Upon the outbreak of the
French Revolution, after locating remaining family members in Paris, Adrien de Laval fled to England. As a French
émigré in London, the marquis became friendly with the
Prince of Wales and his circle. During the revolutionary wars his father appointed him as
aide-de-camp and despatched him to Italy as a captain in the
Montmorency Regiment being stationed at
Rome. After the ban on
émigrés was lifted in 1800 he returned to France. Adrien de Laval was one of the first to congratulate
Louis XVIII at
Calais in 1814, and the king promoted him
maréchal de camp (major-general) and bestowed on him the style of
Prince de Montmorency-Laval; he succeeded to his father's dukedom in 1817. On 15 August 1814, he was appointed French ambassador to Spain. There he came into conflict with
Pedro Cevallos. But on receiving news of the return of Napoleon from
Elba, a reconciliation was effected and Montmorency-Laval agreed to stay in
Madrid, contrary to instructions from the French government. He successfully managed the somewhat tense relations between the Spanish
Borbóns and the newly restored French
Bourbons, being honoured in 1815 as a
knight of the Golden Fleece and made
Duke of San Fernando Luis with the rank of
grandee. His next ambassadorial posting was to Rome, where he arrived just before the end of
Pius VII's reign and was present during the
conclave for the election of his successor as pope; he supported the efforts of
Austria in favour of
Cardinal Castiglioni's candidacy. However,
Cardinal Annibale della Genga was elected as
Leo XII. On 20 March 1828, the Duc de Laval was appointed
French ambassador to Austria. His name was also mooted as a candidate to be
king of Greece, but he twice refused
King Charles X's proposals. He was then posted as
Ambassador to the Court of St James's, returning to Paris just before
Charles X's exile. At Talleyrand's request, he dealt with unpleasant issues in
London caused by his relatives,
Louis, duc de Valençay and his father
Edmond, duca di Dino, who had become addicted to gambling. Declining to swear allegiance to
King Louis-Philippe, the Duke and Duchess retired to the
chateau de Montigny, where they received visitors, including
Talleyrand. The Duke died on 16 June 1837 and, having been predeceased by his son at
Naples in 1819, his youngest brother Eugène succeeded to his French titles before they became extinct, whereas his Spanish
ducado and
grandeza devolved upon his elder daughter and her descendants. == Honours and titles ==