Henriette Marie Françoise L'Hardy (9 December 1768– 27 January 1808) was the

lady's companion A lady's companion was a woman of genteel birth who lived with a woman of rank or wealth as Affinity (medieval), retainer. The term was in use in the United Kingdom from at least the 18th century to the mid-20th century but it is now archaism, arc ...

from the Principality of Neuchâtel of the countess

Sophie von Dönhoff Countess Sophie Friederike Juliane von Dönhoff (17 October 1768 – 28 January 1838) was a German lady-in-waiting and a morganatic spouse by bigamy to King Frederick William II of Prussia. Life She was the daughter of Count Friedrich Wil ...

, the Prussian

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

and a morganatic spouse by

bigamy In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mar ...

to King

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was also the prince-elector of Brandenburg and (through the Orange-Nassau inheritance of his grandfather) sovereign princ ...

. She made a self-portrait. L'Hardy, born in

Auvernier Auvernier is a village in the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The municipalities of Auvernier, Bôle and Colombier merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Milvignes.Isabelle de Charrière Isabelle de Charrière (; ; 20 October 174027 December 1805), also known as Madame de Charrière and in the Netherlands as Belle van Zuylen (), was a Dutch and Swiss writer of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment who lived the latter h ...

since August 1791, with whom she exchanged over 240 letters and whose letters and manuscripts she inherited. In her letters Isabelle de Charrière called her often ''Lucinde'' after the heroine of Moliere's farce

Le Médecin malgré lui ''Le Médecin malgré lui'' (; "The doctor/physician in spite of himself") is a farce by Molière first presented in 1666 (published as a manuscript in early 1667) at le Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), théâtre du Palais-Royal ...

. She was the lady's companion of

in Prussia:

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

and

Sanssouci Sanssouci () is a historical building in Potsdam, near Berlin. Built by Prussian King Frederick the Great as his summer palace, it is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and ...

since September 1791. In June 1792 they went together with the son

Friedrich Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

(born 24 January 1792) to the

Principality of Neuchâtel A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchical state or feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often ...

starting in Auvernier. On 16 June, Von Dönhoff visited Isabelle de Charrière in Colombier and a correspondence between the two of them began. In

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

Von Dönhoff gave birth to her daughter Julie on 4 January 1793. From April till 27 September 1793 Von Dönhoff and L'Hardy stayed in Baar. After that Von Dönhoff returned with her children to Prussia. When she was settled in

Angermünde Angermünde () is a town in the district of Uckermark in the state of Brandenburg, in north-eastern Germany. It is about northeast of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The population is about 14,000, but has been declining since its traditional i ...

she asked L'Hardy to join her again 23 August 1794. She stayed there till the end of August 1795 and returned to Auvernier. Her memories of the time at the Prussian court L'Hardy wrote with assistance of De Charrière in 1801 ''Mes souvenirs sur Berlin, Potsdam et Sanssouci.'' after the publication of

Louis Philippe, comte de Ségur Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

in 1800 'Histoire des principaux évènements du règne de Fréderic-Guillaume II'. The last days of Isabelle de Charrière life she kept watch over her with Therese Forster until her death on the morning of 27 December 1805. She married the historian Louis-Henri-Eusèbe Gaullieur on 16 September 1806.Profile
in the ''Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800''. The couple had a son, Eusèbe-Henri born 21 January 1808, later a historian as well, but she died soon after his birth in Auvernier. A self-portrait, described in various sources as a

pastel A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...

or as an oil on canvas painting, still exists in a private collection.Black and white image of her self-portrait
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:L'Hardy, Henriette 1768 births 1808 deaths People from the Principality of Neuchâtel