Anne Geneviève de Lévis
Encyclopedia
Anne Geneviève de Lévis (February 1673 – 20 March 1727) was a French noblewoman. She was Duchess of Rohan-Rohan and Princess of Soubise
Princess of Soubise
- Princess of Soubise :...

 by marriage. Anne Geneviève was the only child of Madame de Ventadour
Madame de Ventadour
Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour was the governess of King Louis XV of France, great-grandson of King Louis XIV. She is credited with saving Louis XV from the ministrations of the royal doctors when he was ill as a child...

, governess
Governess of the Children of France
In France, the Governess of the Children of France , was charged with the education of the children and grand children of the monarch. The holder of the office was taken from the highest ranking nobility of France...

 of the young Louis XV. She married twice and had children with her second husband. She died in Paris aged fifty four.

Biography

Anne Geneviève was the only child of Louis Charles de Lévis
Louis Charles de Lévis
Louis Charles de Lévis was a French nobleman and Duke of Ventadour. His wife was the governess of the infant Louis XV and his only child Anne Geneviève made two prestigious marriages into contemporary nobility.-Biography:...

 and his wife Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt
Madame de Ventadour
Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour was the governess of King Louis XV of France, great-grandson of King Louis XIV. She is credited with saving Louis XV from the ministrations of the royal doctors when he was ill as a child...

. Her parents had married in 1671 in Paris. Her father was the Duke of Ventadour
Duke of Ventadour
Duke of Ventadour was a noble title in the peerage of France granted to Gilbert de Lévis de Ventadour by Henry IV of France in 1589. It is named after the Château de Ventadour.-List of Dukes of Ventadour, 1589—1717:...

 and governor of the Limousin
Limousin (province)
Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France around the city of Limoges. Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter...

 (1647–1717). The Duke was generally considered "horrific" — very ugly, physically deformed, and sexually debauched — 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
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné was a French aristocrat, remembered for her letter-writing. Most of her letters, celebrated for their wit and vividness, were addressed to her daughter.-Life:...

 described an incident that took place at St. Germain
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the département of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the Musée d'Archéologie Nationale ....

 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."


While unmarried, she was styled as Mademoiselle de Ventadour.

As she had no siblings, her father made her his heiress. He died in 1717 and she succeeded to his lands which passed to the House of Rohan. The Dukedom of Ventadour however was extinct.

In 1689, according to the memoirs of the marquis de Dangeau
Philippe de Dangeau
Philippe de Courcillon, Marquis de Dangeau was a French officer and author.Born in Dangeau, he is most remembered for keeping a diary from 1684 till the year of his death...

, Anne Geneviève was a proposed bride for Jacques Henri de Durfort (1670-1697), the son of Jacques Henri de Durfort (1625-1704)
Jacques Henri de Durfort de Duras
Jacques Henri de Durfort, Duke of Duras was marshal of France.-Life:Jacques Henri was the oldest son of Guy Aldonce de Durfort , marquis of Duras, count of Rozan and of Lorges, maréchal de camp and of Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne, sister of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, better known as...

 and Marguerite Félice de Lévis - the latter was Anne Geneviève's own paternal aunt making the proposed groom her first cousin. The marriage never materialised as Anne Geneviève's mother as well as grandmother Louise de Prie opposed the union.

She married twice; firstly to Louis Charles de La Tour d'Auvergne, styled the prince de Turenne and son and heir of Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne
Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne
Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French nobleman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne, one of the most important families in France at the time...

 and one of the famous Mazarinettes
Mazarinettes
The Mazarinettes were the seven nieces of Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the Chief Minister of France during the youth of King Louis XIV. He brought them, together with three of his nephews, from Italy to France in the years 1647 and 1653. Afterwards, he arranged advantageous marriages for them to...

, Marie Anne Mancini
Marie Anne Mancini
Marie Anne Mancini, duchesse de Bouillon , was the youngest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes because their uncle was the king's chief minister, Cardinal...

. The couple married in Paris on 16 February 1691. As the House of La Tour d'Auvergne ranked as Foreign prince
Foreign Prince
Foreign Prince is the English translation of prince étranger, a high, though somewhat ambiguous, rank at the French royal court of the ancien régime.-Terminology:...

s at Versailles, this entitled them to the style of Highness. As such, Anne Geneviève took on this style.

