Hercule Mériadec de Rohan
Duke of Rohan-Rohan Prince of Soubise
Born	(1669-05-08)8 May 1669 Paris,France
Died	26 January 1749(1749-01-26) (aged 79) Rue de Paradis, Paris France
Noble family	Rohan
Spouses	Anne Geneviève de Lévis ​ ​ (m. 1694; died 1727)​ Marie Sophie de Courcillon ​ ​ (m. 1732)​
Issue Detail	Louise Françoise, Duchess of La Meilleraye Charlotte Armande, Abbess of Jouarre Jules, Prince of Soubise Marie Isabelle, Duchess of Tallard Louise, Princess of Guéméné
Father	François de Rohan
Mother	Anne Julie de Rohan

Hercule Mériadec de Rohan (8 May 1669 – 26 January 1749), styledDuke of Rohan-Rohan (from 1717), was a member of the princelyHouse of Rohan. He married twice and was the grandfather of theMaréchal de Soubise. His first wife was the daughter ofMadame de Ventadour. He is known in contemporary texts as theprince de Rohan.

Born in Paris, he was the fourth of eleven children ofFrançois de Rohan andAnne Julie de Rohan, whose marriage gave rise to theSoubise line of the House of Rohan. His family claimed ancestry from the reigningDukes of Brittany^[1] and at the French court were allowed the rank ofForeign Prince. This entitled them to the style ofHighness and other privileges at court.

His mother was one-time mistress ofLouis XIV. At the time, it was suspected that his younger brotherArmand Gaston Maximilien de Rohan was in fact fathered by Louis XIV. Hercule Mériadec's mother bought the Lordship of Soubise to the family, styling themselves asPrince. Anne Julie herself wasPrincess of Soubisesuo jure.

The second son, Hercule Mériadec, becameheir apparent in 1689 at the death of his elder brother Louis, who died aged 22. He was styled Prince of Maubuisson^[2] (prince de Maubuisson) till 1714 when he was made the Duke of Rohan-Rohan (as opposed to theDuke of Rohan, the title held by his cousins).

He married twice, firstly toAnne Geneviève de Lévis, daughter ofLouis Charles de Lévis andCharlotte de La Motte Houdancourt (better known asMadame de Ventadour, governess of the young Louis XV). Anne Geneviève had been widowed in 1692 having married Louis de La Tour d'Auvergne, son ofGodefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne andMarie Anne Mancini. He died in battle and she and Hercule Mériadec were married in Paris on 15 February 1694.

His first wife (byLargillière)

His second wife (byNattier)

The marriage produced five children, three of whom would have progeny. He lost her only sonJules tosmallpox in 1724 as well as his daughter in lawAnne Julie de Melun. His grandsonCharles, Prince of Soubise, was born in 1710 and after the death of his parents, was raised by Hercule Mériadec himself to become a man of the court. Charles was later a great friend ofLouis XV and the great-grandfather of the murderedDuke of Enghien through his eldest daughterCharlotte. His second daughter Charlotte Armande succeeded her aunt Anne Marguerite de Rohan as Abbess of Jouarre in 1721.

Hercule Mériadec was responsible for some interior décor at theHôtel de Soubise engagingGermain Boffrand in the process. This dates from 1730 to 1740.^[3]

He outlived his wife by 22 years; Anne Geneviève died in March 1727. The widowed Hercule Mériadec remarried on 2 September 1732 toMarie Sophie de Courcillon who was born in 1713 and had been a mistress of the famous womaniserLouis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis. Marie Sophie was the daughter of Philippe Egon de Courcillon and Françoise de Pompadour, Duchesse de La Valette. She was also the granddaughter ofPhilippe de Courcillon,marquis de Dangeau, andPrincess Sophia of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort.

He died in Paris on the Rue de Paradis.^[4] His grandson, Charles succeeded him to the Rohan-Soubise titles.

• Louise Françoise de Rohan (4 January 1695 – 27 July 1755) marriedGuy Jules Paul de La Porte Mazarin, grandson ofArmand Charles de La Porte de La Meilleraye andHortense Mancini; had issue and were grandparents ofLouise d'Aumont, as such the presentPrince of Monaco is a descendant of Hercule Mériadec;
• Charlotte Armande de Rohan, Abbess of Jouarre (19 January 1696 – 2 March 1733) never married; one son
• Jules François Louis de Rohan, Prince of Soubise (16 January 1697 – 6 May 1724) marriedAnne Julie de Melun, daughter of Louis de Melun andÉlisabeth Thérèse de Lorraine, and had issue; died ofsmallpox;
• Marie Isabelle Gabrielle Angélique de Rohan (17 January 1699 – 15 January 1754) married MarieJoseph d'Hostun de La Baume-Tallard, Duke of Hostun, Duke of Tallard (son ofCamille d'Hostun) and had no issue;
• Louise Gabrielle Julie de Rohan (11 August 1704 – Aft 12 March 1741) marriedHercule Mériadec de Rohan, Prince of Guéméné, and had issue including thePrince of Guéméné.

• 1669 births
• 1749 deaths
• Nobility from Paris
• 17th-century French nobility
• 18th-century French nobility
• Princes of Soubise
• Dukes of Rohan-Rohan
• Peers created by Louis XIV

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