Anne Geneviève de Lévis (February 1673 – 20 March 1727) was a French noblewoman. She was Princess of Turenne by her first marriage and Duchess of Rohan-Rohan,

Princess of Soubise Within the French nobility, "Princess of Soubise" was the title given to the wife of the Prince of Soubise. The title was established in 1667 when the ''sire, sirerie'' of Soubise, Charente-Maritime was elevated to a principality. The title was he ...

by her second marriage. Anne Geneviève was the only child of Madame de Ventadour,

governess A governess is 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; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

of the young

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), 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 maturity (then defi ...

. She married twice and had children with her second husband. She died in Paris aged 54.

Biography

Anne Geneviève was the only child of Louis Charles de Lévis and his wife Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt. Her parents had married in 1671 in Paris. Her father was the Duke of Ventadour and governor of the

Limousin Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...

(1647–1717). While unmarried, she was styled as ''Mademoiselle de Ventadour''. As she had no siblings, her father made her his heiress. He died in 1717 and she succeeded to his lands which passed to the House of Rohan. The Dukedom of Ventadour however was extinct. In 1689, according to the memoirs of the '' marquis de Dangeau'', Anne Geneviève was a proposed bride for Jacques Henri de Durfort (1670-1697), the son of Jacques Henri de Durfort (1625-1704) and Marguerite Félice de Lévis - the latter was Anne Geneviève's own paternal aunt making the proposed groom her first cousin. The marriage never materialised as Anne Geneviève's mother as well as grandmother Louise de Prie opposed the union. She married twice; firstly to Louis Charles de La Tour d'Auvergne, styled the ''prince de Turenne'' and son and heir of Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne and one of the famous Mazarinettes, Marie Anne Mancini. The couple married in Paris on 16 February 1691. As the

House of La Tour d'Auvergne A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

ranked as Foreign princes at Versailles, this entitled them to the style of ''Highness''. As such, Anne Geneviève took on this style. As part of her dowry, she was given the Lordship of Roberval which went to the

. The couple had no children as Louis was called to take part in the Battle of Steenkerque in 1692 and died having been injured. The young Princess of Turenne was a widow at the age of nineteen. Secondly, she married into the

House of Rohan The House of Rohan () is a Bretons, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan, Morbihan, Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and is said to tr ...

. She married again on 15 February 1694 to Hercule Mériadec de Rohan, son of François de Rohan, Prince of Soubise and Anne Julie de Rohan, one time mistress of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. As the Princes of the House of Rohan also held the rank of Foreign princes, Anne Geneviève was able to keep her style of ''Her Highness''. Her second marriage produced five children, three of which would have progeny. She lost her only son

Jules Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). In the anglosphere, it is also used for females although it is still a predominantly masculine name.One of the few notable examples of a femal ...

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

in 1724 as well as her daughter in law Anne Julie de Melun. Her grandson, Charles, Prince of Soubise was born in 1710 and after the death of his parents, was raised by his grand father Hercule Mériadec. Charles was later a great friend of

and the great-grandfather of the murdered Duke of Enghien through his eldest daughter Charlotte.Whose mother Anne Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne was a niece of Anne Geneviève's first husband Her second daughter Charlotte Armande was the Abbess of Jouarre. Charlotte Armande succeeded her aunt Anne Marguerite de Rohan as abbess in 1721. She died in Paris on the Rue de Paradis. over the night of Friday 20/21 March 1727 She was buried on the 23rd at the Église de La Merci in the capital. Her husband married again in 1732 to Marie Sophie de Courcillon. Hercule Mériadec died in 1749.

Issue

# Louise Françoise de Rohan (4 January 1695 – 27 July 1755) married Guy Jules Paul de La Porte, Duke de La Meilleraye, grandson of Armand Charles de La Porte, Duke de La Meilleraye and Hortense Mancini; had issue and were great-grand parents of Louise d'Aumont, Duchess de Mazarin et de La Meilleraye, as such the current

Prince of Monaco The sovereign prince () is the monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All reigning princes and princesses have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi. When Prince Rainier III died in 2005, he was Europe's longest reigning mo ...

is a descendant of Anne Geneviève; # Charlotte Armande de Rohan, Abbess of Jouarre (19 January 1696 – 2 March 1733) never married and one son; # ''Jules'' François Louis de Rohan, Prince of Soubise (16 January 1697 – 6 May 1724) married Anne Julie de Melun, daughter of Louis de Melun and Élisabeth Thérèse de Lorraine, and had issue; died of

Smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

; # ''Marie Isabelle'' Gabrielle Angélique de Rohan (17 January 1699 – 15 January 1754) married Marie ''Joseph'' d'Hostun de La Baume, Duke of Hostun, Duke of Tallard (son of Camille d'Hostun), no issue; was the Governess of the Children of France; # ''Louise'' Gabrielle Julie de Rohan (11 August 1704 – Aft 12 March 1741) married Hercule Mériadec de Rohan, Prince of Guéméné, and had issue including the

Prince of Guéméné Prince of Guémené is a title of French nobility associated with the fiefdom of Guémené-sur-Scorff in Brittany and held within the House of Rohan. The fiefdom was bought on 26 May 1377, for 3,400 ''Sou (coin), sous d'or'' by Jean de Rohan, Viscou ...

Ancestry

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levis, Anne Genevieve De Anne Genevieve Anne Genevieve French Roman Catholics 1673 births 1727 deaths Deaths from smallpox in France Anne Genevieve Anne Genevieve 17th-century French women 18th-century French women French suo jure nobility Anne Genevieve Anne Genevieve Anne Genevieve