Marie Angélique de Mackau née ''de Fitte de Soucy'' (1723-1801), was a French court office holder. She was royal governess to
Élisabeth of France (1764–1794) and later to the children of
Louis XVI of France
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 ...
and
Marie Antoinette from 1771 and 1792.
Life
She was the daughter of Jean François de Fitte de Soucy (1686-1759). She married baron Louis Eléonor Dirkheim de Mackau (1727-1767) in 1755, and became the mother of
Renée Suzanne de Soucy (1758-1841), Armand Louis de Mackau (1759-1827) and
Marie-Angélique de Bombelles (1762-1800).
Sous Gouvernante
In 1771, she was appointed one of five ''sous gouvernante'' (deputy governess) to the royal children: they were placed under the
Governess of the Children of France 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 grandchi ...
, but normally did most of the daily work. She was recommended to the post by the Prince
Louis de Rohan.
Marie Angélique de Mackau reportedly had great importance for the development of Élisabeth of France, and was evidently in possession of "the firmness which bends resistance, and the affectionate kindness which inspires attachment", and under whose tuition she made progress in her education, as well as developed a softer personality, with her strong will directed toward religious principles.
[Maxwell-Scott, Mary Monica, ]
Madame Elizabeth de France, 1764-1794
', London : E. Arnold, 1908 She reportedly became a lifelong friend and maternal figure to Elisabeth. When Elisabeth was given her own house at Montreuil in 1781, she built a small house for Mackau there and gave it to her. Marie Angélique de Mackau continued to serve as governess during the reign of Louis XVI. She was well liked by the children of Louis XVI.
Her sister-in-law Elisabeth Louise Lenoir de Verneuil de Soucy (1729-1813), and her elder daughter
Renée Suzanne de Soucy were both appointed to be her colleagues as sous gouvernante. Her younger daughter,
Marie-Angélique de Bombelles, married to
Marc Marie de Bombelles, became maid-of-honour to Elisabeth before her marriage, as well as her lifelong personal friend and correspondent.
Revolution
Mackau accompanied the royal family to the
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, f ...
in Paris after the
Women's March on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles, also known as the October March, the October Days or simply the March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. The march began among women in the marketplaces ...
during the
French revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
in October 1789.
During the
Demonstration of 20 June 1792
The Demonstration of 20 June 1792 (french: Journée du 20 juin 1792) was the last peaceful attempt made by the people of Paris to persuade King Louis XVI of France to abandon his current policy and attempt to follow what they believed to be a mor ...
, she, alongside
Princess de Lamballe,
Madame de Tourzel, the Duchess de Maillé, Mme de Laroche-Aymon,
Louise-Emmanuelle de Châtillon, Princesse de Tarente,
Renée Suzanne de Soucy, Mme de Ginestous, and a few noblemen, belonged to the courtiers surrounding the queen and her children for several hours when the mob passed by the room shouting insults to Marie Antoinette.
[Hardy, B. C. (Blanche Christabel), ]
The Princesse de Lamballe; a biography
', 1908, Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
During the
10 August (French Revolution)
The Insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the mona ...
, she and the rest of the ladies-in-waiting of the queen was left in the queen's chamber after the royal family left the palace only in the company of
Princess de Lamballe and
Madame de Tourzel. When the mob broke in to the chamber,
Louise-Emmanuelle de Châtillon, Princesse de Tarente made a personal appeal to the leading Marseillais, who stated: "We do not fight with women; go, all of you, if you choose,"
after which the women were all allowed to depart the palace unharmed, some of them even escorted by the rioters.
Marie Angélique de Mackau was arrested and placed in the
La Force. During the
September Massacres
The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792, from Sunday, 2 September until Thursday, 6 September, during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by '' fédérés'', gu ...
, she, as well as Louise-Élisabeth de Croÿ de Tourzel and three other women formerly in court employ - Mme de Navarre, Mme Thibaud, and Mme Basire - were all freed by the tribunal and released on 3 September.
When
Marie Thérèse of France was released from Temple in 1795 and allowed to depart for Austria, she requested for Mackau to accompany her. Because of her advanced age, such a long journey was not considered good for her health, and Mackau was forced to decline; instead her daughter
Renée Suzanne de Soucy was chosen.
[Nagel, Susan. " Marie-Therese, Child of Terror: The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter ". NY: Bloomsbury, 2008. ]
References
* Marc Marie, marquis de Bombelles (1744-1822), et Angélique, marquise de Bombelles (1762-1800), Que je suis heureuse d'être ta femme : Lettres intimes, Evelyne Lever, Editions Tallandier, Paris, 2009
* Nagel, Susan. " Marie-Therese, Child of Terror: The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter ". NY: Bloomsbury, 2008.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackau, Marie Angélique de
1723 births
1801 deaths
18th-century French educators
Governesses to the Children of France
18th-century French women