Charles III de Croy, Duke of Croy and Aarschot and Prince of Chimay, was born in Beaumont in 1560. His father was Philippe III de Croy, who served as governor of the Citadel of Antwerp in 1577. One of the great old nobles of the Netherlands and a powerful military commander, Charles entered the Revolt of the Netherlands on the Protestant side and then switched to support Spain, handing over several key cities in the process. He continued as a military commander and then a peace negotiator, and became a member of the Council of State in 1600.

Under Charles, the family’s long-standing tradition of patronage reached its peak. His collection included jewels, medals, coins, furnishings, and manuscripts. In one castle alone, 234 paintings hung at the time of his death, including works by Rogier van der Weyden, Frans Floris, Gossaert and Veronese. It is possible that he was a patron of Jan Brueghel, particularly the Battle of Issus. Because his collections were broken up by his heirs, Charles is most famous today for his Albums, which were watercolor sketches on parchment of every village, river, abbey and chateau in his vast territories. In total, the Albums contain 2,500 sketches. An amateur botanist and scholar, he corresponded with Clusius, Peiresc, and Lipsius.

By Rigby Philips