Raoul

Also known as: Bragelonne / De Bragelonne / M. Bragelonne / M. de Bragelonne / Vicomte de Bragelonne / the vicomte · Family: Royal court · Role: young soldier · First appears: Chapter 1

At chapter 1, Raoul—also called the Vicomte de Bragelonne—entered Louis XIV’s service at the Louvre, while Louis XIV learned that he was the son of Comte de la Fere. He had known D’Artagnan from birth, regarded him as a good companion, and later credited him with teaching him to use a sword. By chapter 6, Raoul had sought De Guiche’s companionship, while his nature and De Wardes’s had taken an immediate dislike to each other; at Le Havre, he rebuked De Wardes for treating the honor of queens and princesses lightly.

During the embassy at the Hotel de Ville in chapter 10, Raoul stood with De Guiche and Manicamp when Buckingham demanded that the French tents be removed. He stopped Buckingham from drawing his dagger, secured the tents, and helped avert an armed clash between the French and English. At Mantes in chapter 12, he directed De Wardes to face D’Artagnan before settling their own quarrel, then defeated and disarmed him. In chapter 15, Raoul proposed marriage to La Vallière and received Comte de la Fere’s formal consent, but Louis XIV opposed the marriage in chapter 18. In 1626, chapter 20, De Wardes apologized for insulting Raoul’s mother and ancestry; later, Raoul remained connected with De Guiche, faced the dislike of Chevalier de Lorraine, and was told that La Vallière had a betrothed.

By chapters 40 and 43, Louis XIV had still refused permission for Raoul and La Vallière to marry, though she loved him and their engagement was acknowledged. Raoul nevertheless remained her friend, while Charles II sent him to Fouquet with letters for the king of Great Britain. In chapters 54 and 55, he prepared for England within minutes, carried La Vallière’s letter to Charles II, and revealed that she was the woman he loved and that their marriage had only been deferred. On his return from England, Louis XIV decreed that Raoul’s marriage to La Vallière would be celebrated because they loved each other.