved in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace (1785) when he was duped into purchasing a necklace for Marie-Antoinette without her authority. Tried for fraud, he was acquitted but was exiled from the court in disgrace, and he became a martyr to the queen's enemies and the critics of royal absolutism.