Anna Gonzaga
Encyclopedia
Anne Gonzaga was a French
noblewoman and political hostess of Italian
descent. She was by marriage Countess Palatine of Simmern, called "Princess Palatine", as the wife of Edward of the Palatinate
, a grandson of King James I of England
and an uncle of King George I of Great Britain
. She bore Edward three children, all daughters. Had she not converted Edward to Catholicism
, the English throne might have passed to their descendants. Anne was the youngest daughter of Charles I, Duke of Mantua
and Catherine de Mayenne (daughter of Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne).
into a cadet
French branch of the ducal House of Gonzaga
, which ruled Mantua
in northern Italy
. Her father's family became Dukes of Nevers
and Rethel
in France
when her paternal grandfather, Luigi di Gonzaga
, a younger son of Duke Federico II and Margerita Palaeologina
, married the heiress of the duchies of Nevers
and Rethel
in 1566. The Nevers branch later came to rule Mantua again after the War of the Mantuan Succession
, triggered in part by her Paris
ian-born father's claim to the duchies of Mantua and Montferrat. With the promised support of the French crown, which naturally preferred a French peer to rule Mantua, Charles arrived there in January 1628 and proclaimed himself its heir and sovereign.
Although her name and patriline was Mantovani (Mantua
n), she had mostly French ancestry, and was born and lived mainly in France. She probably remained in France even after her father's reclamation of the ancestral city of Mantua, as the town was in ruin by 1630, marred by war, plague and a brutal sacking
by the Imperial
army. The city would never fully recover.
Her French mother, Catherine of Mayenne, belonged to the House of Guise
, a junior branch of the royal House of Lorraine
. Anne, known as Anne Marie de Gonzague in French, and sometimes called "Anna Gonzaga of Cleves" or "of Nevers" as the granddaughter of Henriette of Cleves, Duchess of Nevers, was the youngest of the Duke and Duchess of Mantua's six children. She had three brothers, including Charles II Gonzaga
, and two sisters; the elder one, Marie Louise, would become Queen Ludwika Maria Gonzaga
of Poland. Her mother died in 1618, when Anne was only about two years old. Originally her family planned for her to become a nun
, but she was relieved of this obligation with the death of her father in 1637, when she was 21 years old, and thereafter Anne carried out an adventurous life.
Henry II, Duke of Guise
; later, she claimed to have contracted a secret marriage with him in 1639, which he denied. In 1640, Anne disguised herself as a man
to join him in Sedan
, but he gave her up the following year, in 1641. She brought a lawsuit
against him, demanding recognition as his wife.
, Anne was married, without much enthusiasm, to Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern
, a nineteen-year-old, landless and penniless German nobleman who was ten years her junior. She became Countess Palatine of Simmern, and was known in German as Pfalzgräfin Anne and in English as Anne, Princess Palatine.
With Edward, she had three daughters:
According to the Italian historian Signor G. B. Intra, Anne “held one of the most brilliant salons
during the early years of the reign of Louis XIV.”
The marriage of her second daughter, Anne Henriette, to Henri Jules de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien
, came to restore her position. Henri Jules was a cousin of Louis XIV
and one of the highest ranking males at court. He was also the son of le Grand Condé. Her sister, the Polish queen, Ludwika Maria Gonzaga
, had designated Anne Henriette as her heiress and was committed to supporting the candidature of the duke of Enghien for the Polish throne.
Princess Anne managed to marry her youngest daughter, Bénédicte (or Benedicta, or Benedictine), to the Duke of Brunswick and Hanover
. The Princess Palatine was a confidante
to Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
, who was described as a "coxcomb". She arranged Monsieur's second marriage to her husband's nineteen-year-old niece, Liselotte
, daughter of Charles Louis, Elector Palatine of the Rhine
.
, and Anne appears to have been deeply devoted to the religion, especially in her later years. Besides being illegitimately descended from a pope
, she was the granddaughter of Charles de Guise
, head of the Catholic League of France
, which his assassinated brother had formed. Anne managed to convert her Calvinist husband to Catholicism despite his mother, Elizabeth Stuart
's threats to disown any of her children who became Catholic. (Elizabeth forgave her son surprisingly quickly.)
