Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Dauphin'' from 1785 to 1792.

Before the French Revolution

Rambaud was born the daughter of Louis Melchior Mottet, '' Haut Commissaire'' of the French colonies, and of Jeanne Agathe Le Proux de La Rivière, who was the daughter of a First Commissioner of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. She was the granddaughter of the Baron Claude Nicolas Louis Mottet de La Motte, officer of the Royal

Fox hunt Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...

, and the niece of Baron Benoît Mottet de La Fontaine, the last French Governor of

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

. She was also related to

Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Chaussard Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Chaussard (29 January 1766, Paris – 30 September 1823), known as Publicola Chaussard, was a French writer, art critic, poet, revolutionary, politician and follower of Theophilanthropy. According to Michaud in his ''Biograph ...

. She was sometimes given the courtesy title of Countess of Ribécourt. She married André Rambaud, a member of the ''bourgeoisie of Marseille'', Captain and Knight of the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...

, on 7 March 1785, in Versailles, at the church of Saint Louis. The witnesses of the bride were the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Pierre André de Suffren Admiral comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren (17 July 1729 – Paris, 8 December 1788), Château de Saint-Cannat) was a French Navy officer and admiral. Beginning his career during the War of the Austrian Successi ...

and

Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747Granier, p.87Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish. – 24 July 1812Levot, p.544) was a French admiral. Villaret was born at Auch ...

. This marriage made her the sister-in-law of Georges-René Pléville Le Pelley, the future admiral and minister of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

. Auguste de Rambaud, their first child, was born on 11 January 1786 and baptized the following day at the Saint-Louis parish of

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. The godfather was his uncle Georges-René Pléville Le Pelley, Captain of the French Royal Navy, future admiral and minister of the Navy and the colonies under the

Directoire The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced by ...

. When Madeleine Célinie de Rambaud was born at Versailles on 29 July 1787, her father was no longer living with the family, as he had been named Commander of three forts and governor of the kingdom of Galam, for the Company of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. In 1789, he was killed at Fort Saint-Joseph de Galam. In 1785, Agathe de Rambaud was chosen by Queen

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

to be the ''berceuse des enfants de France'', the official nurse, of her second son Louis-Charles,

Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western Kingdom of France, France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple, Charles III in ...

, who became the '' Dauphin'' at the death of his elder brother

Louis-Joseph, Dauphin of France Louis Joseph Xavier François (22 October 1781 – 4 June 1789) was Dauphin of France as the second child and first son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. As son of a king of France, he was a '' fils de France'' ("Child of France"). Lo ...

in 1789. Of her relationship with Louis-Charles,

Alain Decaux Alain Decaux (23 July 1925 − 27 March 2016) was a French historian. He was elected to the Académie française on 15 February 1979. In 2005, he was, with others authors as Frédéric Beigbeder, Mohamed Kacimi, Richard Millet and Jean-Pierre Th ...

wrote:

''Madame de Rambaud was officially in charge of the care of the ''Dauphin'' from the day of his birth until 10 August 1792, in other words for seven years. During these seven years, she never left him, she cradled him, took care of him, dressed him, comforted him, scolded him. Ten times, a hundred times, more than Marie Antoinette, she was a true mother for him.''

From the French Revolution to the First French Empire

Agathe de Rambaud fled the

Palais des Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the Rive Droite, right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most List of ...

during the

Insurrection of 10 August 1792 The Insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the monar ...

with

Jean-Baptiste Cléry Jean-Baptiste Cléry (1759–1809) was the personal valet to King Louis XVI. Biography Before the Revolution First serving as secretary of the Victoire de Rohan, Princess of Guéménée, he was made valet of the dauphin (who would become Louis ...

, who speaks at length about her in his ''Journal de ce qui s'est passé à la tour du Temple pendant la captivité de Louis XVI'' (''Journal about what took place in the Prison Temple during the imprisonment of Louis XVI''). She escaped the palace and was given refuge by a Monseur le Dreux at a house nearby were Cléry, who had escaped the palace by jumping out of a window, was also hiding, and was escorted out of Paris to her parents i Versailles by Cléry the following day. They narrowly avoided prison at the Abbey of Saint Germain des Prés, where many prisoners were killed during the

September massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792, from Sunday, 2 September until Thursday, 6 September, during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by ''fédérés'', gua ...

. From the first days of the Royal Family's captivity, Rambaud asked in vain to serve at the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, where the young ''Dauphin'' and his parents had been imprisoned. Though she did not flee the country, Rambaud, and some of her family, were forced into hiding because of her relationship with the Royal family. After the

Thermidorian Reaction The Thermidorian Reaction (french: Réaction thermidorienne or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespie ...

