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 Communes of France, commune of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department in eastern France. The politician François Patriat, the engineers Edmé Régnier L'Aîné (1751–1825) and Émile Dorand (1866-1922), and th ...
– 13 December 1793,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
), was an aristocratic
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
general and
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
of the Ancien Régime. The Duke served as
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of
Semur-en-Auxois Semur-en-Auxois () is a Communes of France, commune of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department in eastern France. The politician François Patriat, the engineers Edmé Régnier L'Aîné (1751–1825) and Émile Dorand (1866-1922), and th ...
in
Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
as well as
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
to the
Court of St James's The Court of St James's serves as the official royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The court formally receives all ambassadors accredited to the United Kingdom. Likewise, ambassadors representing the United Kingdom are formally ...
, besides other appointments. He was appointed to command the Regiment of
French Guards The French Guards (, ) 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 Ancien Régime. The French Guards, w ...
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 Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet (; 17 December 1706 – 10 September 1749) was a French mathematician and physicist. Her most recognized achievement is her philosophical magnum opus, ''Institutions de Physique'' ...
, famously was a
scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
and the lover of
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
. On 20 June 1725, his father Florent-Claude du Chastelet married Gabrielle-Émilie le Tonnelier de Breteuil, 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 appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
, 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, married in 1743 to Alfonso Carafa, Duca di Montenero, Louis-Marie-Florent and Victor-Esprit. 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 de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...
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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
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, 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 ÃŽle-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 Seine-et-Marne, ...
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 (, ) 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 Ancien Régime. The French Guards, w ...
, "succeeding but not replacing" the respected Duke de Biron. 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 ( ), which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison k ...
. 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 A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...
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 () 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 Francis of Lorraine to Maria Ther ...
* 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 Semur-en-Auxois Peers of France Dukes of Châtelet French marquesses Ambassadors to the Habsburg monarchy Ambassadors of France to Great Britain 18th-century French diplomats French Army officers Cavalry commanders Knights of Malta Knights of the Order of Saint Louis French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution