Countess Élaine Marie Joseph Charlotte de Greffulhe (19 March 1882 – 11 February 1958), who became the Duchess of Gramont by marriage, was a French aristocrat. She was a descendant of

Hortense Mancini Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin (6 June 1646 – 2 July 1699), was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister of France, and a mistress of Charles II, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. She was the fourth of the five famous Mancini ...

through her granddaughter's Pauline Félicité de Mailly son Charles de Vintimille, duc de Luc.

Early life

Élaine was born on 19 March 1882 in Paris. She was the daughter, and heiress, of Count Henry Greffulhe and his wife, Élisabeth de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay (said to be a model for the Duchess of Guermantes in

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

’s novel, ''

À la recherche du temps perdu ''In Search of Lost Time'' (), first translated into English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'', and sometimes referred to in French as ''La Recherche'' (''The Search''), is a novel in seven volumes by French author Marcel Proust. This early twen ...

'').

Personal life

In 1904, she married Armand de Gramont, who later became the 12th

Duke of Gramont The title of Duke of Gramont (''duc de Gramont'') is a French List of French dukedoms, dukedom and former List of French peerages, peerage. It was created in 1648 for French Marshal Antoine III de Gramont. History The family of Gramont was a Kin ...

. His parents were Agénor de Gramont, 11th Duke of Gramont and the former

Marguerite de Rothschild Mayer Carl ''Freiherr'' von Rothschild (5 August 1820 – 16 October 1886) was a German Jewish banker and politician, as well as scion of the Rothschild family. Early life Born in Frankfurt on 5 August 1820. He was a son of Adelheid (née Herz) ...

. A rare film clip may show Proust (in bowler hat and gray coat) at her wedding in 1904.Link to film clip
/ref> Proust’s wedding gift to the groom was apparently a revolver in a leather case inscribed with verses from her childhood poems. Czar

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...

sent her a gift in honor of their 1904 marriage. Together, Élaine and Armand were the parents of: * Antoine Agénor Henri Armand de Gramont, 13th Duke of Gramont (1907–1995), who married Odile Marguerite Marie Marthe Madeleine Sublet d'Heudicourt de Lenoncourt. * Comte Henri Armand Antoine de Gramont (1909–1994), who married Élisabeth Meunier du Houssoy, a daughter of

Robert Meunier du Houssoy ''Robert'' Émile Meunier du Houssoy (5 July 1888 – 3 March 1968) was a French soldier and publisher who led Hachette. Early life Meunier du Houssoy was born on 5 July 1888 in Sucy-en-Brie, a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris. He wa ...

, in 1939. * Comte Jean Armand Antoine de Gramont (1909–1994), who married Ghislaine Meunier du Houssoy, also a daughter of Robert Meunier du Houssoy, in 1941. * Comte Charles Louis Antoine Armand de Gramont (b. 1911), who married Shermine Baras * Comtesse Corisande Marguerite Elisabeth de Gramont (b. 1920), who married Comte Jean-Louis de Maigret. Élaine died in Paris on 11 February 1958.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greffulhe, Elaine 1882 births 1958 deaths Nobility from Paris Dukes of Gramont