Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt | |
|---|---|
| Duchess of Ventadour | |
_(cropped).jpg) Portrait byPierre Mignard | |
| Born | 1654 France |
| Died | 1744 (aged 89-90) France |
| Spouses | ; his death |
| Issue | Anne Geneviève de Lévis |
| Father | Philippe de La Mothe Houdancourt |
| Mother | Louise de Prie |
Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt,Duchess of Ventadour (Charlotte Eléonore Madeleine; 1654–1744) was a French office holder of the French Royal Court. She was thegoverness of KingLouis XV, great-grandson of KingLouis XIV. She is credited with saving Louis XV from the ministrations of the royal doctors when he was ill as a child. She was theGouvernante des enfants royaux,Governess of the Children of France like hermother,granddaughter,granddaughter in law andgreat grand daughter.
Charlotte was the youngest of the three daughters ofPhilippe de La Mothe Houdancourt,Duke of Cardona andmaréchal de France (d. 1657), andLouise de Prie, Marquise of Toucy, Duchess of La Motte Houdancourt, maréchale, governess to the children of France. Charlotte's sisters were:
Charlotte marriedLouis Charles de Lévis,Duke of Ventadour and governor of theLimousin (1647–1717), on 14 March 1671 in Paris.
The duke was generally considered "horrific"—very ugly, physically deformed, and sexually debauched[1]—yet the privileges of being a duchess compensated for the unfortunate match, e.g.le tabouret: In a letter to her daughter,Madame de Sévigné described an incident that took place atSt. Germain during an audience with the Queen.
"… a lot of duchesses came in, including the beautiful and charming Duchess of Ventadour. There was a bit of a delay before they brought her the sacred stool. I turned to the Grand Master and I said, 'Oh, just give it to her. It certainly cost her enough,' and he agreed."[2]
Charlotte and Louis Charles had one daughter,Anne Geneviève de Lévis, born in February 1673. After the birth of her daughter, Madame de Ventadour preferred to reside in Paris separated from her husband, and there were no more children. She eventually secured a new position at court.
Madame de Ventadour lived the major part of her life at the Royal Court where she had a long career, serving in different positions at the Royal Court for over seventy years. Between 1660 and her marriage in 1671, she served asFille d'honneur to the Queen.
A few years after her marriage she secured a new office at court and served asDame d'honneur to the King's sister-in-lawElizabeth Charlotte, Madame Palatine, between 1684 and 1703. She was well-liked by Madame, who blamedMadame de Maintenon when Ventadour left her position in 1703.[4]
Madame de Ventadour was appointed governess to the royal children in 1704. She served as deputy governess together with her sisterMarie Isabelle Angélique de La Mothe-Houdancourt while her mother remain head governess in name. They were assisted byAnne Julie de Melun, Madame de La Lande and Marie-Suzanne de Valicourt.[5] When her mother died in 1709, she was succeeded first by her eldest daughter and in 1710 by Madame de Ventadour.
In 1712, an outbreak ofmeasles struck the French royal family, causing a number of significant deaths. First to die was theDauphine,Marie Adélaïde of Savoy. Within a week of her death, her heartbroken husband,Louis the Dauphin, also died, leaving his sonsLouis, Duke of Brittany, andLouis, Duke of Anjou, orphaned, and the elder son as heir to the throne.
The sickness, however, had not yet run its course: both the Duke of Brittany (now Dauphin) and the Duke of Anjou became ill with measles. The Dauphin was ministered to by the royal doctors, who bled him in the belief that it would help him to recover; instead, it merely weakened the young boy, who swiftly died, leaving the Duke of Anjou as Dauphin. Deciding that she would not allow the same treatment to be applied to the Duke of Anjou, Madame de Ventadour locked herself up with three nursery maids and refused to allow the doctors near the boy. Louis survived his disease, becoming King of France upon the death of his great-grandfather three years later.
Madame de Ventadour continued in her position as royal governess until 1717, when the boy king was deemed old enough to be raised by men. The king was turned over to a male governor, theFrançois de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, who was the friend and reputed lover of Madame de Ventadour.[6] Her husband died in the same year. She then resumed her place asDame d'honneur ofElizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate,DowagerDuchess of Orléans, widow ofPhilippe de France, Duke of Orléans, only sibling of Louis XIV.
In 1721, she was appointed to be the Royal Governess of the King's brideMariana Victoria of Spain, who arrived in France at the age of three to be brought up as the future queen of France. As the Governess of thel'infante Reine ("Queen-Infanta") she served underMarie Anne de Bourbon. Her office was dissolved in 1725 when Mariana Victoria was sent back to Spain.
Between 1727 and 1735, she again served as Royal Governess, now for the children of her former charge Louis XV, whose twin daughters were born in 1727. She retired in favor of her granddaughter in 1735.
She died at the Château de Glatigny, her residence inVersailles. Through her daughter she is an ancestress of thePrinces of Guéméné of theHouse of Rohan, who presently live inAustria.
Anne Geneviève de Lévis Mademoiselle de Lévis,Princess of Turenne,Duchess of Rohan-Rohan,Princess of Maubuisson,Princess of Soubise (February 1673 – 20 March 1727)
Media related toMadame de Ventadour at Wikimedia Commons| Court offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Governess of the Children of France 1710–1735 | Succeeded by |
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