Françoise Charlotte Amable d'Aubigné, Duchess of Noailles (5 May 1684 – 6 October 1739) was a French aristocrat, the wife of
Adrien Maurice de Noailles, 3rd Duke of Noailles. She was the niece of Françoise d'Aubigné,
Madame de Maintenon Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ( ...
, and her heiress.
Biography
Françoise Charlotte was the only child of Charles d'Aubigné and Geneviève Piètre, who were married on 23 February 1678. Because they were poor, her parents appealed to the future wife of
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
, the ''
marquise de Maintenon'' to help with her education. Maintenon agreed to help on the condition that Françoise Charlotte would be raised as Maintenon wished and would marry whom Maintenon chose for her. As a result, Madame de Maintenon was later to make her brother's only child the heir to the
Maintenon
Maintenon () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located southwest of the center of Paris.
Maintenon, together with the neighbouring commune of Pierres, form an urban area of 7,075 inhabitants (2017).House of Noailles
The title of Duke of Noailles was a French peerage created in 1663 for Anne de Noailles, Count of Ayen.
History
Noailles is the name of a prominent French noble family, derived from the castle of Noailles in the territory of Ayen, between Briv ...
. Madame de Maintenon arranged with
Anne Jules de Noailles, the father of
Madame de Gondrin, future wife of the
Count of Toulouse
The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings,
the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroundin ...
, for the marriage of Françoise Charlotte to his son,
Adrien Maurice, Count of Ayen. The wedding occurred on 31 March 1698 when she was aged 13 and he was approaching 20. During the following 21 years their marriage produced six children.
Anne-Jules, the 2nd duc de Noailles, died in 1708 and then Adrien Maurice became the
3rd Duke of Noailles with Françoise Charlotte as his duchess. Later in 1718, after the death of Madame de Maintenon, she inherited the
Château de Maintenon
The Château de Maintenon is a ''château'', developed from the original castle, situated in the ''Communes of France, commune'' of Maintenon in the Eure-et-Loir ''Departments of France, département'' of France. It is best known as being the priv ...
and her aunt's wealth, as promised. Thus, from very humble beginnings, Françoise Charlotte rose to the upper levels of French society.
The Duchess of Noailles died in 1739 aged 55 but her husband lived for another 27 years, dying at Versailles at 88. Their two sons
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
, and
Philippe, also went on to become
marshals of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...
. The younger son, Philippe, was executed in
Reign of Terror in 1794, whereas Louis died in 1793 before the Reign of Terror was fully underway.
Her nephew by marriage was
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon (16 November 1725 – 4 March 1793) was the son of Louis Alexandre de Bourbon and his wife Marie Victoire de Noailles. He was therefore a grandson of Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Madame de Montespan. From ...
, one of the wealthiest man in Europe. Others included the
Duke of Éstrées, great-nephew of
Gabrielle d'Estrées
Gabrielle d'Estrées, Duchess of Beaufort and Verneuil, Marchioness of Monceaux (; 157310 April 1599) was a mistress, confidante and adviser of Henry IV of France. She persuaded Henry to renounce Protestantism in favour of Catholicism in 1593. La ...
, a mistress of King Henri IV.
Her descendants include
Hélie, Duke of Noailles. Others include
Adrienne de Noailles, wife of the famous
marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...
;
Philippe, King of the Belgians
french: Philippe Léopold Louis Mariegerman: Philipp Leopold Ludwig Maria
, house = Belgium
, father = Albert II of Belgium
, mother = Paola Ruffo di Calabria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Belvédère Castle, Laeken, ...
also descended maternally from Françoise Charlotte.
Issue
#Françoise Adélaide de Noailles (1 September 1704 – January 1776), married
Charles de Lorraine in 1717, son of
Louis of Lorraine, Count of Armagnac and had no issue; divorced in 1721;
#
Amable-Gabrielle de Villars
Amable-Gabrielle de Villars (1706-1771), was a French court official. She served as the ''dame d'atour'' to queen Marie Leszczyńska from 1742 to 1768, and to queen Marie Antoinette from 1770 to 1771.
Life
She was the daughter of Adrien Maurice ...
(18 February 1706 – September 1742), married
Honoré Armand de Villars and had one daughter, Amable Angélique de Villars; Amable Angélique may have been the daughter of
le chevalier d'Orléans, whose mistress was Amable Gabrielle;
#Marie Louise de Noailles (8 September 1710 – 22 May 1782), married in 1737 to
Jacques Nompar de Caumont, "Duke of La Force" and divorced in 1742; had no issue;
#
Louis de Noailles
Louis de Noailles, 4th Duke of Noailles (21 April 1713 in Versailles22 August 1793 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye) was a French peer and Marshal of France. He was the son of Françoise Charlotte d'Aubigné, niece of Madame de Maintenon, and a nephew ...
, Duke of Ayen, "Duke of Noailles" (21 April 1713 – 22 August 1793), married Catherine Françoise Charlotte de Cossé-Brissac and had issue;Louis and his wife were executed in the Revolution;
#
Philippe de Noailles, "Count of Noailles", Duke of Mouchy (27 December 1715 – 27 June 1794), married the famous
''Madame Étiquette'' and had issue; wife was a
Lady-in-waiting to
Marie Antoinette; Philippe and his wife were executed in the Revolution;
#Marie Anne Françoise de Noailles (12 January 1719 – 29 June 1793), married in 1744 Ludwig Engelbert de La Marck (1701–1773), Count of Schleiden. She was executed in the Revolution
Ancestry
Sources
Fraser, Antonia. ''Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King'' (Doubleday Press, 2006).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubigne, Francoise Charlotte d
1684 births
1738 deaths
17th-century French people
18th-century French people
Counts of Ayen
House of Noailles
Maintenon, Lady of, Francoise Charlotte
Duchesses of Noailles