Louis Marie Florent Du Châtelet
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Louis-Marie-Florent de Lomont d'Haraucourt, marquis ''later'' duc du Châtelet (20 November 1727,
Semur-en-Auxois Semur-en-Auxois () is a commune of the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. The politician François Patriat, the engineers Edmé Régnier L'Aîné (1751–1825) and Émile Dorand (1866-1922), and the Encyclopédiste Philippe Guéneau de ...
– 13 December 1793,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
), was an aristocratic
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
and diplomat of the Ancien Régime. The Duke served as
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Semur-en-Auxois Semur-en-Auxois () is a commune of the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. The politician François Patriat, the engineers Edmé Régnier L'Aîné (1751–1825) and Émile Dorand (1866-1922), and the Encyclopédiste Philippe Guéneau de ...
in Burgundy as well as Ambassador to the Court of St James's, besides other appointments. He was appointed to command the Regiment of
French Guards The French Guards (french: Régiment des Gardes françaises) were an elite infantry regiment of the French Royal Army. They formed a constituent part of the Maison militaire du roi de France ("Military Household of the King of France") under the ...
shortly before the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789. Châtelet was subsequently imprisoned and guillotined, in 1793 aged 66.


Family

The son and heir of the noble and ancient Châtelet family, his mother, Émilie du Châtelet, famously was a
scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...
and the lover of
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
. On 20 June 1725, his father Florent-Claude du Chastelet married Gabrielle-Émilie, daughter of
Louis Nicolas le Tonnelier de Breteuil Louis Nicolas Le Tonnelier, Baron of Breteuil (14 September 1648, in Montpellier – 24 May 1728), baron of Preuilly and Baron de Breteuil, of Breteuil was an officer in the royal household of Louis XIV. He is also notable as the father of the ...
. Like many marriages among the French
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
, theirs was an arranged marriage. The couple found they had little in common, but proprieties were observed in accordance with contemporary norms. The Marquis and Marchioness produced three children: Françoise-Gabrielle-Pauline (30 June 1726 – 1754, married in 1743 to Alfonso Carafa, Duca di Montenero), Louis-Marie-Florent (''later'' duc du Châtelet, November 20, 1727 - guillotined on 13 December 1793) and Victor-Esprit (born on 11 April 1733 and died on 29 August 1734). After bearing three children, Émilie, Marquise (Marchioness) du Châtelet, considered her marital responsibilities fulfilled and reached an agreement with her husband to live separate lives while still maintaining one household.


Marriage

The Duke of Châtelet married, in 1752, Diane-Adélaïde de Rochechouart (died 1794) but they had no children. The Duke adopted his wife’s niece instead, also called Diane-Adélaïde, who was daughter of François-Jacques de Damas, marquis d'Antigny. She was born in Paris on 25 January 1761. Having married, in 1777, Charles-François, comte de Simiane, thereby becoming styled
Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
by courtesy, it soon became apparent that she had married a homosexual. Thereafter she sought comfort elsewhere with
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette 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 ...
who had served in the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
together with her husband (François, comte de Simiane died on 27 March 1787). The Duke also had an affair with her for the decade prior to his death in 1793. She never remarried and spent the remainder of her years at
Chateau de Cirey The Chateau de Cirey is a chateau in Cirey-sur-Blaise, Haute-Marne, France (not to be confused with Bellevaux Abbey in Haute-Saône, sometimes also referred to as the chateau of Cirey-lès-Bellevaux). The chateau was the home of Émilie du Châ ...
, until her death (April 9, 1835).


Political role

In 1787 Châtelet was appointed to preside over the provincial assembly of the Ile-de-France, one of a number called to consider political and economic reform. The assembly consisted of representatives of all three recognized orders (clergy, nobility and bourgeois). They met in
Melun Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Ma ...
on 11 July with Châtelet making the open address.


Military role

In 1788 the Duke took command as colonel of the Regiment of
French Guards The French Guards (french: Régiment des Gardes françaises) were an elite infantry regiment of the French Royal Army. They formed a constituent part of the Maison militaire du roi de France ("Military Household of the King of France") under the ...
, "succeeding but not replacing" the respected Duke de Brion. This elite unit of the Royal Military Household was permanently stationed in Paris and had many ties with the local population. Châtelet introduced "Prussian" codes of military discipline, which included harsh measures of physical punishment. At the same time he neglected to enforce greater professionalism amongst the aristocratic officer corps, who were often absent on leave and who left day-to-day administration of the regiment to its sergeants and corporals. As a result, obedience to orders amongst the rank and file weakened in the face of the increased disturbances in Paris during June–July 1789.


Revolution and death

On 12 July the unpopular Châtelet was recognized in a Paris street and pursued by a hostile crowd. He was rescued by a detachment of French Guards but two days later most of the regiment went over to the revolution, joining in the
storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...
. Châtelet was subsequently arrested and, following a period in prison, guillotined on 13 December 1793. With his death the Châtelet family came to an end - there were 11 branches but all of them had died out, and he was the last member of the last surviving branch.


Honours and titles

* Duc de France ( Marquis before 1770) * Grand-croix, Ordre de Saint-Louis * Chevalier, Ordre de Malte * Chevalier, Ordre du Saint-Esprit


See also

*
Hôtel du Châtelet The hôtel du Châtelet is a '' hôtel particulier'', a kind of large townhouse of France, at 127, rue de Grenelle, in the 7th arrondissement, Paris. The building is now the home of the Ministry of Labour and the minister’s official residence. ...
*
House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine (german: link=no, Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Fra ...
* List of Ambassadors of France to the United Kingdom


References


Sources

* Hubert Sage
''Louis Marie Florent du Châtelet''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatelet, Louis Marie Florent Du 1727 births 1793 deaths People from Côte-d'Or Peers of France French marquesses French Army officers Cavalry commanders Ambassadors of France to Austria Ambassadors of France to Great Britain 18th-century French diplomats Dukes of Châtelet Knights of Malta Knights of the Order of Saint Louis French nobility French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution