The title Count of Champlitte was created by letters patent on 5 September 1574 by Philip II, King of Spain, for Francois de Vergy, son of Guillaume de Vergy the Seigneur de Champlitte.

Charles IV was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 until his death in 1675, with a brief interruption in 1634, when he abdicated under French pressure in favor of his younger brother, Nicholas Francis.