The Governess of the Children of France (sometimes the Governess of the Royal Children) was office at the royal French court during pre-Revolutionary France and the Bourbon Restoration. She was charged with the education of the children and grandchildren of the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

. The holder of the office was taken from the highest-ranking nobility of France. The

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

was supported by various deputies or under-governesses (''sous gouvernantes'').

Governesses of the Children of France

Duchess de la Ferte with the Duke of Brittany and the Duke of Anjou, de Troy

Marie Thérèse Charlotte of France with her governess

Children of
Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and b ...

Michelle de Saubonne Michelle de Saubonne, Madame de Soubise (1485–1549) was a French courtier who served as lady-in-waiting to Anne of Brittany, as the Governess of the Children of France beginning in 1499, and as the governess for the children of Ercole II d'Es ...

Children of
Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin onc ...

* Charlotte Gouffier de Boisy, Madame de Cossé-Brissac * Guillemette de Sarrebruck, comtesse de Braine

Children of
Henry II of France Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder broth ...

* 1544–1557: Françoise de Contay (d. 1557), Madame d'Humières, Dame de Contay. ** Marie-Catherine Gondi, 'Madame Duperon' (d. 1570), sous gouvernante (deputy) **

Charlotte de Curton Charlotte de Curton, née ''de Vienne'' (1513-1575), was a French court official; she served as deputy royal governess to the French royal children. Biography Charlotte de Curton was the daughter of Gérard de Vienne and Bénigne de Dinteville, ...

(d. 1575), sous gouvernante (deputy) *

Louise de Clermont Louise de Clermont-Tallard, Countess of Tonnerre by inheritance and duchess of Uzès by marriage was a French court official. She was a lady-in-waiting of queen regent Catherine de Medici of France and a royal governess of king Charles IX of Fra ...

(1504–1596), comtesse de Tonnerre and duchesse d’Uzès. * Claude Catherine de Clermont (1543–1603), Duchess of Retz.

Children of
Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the ...

* 1572–1578: Isabelle de Crissé.

Children of
Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

* 1601–1625: Françoise de Longuejoue, baronne de Montglat (d. 1633)

Children of
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

* 1638–1643: Françoise de Lansac (1583–1657) * 1643–1646: Marie-Catherine de Senecey (1588–1677)

Children 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 Ve ...

*1661–1664: Julie d'Angennes, (1607–1671) duchesse de Montausier *1661–1672: Louise de Prie, (1624–1709), Marquise of Toucy, Duchess of Cardona

Children of the Grand Dauphin

*1682–1691: Louise de Prie, (1624–1709), Marquise of Toucy, Duchess of Cardona

Children of the
Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsbu ...

*1709–1710: Marie Isabelle Gabrielle Angélique de La Mothe-Houdancourt (1654–1726), Duchess of La Ferté-Senneterre *1710–1735: Charlotte de La Mothe-Houdancourt, (1651–1744), Duchess of Ventadour ** Anne Julie de Melun acted as a ''sous gouvernante'' to Madame de Ventadour ** 1704–1717:

Madame de La Lande 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'' ( ...

**'1710–1717: Marie-Suzanne de Valicourt(Génalogie de la famille de Valicourt) Souvenirs de la Flandre-Wallonne: recherches historiques et choix de documents relatifs à Douai et à la province - Volume 9 - Société d'agriculture, des sciences et arts de Douai - 1869

Children 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 reached ...

*1727–1735: Charlotte de La Mothe-Houdancourt, (1654–1744), Duchess of Ventadour. *1735–1754: Marie Isabelle de Rohan, (1699–1754), Duchess of Tallard **1727–1746:

, sous gouvernante (deputy) **1727–1744: Marie-Suzanne de Valicourt, sous gouvernante (deputy) **1729–?: Marguerite d'Armand de Mizon, sous gouvernante (deputy)

Children of Louis, Dauphin of France

*1735–1754: Marie Isabelle de Rohan, (1699–1754), Duchess of Tallard *1754–1776: Marie Louise de Rohan, (1720–1803), Countess of Marsan ** 1771–1778: Marie Angélique de Mackau, sous gouvernante (deputy)

Children 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 e ...

*1776–1782:

Victoire de Rohan Victoire Armande Josèphe de Rohan, ''Princess of Guéméné'' (28 December 1743 – 20 September 1807) was a French noblewoman and court official. She was the governess of the children of Louis XVI of France. She is known better as ''Madame de G ...

, (1743–1807), Princess of Guéménégreat-great-granddaughter of the Duchess of Ventadour *1782–1789: Yolande de Polastron, (1749–1793), Duchess of Polignac. *1789–1792: Louise Élisabeth de Croÿ, (1749–1832), Marquise of Tourzel. ** 1776–1792: Marie Angélique de Mackau, sous gouvernante (deputy) ** 1781–1792: Renée Suzanne de Soucy, sous gouvernante (deputy) ** 1785–1792: Agathe de Rambaud

Children of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry

*1819–1830:

Marie Joséphine Louise, duchesse de Gontaut Marie Joséphine Louise, duchesse de Gontaut (1773–1857) was a French court office holder. Life She was born in Paris on the 3rd of August 1773, daughter of Augustin François, comte de Montaut-Navailles, who had been governor of Louis XVI of Fr ...

(1773–1857)

Notes

{{Reflist History of education in France Ancien Régime People of the Ancien Régime Ancien Régime office-holders Government of France French monarchy Education and training occupations French nobility Court titles in the Ancien Régime Gendered occupations French royal court

Governesses of the Children of France

Children of Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and b ...

Children of Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin onc ...

Children of Henry II of France Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder broth ...

Children of Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the ...

Children of Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

Children of Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

Children 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 Ve ...