Though the
House of Arenberg had long aligned itself with the Austrian army, The Duke requested permission from Queen
Maria Theresa for Prince Auguste to join the French service, which she granted. In 1770, at age 17, Prince August attended the wedding of
Marie Antoinette and
Louis XVI, which made him a lifelong defender of Marie Antoinette. but not before Peyron stabbed him in the lung with his sword. During this time, Prince Auguste became a member first of the
Estates General, then of the
Constituent Assembly. However, he lost command of his regiment by the National Assembly and he eventually left France, choosing instead to join the Austrian army as major-general. Outside of his military service, he also worked as a
diplomat on several occasions. Prince Auguste attempted to return to France after his
brother became a senator and count in the
First French Empire but was prevented from doing so by
Napoleon. He remained in
Vienna until moving to Brussels in 1814, where he was made lieutenant-general in the
military by the new
Dutch king. He retired after the
Belgian Revolution in 1830. ==Personal life==