duc d'Ayen until the death of his father (Adrien-Maurice) in 1766, when he became the duc de Noailles. He served in most of the wars of the 18th century without particular distinction but was nevertheless made a marshal of France, as the marshal of Noailles, in 1775. He refused to emigrate during the Revolution but escaped the fate of most noblemen by dying in August 1793 before the Terror reached its height.

On the 4th Thermidor (July 22), 1793, his wife, the aged Duchesse de Noailles, was executed, along with her daughter-in-law, the Duchesse d'Ayen, and her granddaughter, the Vicomtesse de Noailles.