In 1663, Edward died in Paris
aged 37.
Forty years after Edward's death, his younger sister Sophia of the Palatinate
, commonly referred to as Sophia of Hanover
after her marriage to the Protestant Duke Ernest of Hanover, was declared the heiress presumptive
to their first cousin once removed, Queen Anne of England and Ireland
(later Queen of Great Britain and Ireland). Sophia was never declared heiress presumptive to Scotland. She would have acceded to Anne's crown, had she not died a few weeks before Anne did. Upon Sophia's death, her son George Louis, Elector
of Hanover
and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
, became heir presumptive. Upon Queen Anne's death, he became George I
, the first of the Hanoverian
line of kings. "If Sophia's elder brother Edward had not converted to Catholicism," writes George L. Williams, "it is possible that the English throne would have been held by his descendants."
In 1671, Anne converted and changed completely her manner of living. She died devoted to the Church in 1684. Bossuet
delivered her famous funeral oration.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
noblewoman and political hostess of Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
descent. She was by marriage Countess Palatine of Simmern, called "Princess Palatine", as the wife of Edward of the Palatinate
Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern
Sir Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern KG was the sixth son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, of the House of Wittelsbach, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and Elizabeth Stuart....
, a grandson of King James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
and an uncle of King George I of Great Britain
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
. She bore Edward three children, all daughters. Had she not converted Edward to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, the English throne might have passed to their descendants. Anne was the youngest daughter of Charles I, Duke of Mantua
Charles I, Duke of Mantua
Charles Gonzaga was Duke of Mantua and Duke of Montferrat from 1627 until his death. He was also Duke of Rethel and Nevers, as well as Prince of Arches.-Biography:...
and Catherine de Mayenne (daughter of Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne).
Family and early life
Anne was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
into a cadet
Cadet branch
Cadet branch is a term in genealogy to describe the lineage of the descendants of the younger sons of a monarch or patriarch. In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets – titles, realms, fiefs, property and income – have...
French branch of the ducal House of Gonzaga
House of Gonzaga
The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708.-History:In 1433, Gianfrancesco I assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua, and in 1530 Federico II received the title of Duke of Mantua. In 1531, the family acquired the Duchy of Monferrato through marriage...
, which ruled Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
in northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Her father's family became Dukes of Nevers
Nevers
Nevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
and Rethel
Counts and dukes of Rethel
This is a list of counts and dukes of Rethel. The first counts of Rethel ruled independently, before the county passed first to the Counts of Nevers, then to the Counts of Flanders, and finally to the Dukes of Burgundy. In 1405 the County became part of the Peerage of France, and in 1581 it was...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
when her paternal grandfather, Luigi di Gonzaga
Louis Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers
Louis Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers was an Italian-French dignitary and diplomat in France. He was the third child of Frederick II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and Margaret Palaeologina.-Life account:...
, a younger son of Duke Federico II and Margerita Palaeologina
Margaret Palaeologina
Margaret Palaeologa was an Italian ruler; Marchioness of Montferrat in her own right. She also married into the Gonzaga family, rulers of Mantua, making her Duchess of Mantua by her marriage to Federico II, Duke of Mantua...
, married the heiress of the duchies of Nevers
Nevers
Nevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
and Rethel
Counts and dukes of Rethel
This is a list of counts and dukes of Rethel. The first counts of Rethel ruled independently, before the county passed first to the Counts of Nevers, then to the Counts of Flanders, and finally to the Dukes of Burgundy. In 1405 the County became part of the Peerage of France, and in 1581 it was...
in 1566. The Nevers branch later came to rule Mantua again after the War of the Mantuan Succession
War of the Mantuan Succession
The War of the Mantuan Succession was a peripheral part of the Thirty Years' War. Its casus belli was the extinction of the direct male line of the House of Gonzaga in December 1627. Brothers Francesco IV , Ferdinando and Vincenzo II , the last three dukes of Gonzaga, had all died leaving no...
