Madame de Ventadour
Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Ventadour | |
_(cropped).jpg) Portrait by Pierre Mignard | |
| Born | 1654 France |
| Died | 1744 (aged 89-90) France |
| Spouse(s) | ; his death |
| Issue | Philippe de La Mothe Houdancourt |
| Mother | Louise de Prie |
Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt,
Early life and marriage
Charlotte was the youngest of the three daughters of
- Françoise Angélique de La Mothe Houdancourt, Dame of Fayel (b. 1650), who married on 28 November 1669 Louis Marie Victor, duc d'Aumont (9 December 1632–5 April 1711).
- Marie Isabelle Angélique de la Mothe Houdancourt, Duchess of La Ferté Senneterre (d. 1726).
Charlotte married Louis Charles de Lévis, Duke of Ventadour and governor of the Limousin (1647–1717), on 14 March 1671 in Paris.
The duke was generally considered "horrific"—very ugly, physically deformed, and sexually debauched[1]—yet the privileges of being a duchess compensated for the unfortunate match, e.g. le tabouret: In a letter to her daughter, Madame de Sévigné described an incident that took place at St. Germain during an audience with the Queen.
"… a lot of duchesses came in, including the beautiful and charming Duchess of Ventadour. There was a bit of a delay before they brought her the sacred stool. I turned to the Grand Master and I said, 'Oh, just give it to her. It certainly cost her enough,' and he agreed."[2]
Charlotte and Louis Charles had one daughter, Anne Geneviève de Lévis, born in February 1673. After the birth of her daughter, Madame de Ventadour preferred to reside in Paris separated from her husband, and there were no more children. She eventually secured a new position at court.
Career at the Royal Court
London, Wallace Collection
Madame de Ventadour lived the major part of her life at the Royal Court where she had a long career, serving in different positions at the Royal Court for over seventy years. Between 1660 and her marriage in 1671, she served as
A few years after her marriage she secured a new office at court and served as
Madame de Ventadour was appointed governess to the royal children in 1704. She served as deputy governess together with her sister Marie Isabelle Angélique de La Mothe-Houdancourt while her mother remain head governess in name. They were assisted by Anne Julie de Melun, Madame de La Lande and Marie-Suzanne de Valicourt.[5] When her mother died in 1709, she was succeeded first by her eldest daughter and in 1710 by Madame de Ventadour.
In 1712, an outbreak of
The sickness, however, had not yet run its course: both the Duke of Brittany (now Dauphin) and the Duke of Anjou became ill with measles. The Dauphin was ministered to by the royal doctors, who bled him in the belief that it would help him to recover; instead, it merely weakened the young boy, who swiftly died, leaving the Duke of Anjou as Dauphin. Deciding that she would not allow the same treatment to be applied to the Duke of Anjou, Madame de Ventadour locked herself up with three nursery maids and refused to allow the doctors near the boy. Louis survived his disease, becoming King of France upon the death of his great-grandfather three years later.
Madame de Ventadour continued in her position as royal governess until 1717, when the boy king was deemed old enough to be raised by men. The king was turned over to a male governor, the
In 1721, she was appointed to be the Royal Governess of the King's bride Mariana Victoria of Spain, who arrived in France at the age of three to be brought up as the future queen of France. As the Governess of the l'infante Reine ("Queen-Infanta") she served under Marie Anne de Bourbon. Her office was dissolved in 1725 when Mariana Victoria was sent back to Spain.
Between 1727 and 1735, she again served as Royal Governess, now for the children of her former charge Louis XV, whose twin daughters were born in 1727. She retired in favor of her granddaughter in 1735.
She died at the Château de Glatigny, her residence in
Issue
Anne Geneviève de Lévis Mademoiselle de Lévis, Princess of Turenne, Duchess of Rohan-Rohan, Princess of Maubuisson, Princess of Soubise (February 1673 – 20 March 1727)
- Married Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne and Marie Anne Mancini) had no issue;
- Married François de Rohan and Anne de Rohan-Chabot, had issue.
External links
Bibliography
- Madame de Sévigné. Correspondance. Texte établi, présenté et annoté par Roger Duchêne. Paris: Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. 1973-78. 3 vol..
References
- ^ Syms, L.C. "Selected Letters of Madame de Sévigné" (American Book Company, 1898). P. 25.
- ^ Letter from Madame de Sévigné to Madame de Grignan, April 1, 1771
- ^ "Wallace Collection Online - The Collection | Advanced Search". wallacelive.wallacecollection.org. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Memoirs of the Court of Louis XIV. And of the Regency
- ^ (Génalogie de la famille de Valicourt) Souvenirs de la Flandre-Wallonne: recherches historiques et choix de documents relatifs à Douai et à la province - Volume 9 - Société d'agriculture, des sciences et arts de Douai - 1869
- ^ Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de St Simon, Mémoires
External links
Media related to Madame de Ventadour at Wikimedia Commons
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