, many of her friends and family, become incited by Freemasonry and new ideals, and zealously serve the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

, the

French Consulate The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...

and the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

. She herself becomes close to many ministers, some generals, the mayor of Toulouse, and the scientist

Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse or La Peirouse, Baron de Lapeyrouse (20 October 1744 in Toulouse – 18 October 1818 in château de Lapeyrouse, Haute-Garonne) was a French naturalist. He was particularly interested in the flora and fa ...

.

Bourbon Restoration

Eventually, her son Auguste resigned from his post in the First French Empire, joined with allied forces loyal to

Louis XVII Louis XVII (born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy; 27 March 1785 – 8 June 1795) was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a m ...

, and reached

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...

on 29 March 1814. The family joined in the new regime, expecting a return to their previous station. Nevertheless, their expectations quickly disappeared as on 6 September 1815, Agathe obtained only ''a 1000 franc pension'', from the King because of her previous official position as nurse of the '' Dauphin''. Auguste, War Commissioner at Gand, was paid only half-salary. However, at

Montfort-l'Amaury Montfort-l'Amaury () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region, north central France. It is located north of Rambouillet. The name comes from Amaury I de Montfort, the first ''seigneur'' (lord) of Montfort. Geogra ...

Agathe was able to reacquaint herself with Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France,

Caroline Ferdinande Louise, duchesse de Berry Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Berry (Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Luise; 5 November 1798 – 16 April 1870) was an Italian princess of the House of Bourbon who married into the French royal family, and was the mother of Henri ...

, and Louise-Elisabeth, Marquise de Tourzel. When Louis XVIII died, she was received at Court more frequently. Her granddaughter remembered seeing her grandmother talking with the Duchess of Angoulême, ''during the King’s visit to Naples, in 1827, at the castle, where Charles X, rested his hand upon our heads, asking each of us our age, he chatted a few moments with our grandmother and inquired about her interests''. She was received in Parisian genteel society as well, as a friend of Count Charles d'Hozier,

Philippe-Louis-Marc-Antoine de Noailles, 1st duc de Mouchy Philippe-Louis-Marc-Antoine, comte de Noailles, prince-duc de Poix, and 2nd Spanish and 1st French duc de Mouchy (21 November or 21 December 175217 February 1819), was a French soldier, and politician of the Revolution. Biography The son of ...

, and the Duke Sosthene de La Rochefoucauld, who would write:

''Madame de Rambaud was a very honourable lady. The persons the present
Louis XVII Louis XVII (born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy; 27 March 1785 – 8 June 1795) was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a m ...
was first interested in... were not able to face the testimony of a very honorable lady, formerly in the service of the Royal Family, and who testified that the person who had been introduced to her was, according to her perfect knowledge, the son of the august Marie- Antoinette''.

July Monarchy

The

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

had no negative consequences upon the life of Agathe de Rambaud. She was able to retain her 1000 franc pension due to her role as the "former lady of the chamber of the Dauphin, son of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

," and her daughter-in-law Thérèse Gaudelet de Rambaud, received a 600 franc pension as a "child of the former servants of the House of the King’s children." However, her son, realizing at

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the ...

that his future in the army was nonexistent, left for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and later for

Mexico city Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, where he died in 1834. After his death, Thérèse Gaudelet married the count Amédée d'Allonville, leaving Agathe to raise her grandchildren Ernest, who would study at

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, and Ernestine. As this was happening,

Karl Wilhelm Naundorff Karl Wilhelm Naundorff (27 March 1785 (alleged) – 10 August 1845) was a German clockmaker and watchmaker who until his death claimed to be Prince Louis-Charles, or Louis XVII of France, son of Louis XVI, King of France and Marie Antoinette of ...

came into her life, pretending to be the now adult

Louis XVII Louis XVII (born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy; 27 March 1785 – 8 June 1795) was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a m ...

. For over a year, he lived at her home as she questioned him at length, testing him with old keepsakes. She also verified his birthmarks which seemed identical to those she noted on the young ''Dauphin'' at the request of Marie Antoinette. She fought a long battle to attest to his rights, enduring searches of her home where police seized a number of documents, files, and even presents presented to her from the Royal family. Mottet agathe plaque

Death

Agathe de Rambaud would eventually die at Aramon. She lived there for years at the home of her granddaughter's husband, rue Banasterie à

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, by the

Palais des Papes The Palais des Papes (English: Palace of the Popes; ''lo Palais dei Papas'' in Occitan) is a historical palace located in Avignon, Southern France. It is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress a ...

. She was first buried at Aramon, then her body was transferred to the new family tomb at St.Véran in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

,. A street in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

bears her maiden name of Agathe Rosalie Mottet and she is named among noted persons from

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

at the town hall.

Before the French Revolution

From the French Revolution to the First French Empire

Bourbon Restoration

July Monarchy

Death

References

Further reading

Sources and documents

Papers

External documents

Documentary