, triggered in part by her Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian-born father's claim to the duchies of Mantua and Montferrat. With the promised support of the French crown, which naturally preferred a French peer to rule Mantua, Charles arrived there in January 1628 and proclaimed himself its heir and sovereign.
Although her name and patriline was Mantovani (Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
n), she had mostly French ancestry, and was born and lived mainly in France. She probably remained in France even after her father's reclamation of the ancestral city of Mantua, as the town was in ruin by 1630, marred by war, plague and a brutal sacking
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
by the Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
army. The city would never fully recover.
Her French mother, Catherine of Mayenne, belonged to the House of Guise
House of Guise
The House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.The Guises were Catholic, and Henry Guise wanted to end growing Calvinist influence...
, a junior branch of the royal House of Lorraine
House of Lorraine
The House of Lorraine, the main and now only remaining line known as Habsburg-Lorraine, is one of the most important and was one of the longest-reigning royal houses in the history of Europe...
. Anne, known as Anne Marie de Gonzague in French, and sometimes called "Anna Gonzaga of Cleves" or "of Nevers" as the granddaughter of Henriette of Cleves, Duchess of Nevers, was the youngest of the Duke and Duchess of Mantua's six children. She had three brothers, including Charles II Gonzaga
Charles II Gonzaga
Charles II Gonzaga was the son of Charles I, Duke of Mantua and Catherine of Mayenne, he was the Duke of Nevers and Rethel.In 1627 he married his cousin Maria Gonzaga, inheritor to the Duchy of Mantua and the Marquisate of Montferrat...
, and two sisters; the elder one, Marie Louise, would become Queen Ludwika Maria Gonzaga
Ludwika Maria Gonzaga
Marie Louise Gonzaga was queen consort to two Polish kings: Władysław IV Vasa, and John II Casimir Vasa...
of Poland. Her mother died in 1618, when Anne was only about two years old. Originally her family planned for her to become a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
, but she was relieved of this obligation with the death of her father in 1637, when she was 21 years old, and thereafter Anne carried out an adventurous life.
The Duke of Guise
She fell passionately in love with her maternal second cousinCousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
Henry II, Duke of Guise
Henry II, Duke of Guise
Henry II de Lorraine, 5th Duke of Guise was the second son of Charles, Duke of Guise and Henriette Catherine de Joyeuse.-Life:...
; later, she claimed to have contracted a secret marriage with him in 1639, which he denied. In 1640, Anne disguised herself as a man
Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...
to join him in Sedan
Sedan, France
Sedan is a commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.-Geography:The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around from the Belgian border.-History:...
, but he gave her up the following year, in 1641. She brought a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against him, demanding recognition as his wife.
Marriage and children
On April 24, 1645 in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Anne was married, without much enthusiasm, to Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern
Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern
Sir Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern KG was the sixth son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, of the House of Wittelsbach, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and Elizabeth Stuart....
, a nineteen-year-old, landless and penniless German nobleman who was ten years her junior. She became Countess Palatine of Simmern, and was known in German as Pfalzgräfin Anne and in English as Anne, Princess Palatine.
With Edward, she had three daughters:
- Louise Marie
- 23 July 1647 – 11 March 1679
- married Charles Theodore, Prince of SalmCharles Theodore, Prince of SalmCharles Theodore Otto, Prince of Salm , became Count of Salm-Salm in 1663.He was the son of Leopold Philip Charles, fuerst of Salm, and his wife, Maria Anna of Bronckhorst-Batenburg, a Dutch noblewoman from Gelderland. His paternal grandmother, Christina of Croÿ-Havré, was herself a granddaughter...
.
- Anne Henriette JulieAnne Henriette of BavariaAnne Henriette of Palatinate-Simmern, in France known as Anne Henriette of Bavaria was a Princess of Palatinate-Simmern by birth and by her marriage in 1663, the Duchess of Enghien and then the Princess of Condé...
- 13 March 1648 – 23 February 1723
- married Henri Jules, Prince of Condé.
- Bénédicte HenrietteBenedicta Henrietta of the PalatinateBenedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate was a German princess, the third and youngest daughter of Edward of the Palatinate and his French wife, the political hostess Anna Gonzaga...
