Dominique Guillaume Lebel (1696–1768) or also Le Bel, was first chamber servant, or ''valet-de-chambre'', of king

Louis XV of France 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 reached ...

.Patrick Wald Lasowski, L'Amour au temps des libertins, Editions First-Gründ, 2011 He is mainly known in history for his role in providing lovers for the king and acting as his go-between in his love affairs. He is known as the person who provided women for the king's house in

Parc-aux-Cerfs A Parc-aux-Cerfs (literally, stag park), in France, was generally the name given to the clearings that provided hunting fields for the French aristocracy prior to the French Revolution. The name is most notoriously known in history for an area in ...

Biography

One of his main assignments was to select young women as mistresses for his master. The tactic for this was to invite the young woman to a supper in a dining room in the palace 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 ...

, and the monarch could examine her through a hole in the wall next door. If the king would find the girl sweet to his palate, she would then be informed and examined by Lebel, and later she was led into the boudoir of the king. They were otherwise housed at the

. Among the lovers he provided for the king was

Marguerite-Catherine Haynault Marguerite-Catherine Haynault (1736–1823) was a French noblewoman, mistress to Louis XV of France from 1759 to 1762.Sylvia Jurewitz-Freischmidt: Galantes Versailles – Die Mätressen am Hofe der Bourbonen. Katz Casimir Verlag, She was born in ...

Lucie-Madeleine d'Estaing Lucie-Madeleine d’Estaing (1743–1826), was a French noblewoman, mistress to Louis XV of France from 1760 to 1763. Sylvia Jurewitz-Freischmidt: Galantes Versailles – Die Mätressen am Hofe der Bourbonen. Katz Casimir Verlag, Life She was ...

Louise-Jeanne de Tiercelin de La Colleterie Louise-Jeanne Tiercelin de La Colleterie (26 December 1746 – 5 July 1779), known as Madame de Bonneval, was a mistress to King Louis XV of France from 1762 to 1765.Sylvia Jurewitz-Freischmidt: ''Galantes Versailles – Die Mätressen am Hofe ...

and

Anne Couppier de Romans Anne Couppier de Romans (1737 –1808) was a m''aîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France from 1760 to 1765.Lever, Maurice, Louis XV: libertin malgrè lui, Payot, Paris, 2001 Life Anne Couppier de Romans was the daughter of an office c ...

. An account of this technique is found in most of the biographies of Jeanne Bécu, later to become

Madame du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last ''maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly being ...

, when the Comte du Barry introduced her to Lebel through the Maréchal de Richelieu. Jeanne was at the time in the employment of the count as courtesan entertaining his guests in his gambling house. As soon as Richelieu and Lebel spoke of the king's need for a new mistress to save him from his depression, the count pounced on the opportunity. Jeanne was invited to the palace, and the king became entranced by her beauty, nature, and ample bosom. When the king began all the more falling deeper in love with her, Lebel began to become alarmed, knowing the king might not be amused of Jeanne's past. When Lebel's conscience could take no more, he divulged all about Jeanne to the king, who scolded him harshly to have her married off to gain a title in order for her to become next royal mistress. This he did, but died soon after in 1768, some say either by poisoning or for taking the king's scolding too badly. During her time in Versailles awaiting a date for her official presentation, Jeanne was given Lebel's quarters as living space.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebel, Domin 1696 births 1768 deaths French courtiers 17th-century French people 18th-century French people Court of Louis XV