Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne (16 July 1706 – 24 October 1771) was a French nobleman and member of the powerful

House of La Tour d'Auvergne La Tour d'Auvergne () was a noble French dynasty. Its senior branch, extinct in 1501, held two of the last large fiefs acquired by the French crown, the counties of Auvergne and Boulogne, for about half a century. Its cadet branch, extinct in 1802, ...

Biography

His parents, Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne (1668–1730) and Marie Armande Victoire de La Trémoille (1677–1717) were married in 1696 and Charles Godefroy was the youngest of seven children born to the couple. His mother died in 1717 and his father married again. In total Charles Godefroy would have three half siblings from his fathers other three marriages. As the youngest son, he was not expected to succeed to the Duchy of Bouillon which had been in his families hands since 1594. His siblings included Armande (1697–1717), Princess of Epinoy (wife of Louis de Melun) his other full sister Marie Hortense Victoire (1704–1741) married

Charles Armand René de La Trémoille Charles Armand René de La Trémoille (14 January 1708, in Paris – 23 May 1741), 6th duc de Thouars, was the son of Charles Louis Bretagne de La Trémoille and his wife, Marie Madeleine Motier de la Fayette. La Trémoille was a French soldie ...

. His younger half sister Anne Marie Louise married

Charles de Rohan Charles de Rohan (16 July 17151 July 1787), Prince of Soubise, Duke of Rohan-Rohan, Seigneur of Roberval, and Marshal of France from 1758, was a soldier, and minister to kings Louis XV and Louis XVI. He was the last male of his branch of the Hou ...

, famous general and friend of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

. His youngest sibling, Marie Sophie Charlotte (1729–1763) married the Prince of Craon. His older brothers Godefroy Maurice (1702–1705) and Frédéric Maurice (1702–1723) died before their father did. His father eventually died in April 1730 and Charles Godefroy then became the sovereign

Duke of Bouillon The Duchy of Bouillon (french: Duché de Bouillon) was a duchy comprising Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium. The state originated in the 10th century as property of the Lords of Bouillon, owners of Bouillon Cast ...

, a small principality in present-day

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He married his brother's widow,

Maria Karolina Sobieska Maria Karolina Sobieska (25 November 1697 – 8 May 1740) was a Polish noblewoman, daughter of Jakub Ludwik Sobieski. Known as Marie Charlotte or only Charlotte, she was the Princess of Turenne and later Duchess of Bouillon by marriage. Charlo ...

, the granddaughter of

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...

, in 1723. She was the older sister of

Clementina Sobieski Maria Clementina Sobieska ( pl, Maria Klementyna Sobieska; 18 July 1702 – 18 January 1735) a titular queen of England, Scotland and Ireland by marriage to James Francis Edward Stuart, a Jacobite claimant to the British throne. The granddaughte ...

, wife of

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales fro ...

. They had two children, a son and a daughter. Their only daughter,

Marie Louise Henriette Jeanne de La Tour d'Auvergne Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne (Marie Louise Henriette Jeanne; 15 August 1725 – 1793) was a French noblewoman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne. She was the Princess of Guéméné by marriage. Biography Marie Louise was the ...

, was a famous adventuress, guillotined in 1793. He started an affair with his step mother, the notably attractive

Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine (1707 – 31 March 1737) was a French noblewoman and member of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine. She was the last wife of Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne (1668–1730) ...

.Daughter of

Anne Marie Joseph de Lorraine Joseph de Lorraine (Anne Marie Joseph; 30 April 1679 – 29 April 1739) was a member of the House of Lorraine and Count of Harcourt. He was styled ''prince de Guise'' before becoming Count of Harcourt. Biography Born to Alphonse Henri, Count of ...

and Marie Louise Jeannin de Castille, sister of the Duchess of Richelieu He was a year older than she.

Issue

* ''Marie Louise'' Henriette Jeanne de La Tour d'Auvergne (15 August 1725 –24 September 1781) married the

Prince of Guéméné Prince of Guémené is a title of French nobility associated with the fiefdom of Guémené-sur-Scorff in Brittany and held within the House of Rohan. The fiefdom was bought on 26 May 1377, for 3,400 '' sous d'or'' by Jean de Rohan, Viscount of Roha ...

and had issue; had a secret child with her cousin Charles Edward Stuart; * Godefroy Charles Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne (26 January 1728 – 3 December 1792) married

Louise Henriette Gabrielle de Lorraine Louise of Lorraine (Louise Henriette Gabrielle; 30 December 1718 – 5 September 1788) was a French noblewoman and member of the House of Lorraine. She married into the House of La Tour d'Auvergne and was Duchess of Bouillon. Biography Born ...

and had issue, she was a grand daughter of

Charles de Lorraine, Count of Marsan Charles de Lorraine (8 April 1648 – 13 November 1708) was the Count of Marsan. He was the youngest son of the Count of Harcourt and brother of the Chevalier de Lorraine. Biography Charles was the youngest son of Henri de Lorraine, Count of Ha ...

Ancestry

References and notes

Sources

*
Account of the Duchy of Bouillon by François Velde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tour d'Auvergne, Charles Godefroy De La 1706 births 1771 deaths Nobility from Paris Godefroy-Maurice, 3d duke (de la Marck)

Charles Godefroy Charles Godefroy (29 December 1888 at La Flèche (Sarthe) – 11 December 1958 at Soisy-sous-Montmorency, (Val d'Oise), north of Paris) was a French aviator who became famous for flying through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in 1919. World War I H ...

18th-century French nobility Grand Chamberlains of France People of Byzantine descent 18th-century peers of France