Ambroise-Polycarpe, Vicomte de La Rochefoucauld GE (2 April 1765 – 2 June 1841), first Duke of Doudeauville, was a French soldier and politician. He was Minister of the Royal Household from 1821 to 1827.

Early years

Ambroise-Polycarpe de La Rochefoucauld was born in Paris on 2 April 1765. He was the grandson of Alexandre-Nicolas de La Rochefoucauld (1709-1760), Marquis de Surgères, who was cited by

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

in his ''Éloges''. His parents were Viscount Jean-François de La Rochefoucauld (1735-1789), Brigadier, and Anne-Sabine-Rosalie de Chauvelin, daughter of Germain Louis de Chauvelin (1685-1762), Marquis de Grosbois, Keeper of the Seals of France. At the age of fourteen La Rochefoucauld married a descendant of

François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis of Louvois (18 January 1641 – 16 July 1691) was the French Secretary of State for War during a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV. Together with his father, Michel le Tellier Michel Le Tellier, ...

, Mademoiselle de Montmirail. Two years later he joined the dragoons as a second lieutenant, and served in the king's army until 1792. He rose to the position of deputy-major of cavalry. During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

he emigrated, and made a series of tours of different countries of Europe, He returned to France under the

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

, but stayed out of politics. Despite offers from Napoleon, he would only accept the position of a member of the General Council of the Marne.

Bourbon Restoration

After the first

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

, on 4 June 1814 La Rochefoucauld was appointed to the Chamber of Peers. He sat among the most ardent royalists. He voted for death in the trial of

Marshal Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...

. He fought against freedom of the press, which he viewed as a source of ruin for the country. On 26 September 1822 he was appointed director general of the posts. He gained a reputation as a skilled administrator, and introduced several visible improvements in the service. On 4 August 1824 King

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

appointed La Rochefoucauld Minister of the Royal Household in place of Marshal

Jacques Lauriston Jacques Alexandre Bernard Law, marquis de Lauriston (1 February 1768 – 12 June 1828) was a French soldier and diplomat of Scottish descent, and a general officer in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Pondicherry in Fren ...

. One of his main acts while in office was to acquire the lands of Grignon for the royal domain and to establish there the Royal Agronomic Institute of Grignon. In 1828 he fought against the dismissal of the National Guard. He resigned as minister on 4 January 1828 and from then on devoted himself to managing charitable institutions.

July Monarchy

La Rochefoucauld was greatly attached to the elder branch of the Bourbons, and did not approve of 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 ...

of 1830. He spoke in the Chamber of Peers against proposals to perpetually banish the former royal family. On 9 January 1831 he resigned from the Chamber and his name was removed from the list of peers of France. He died at the Château de Montmirail,

Montmirail, Marne Montmirail () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. left, Castle, church Jean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz (1613-1679), a French churchman, writer of memoirs, and agitator in the Fronde was born in Montmirai ...

, on 2 June 1841, aged 76.

References

Citations Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:La Rochefoucauld, Ambroise-Polycarpe de 1765 births 1841 deaths Military personnel from Paris Government ministers of France Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration Nobility from Paris