Louise Élisabeth de Croÿ
Louise Élisabeth de Croÿ | |
---|---|
Duchess of Tourzel | |
Born | Paris, France | 11 June 1749
Died | 15 May 1832 Paris, France | (aged 82)
Spouse(s) |
Louis François du Bouchet de Sourches, Marquis of Tourzel
(m. 1766–1786) |
Father | Louis Ferdinand Joseph de Croÿ, Duke of Havré |
Mother | Marie Louise Cunégonde de Montmorency-Luxembourg |
Louise-Élisabeth de Croÿ (Louise Élisabeth Félicité Françoise Armande Anne Marie Jeanne Joséphine; 11 June 1749 – 15 May 1832) was a French
Life
Louise Élisabeth was born in
Louise Élisabeth was married in 1766, at the age of seventeen, to the Marquis de Tourzel. They enjoyed a happy marriage for twenty years, in which Louise Élisabeth bore six children; her husband was, however, killed in a hunting accident in 1786.[1] She was a staunch supporter of the House of Bourbon, and had this motto engraved on a ring she refused to part with: Lord, save the King, the Dauphin, and his sister!.[2]
French Revolution
After the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, many members of Queen Marie Antoinette’s intimate circle were forced to flee abroad. The duchesse de Polignac, the queen's favourite and the governess to the royal children, was forced to emigrate to Switzerland.[3] Marie Antoinette appointed Louise Élisabeth to the newly vacant post, with particular attention to be paid to the dauphin, Louis-Charles. The marquise was advised to curb the dauphin's fear of loud noises, particularly the barking of the many dogs at Versailles.[4]
After an angry mob of women incited by revolutionaries stormed the Palace of Versailles on 5 October 1789, the marquise accompanied the royal family to live in the Tuileries Palace in Paris.[4] Tourzel's loyalty was strong, and she refused to abandon the royal children as political strife in the nation dramatically increased. She even accompanied the king and his family on the flight to Varennes, for a royalist stronghold in Montmédy.[5] This attempt failed, and the entire party was brought back to Paris.[5]
After the abolition of the monarchy in 1792, Louise Élisabeth was separated from the royal family and imprisoned in the
In January 1793,
Later years
As soon as Marie-Thérése-Charlotte was allowed visits again by the government, she was among the first who requested to see her in her prison cell in the Temple. It was Louise Élisabeth who informed Marie-Therese that she was to marry her cousin
During the Bourbon Restoration, Louise Élisabeth was made a duchess by King Charles X.[10] She later published her memoirs, which are an invaluable historical account of the final days of the royal household.[1] Her daughter, Pauline, became a lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette's only surviving child, Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte.
In fiction
Louise-Élisabeth de Tourzel has been featured in several novels about the French royal family, including the Marie Antoinette romances by Alexandre Dumas.
The novels include:
- Trianon, by Elena Maria Vidal
- Madame Royale, by Elena Maria Vidal
- Flaunting, Extravagant Queen, by Jean Plaidy
The character of Louise-Élisabeth appeared in the 1956 French film Marie-Antoinette reine de France.[11]
References
- ^ a b c Tourzel, Louise Élisabeth; François Joseph de Pérusse Des Cars (1986). Memoirs of the Duchess de Tourzel: Governess to the Children of France During the Years 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793 and 1795. Remington & Co.
tourzel motto.
- ^ Imbert de Saint-Amand, Arthur; Léon Imbert de Saint-Amand; Elizabeth Gilbert Martin (1915). The Youth of the Duchess of Angoulême. University of Michigan: C. Scribner's sons. p. 118.
tourzel motto.
- ^ McCarthy, Justin Huntly (1897). The French Revolution. Harvard University: Harper. p. 101.
polignac switzerland.
- ^ ISBN 0-312-32029-9.
- ^ ISBN 0-312-26879-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-312-28333-4.
- ISBN 0-385-48949-8.
- ^ a b Hazen, Charles Downer (1917). Modern European History. Harvard University: H. Holt and company. pp. 123, 135.
louis xvi executed.
- ^ ISBN 1-59691-057-7.
- ^ Webster, Nesta Helen (1937). Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette During the Revolution. University of Michigan: G. P. Putnam's sons.
- ^ "Marie-Antoinette reine de France". IMDb.com. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
External links
- Works by Louise Élisabeth de Croÿ at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Louise Élisabeth de Croÿ at Internet Archive
- Memoirs of the Duchess de Tourzel, Volume I (in English)
- Mémoires de Madame la duchesse de Tourzel, Volume I (in French)