Émilie de Beauharnais, comtesse de Lavalette (1781–1855), was a French court official, ''

dame d'atour ''Dame d'atour'' was an office at the royal court of France. It existed in nearly all French courts from the 16th-century onward. The ''dame d'honneur'' was selected from the members of the highest French nobility. History At least from the Isab ...

'' to

Empress Joséphine Joséphine Bonaparte (, born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie; 23 June 1763 – 29 May 1814) was Empress of the French as the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 January 1810. ...

of France.

Life

She was the daughter of

François VI de Beauharnais François VI de Beauharnais, 2nd marquis de La Ferté-Beauharnais (also 3rd comte des Roches-Baritaud, baron de Beauville, seigneur de Beaumont et de Bellechauve; 12 August 1756, La Rochelle – 3 March 1846, Paris) was a French nobleman. He was ...

and Françoise de Beauharnais and thus related to Joséphine. She married Comte Antoine Marie Chamans de Lavalette, in 1798. She belonged to those called to be appointed when the first ladies-in-waiting were named for Joséphine. In 1804, when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

named himself

Emperor of France Emperor of the French ( French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires. Details A title and office used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon was procla ...

, and his wife Empress, he also created an Imperial court and had ladies-in-waiting appointed to empress Josephine.

Adélaïde de La Rochefoucauld Adélaïde de La Rochefoucauld (née de Pyvart de Chastullé; 1769 - 1814), was a French courtier. She served as the principal lady in waiting, or ''dame d'honneur'' (Mistress of the Robes), to empress Joséphine de Beauharnais in 1804–09. Life ...

was made ''

dame d'honneur Dame d'honneur or Dame d’honneur was a common title for two categories of French ladies-in-waiting, who are often confused because of the similarity. Dame d'honneur can be: * Short for Première dame d'honneur, which were commonly shortened to ...

'' and de Beauharnais made ''dame d'atour'', while

Jeanne Charlotte du Luçay Jeanne Charlotte du Luçay née ''Papillon d'Auteroche'' (1769-1842), was a French court official, '' Dame du Palais'' to Empress Joséphine and '' Dame d'atour'' to Empress Marie Louise of France. Life Jeanne Charlotte du Luçay was married to co ...

Madame de Rémusat Claire Élisabeth Jeanne Gravier de Vergennes de Rémusat (5 January 1780 – 16 December 1821) was a French woman of letters. She married at sixteen, and was attached to the Empress Josephine as ''dame du palais'' in 1802. Life Talleyrand wa ...

, Elisabeth Baude de Talhouët, Lauriston, d'Arberg, Marie Antoinette Duchâtel, Sophie de Segur, Séran, Colbert, Savary and Aglaé Louise Auguié Ney, were all made ''

dame du Palais The Dame du Palais, originally only Dame, was an historical office in the Royal Court of France. It was a title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a female member of the French Royal Family. The position w ...

''. When Napoleon divorced Joséphine and married

Marie Louise of Austria french: Marie-Louise-Léopoldine-Françoise-Thérèse-Josèphe-Lucie it, Maria Luigia Leopoldina Francesca Teresa Giuseppa Lucia , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of ...

, in 1809, de Beauharnais retired and was replaced by

. During the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

, her spouse was sentenced to death, but she helped him escape and was herself imprisoned in 1815–16.

References

* Gilbert Schlogel, Emilie de Lavalette, une légende blessée, Fayard, 2000 () {{DEFAULTSORT:Beauharnais, Emilie de 1781 births 1855 deaths French ladies-in-waiting People of the First French Empire