- 14 March 1652 – 12 August 1730
- married John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-LüneburgJohn Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-LüneburgJohn Frederick was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, from 1665 until his death....
. - From her, such prominent figures as the doomed King Louis XVI of FranceLouis XVI of FranceLouis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
are descended.
According to the Italian historian Signor G. B. Intra, Anne “held one of the most brilliant salons
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
during the early years of the reign of Louis XIV.”
The marriage of her second daughter, Anne Henriette, to Henri Jules de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien
Duke of Enghien
The title of Duke of Enghien may, like many noble titles, refer to any of several historical figures.-Dukes of Enghien - first creation :...
, came to restore her position. Henri Jules was a cousin of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and one of the highest ranking males at court. He was also the son of le Grand Condé. Her sister, the Polish queen, Ludwika Maria Gonzaga
Ludwika Maria Gonzaga
Marie Louise Gonzaga was queen consort to two Polish kings: Władysław IV Vasa, and John II Casimir Vasa...
, had designated Anne Henriette as her heiress and was committed to supporting the candidature of the duke of Enghien for the Polish throne.
Princess Anne managed to marry her youngest daughter, Bénédicte (or Benedicta, or Benedictine), to the Duke of Brunswick and Hanover
John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
John Frederick was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, from 1665 until his death....
. The Princess Palatine was a confidante
Confidante
A confidante is a type of sofa, originally characterized by a triangular seat at each end, so that people could sit at either end of the sofa and be close to the person sitting in the middle...
to Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
, who was described as a "coxcomb". She arranged Monsieur's second marriage to her husband's nineteen-year-old niece, Liselotte
Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine was a German princess and the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Her vast correspondence provides a detailed account of the personalities and activities at the court of her brother-in-law, Louis XIV...
, daughter of Charles Louis, Elector Palatine of the Rhine
Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles Louis, , Elector Palatine KG was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England ....
.
Later life and religion
Anne's mother was a member of the "ultra-Catholic" Guise familyHouse of Guise
The House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.The Guises were Catholic, and Henry Guise wanted to end growing Calvinist influence...
, and Anne appears to have been deeply devoted to the religion, especially in her later years. Besides being illegitimately descended from a pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, she was the granddaughter of Charles de Guise
Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne
Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne , or Charles de Guise, was a French nobleman of the house of Guise and a military leader of the Catholic League, which he headed during the French Wars of Religion, following the assassination of his brothers at Blois in 1588...
, head of the Catholic League of France
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...
, which his assassinated brother had formed. Anne managed to convert her Calvinist husband to Catholicism despite his mother, Elizabeth Stuart
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
's threats to disown any of her children who became Catholic. (Elizabeth forgave her son surprisingly quickly.)
In 1663, Edward died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
aged 37.
Forty years after Edward's death, his younger sister Sophia of the Palatinate
Sophia of Hanover
Sophia of the Palatinate was an heiress to the crowns of England and Ireland and later the crown of Great Britain. She was declared heiress presumptive by the Act of Settlement 1701...
, commonly referred to as Sophia of Hanover
Sophia of Hanover
Sophia of the Palatinate was an heiress to the crowns of England and Ireland and later the crown of Great Britain. She was declared heiress presumptive by the Act of Settlement 1701...
after her marriage to the Protestant Duke Ernest of Hanover, was declared the heiress presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to their first cousin once removed, Queen Anne of England and Ireland
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
(later Queen of Great Britain and Ireland). Sophia was never declared heiress presumptive to Scotland. She would have acceded to Anne's crown, had she not died a few weeks before Anne did. Upon Sophia's death, her son George Louis, Elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
, became heir presumptive. Upon Queen Anne's death, he became George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
, the first of the Hanoverian
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
line of kings. "If Sophia's elder brother Edward had not converted to Catholicism," writes George L. Williams, "it is possible that the English throne would have been held by his descendants."
In 1671, Anne converted and changed completely her manner of living. She died devoted to the Church in 1684. Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a masterly French stylist....
delivered her famous funeral oration.