As part of her dowry, she was given the Lordship of Roberval which went to the House of La Tour d'Auvergne.

The couple had no children as Louis was called to take part in the Battle of Steenkerque
Battle of Steenkerque
The Battle of Steenkerque was fought on August 3, 1692, as a part of the Nine Years' War. It resulted in the victory of the French under Marshal François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg against a joint English-Scottish-Dutch-German army under Prince William of Orange...

 in 1692 and died having been injured. The young Princess of Turenne
Princess of Turenne
The title Princess of Turenne was used by the daughter in law's of the Dukes of Bouillon as wives of the Princes of Turenne, heirs to Bouillon and Sedan.- House of La Tour d'Auvergne, 1691-1794 :...

 was a widow at the age of nineteen.

Secondly, she married into the House of Rohan. She married again on 15 February 1694 to Hercule Mériadec de Rohan, son of François de Rohan, Prince of Soubise and Anne Julie de Rohan, one time mistress of Louis XIV. As the Princes of the House of Rohan also held the rank of Foreign princes, Anne Geneviève was able to keep her style of Her Highness.

Her second marriage produced five children, three of which would have progeny. She lost her only son Jules to smallpox in 1724 as well as her daughter in law Anne Julie de Melun
Anne Julie de Melun
Anne Julie de Melun was a French noblewoman and mother of Charles de Rohan, the famous general of Louis XV as well as Madame de Marsan. She died of smallpox in her twenties.-Biography:...

.

Her grandson, Charles, Prince of Soubise was born in 1710 and after the death of his parents, was raised by his grand father Hercule Mériadec. Charles was later a great friend of Louis XV and the great grand father of the murdered Duke of Enghien through his eldest daughter Charlotte. Her second daughter Charlotte Armande was the Abbess of Jouarre. Charlotte Armande succeeded her aunt Anne Marguerite de Rohan as abbess in 1721.

She died in Paris on the Rue de Paradis. over the night of Friday 20/21 March 1727 She was buried on the 23 at the Église de La Merci in the capital. Her husband married again in 1732 to Marie Sophie de Courcillon
Marie Sophie de Courcillon
Marie Sophie de Courcillon was a French noblewoman and Duchess of Rohan-Rohan as well as Princess of Soubise by marriage. She was the grand daughter of Philippe de Courcillon, better known as the marquis de Dangeau. She was praised for being a cultured woman for the age and held a fashionable...

. Hercule Mériadec died in 1749.

Issue

  • Louise Françoise de Rohan (4 January 1695 – 27 July 1755) married Guy Jules Paul de La Porte Mazarin, grandson of Armand Charles de La Porte de La Meilleraye and Hortense Mancini
    Hortense Mancini
    Hortense Mancini, duchesse Mazarin , was the favourite niece of Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister of France, and a mistress of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland...

    ; had issue and were grand parents of Louise d'Aumont, as such the present Prince of Monaco
    Albert II, Prince of Monaco
    Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco is the head of the House of Grimaldi and the ruler of the Principality of Monaco. He is the son of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly...

     is a descendant of Anne Geneviève;
  • Charlotte Armande de Rohan, Abbess of Jouarre (19 January 1696 – 2 March 1733) never married;
  • Jules François Louis de Rohan, Prince of Soubise (16 January 1697 – 6 May 1724) married Anne Julie de Melun
    Anne Julie de Melun
    Anne Julie de Melun was a French noblewoman and mother of Charles de Rohan, the famous general of Louis XV as well as Madame de Marsan. She died of smallpox in her twenties.-Biography:...

    , daughter of Louis de Melun and Élisabeth Thérèse de Lorraine
    Élisabeth Thérèse de Lorraine
    Élisabeth de Lorraine-L'islebonne was a French noblewoman and the Princess of Epinoy by marriage. She is often styled as the princesse de Lillebonne...

    , and had issue; died of Smallpox
    Smallpox
    Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

    ;
  • Marie Isabelle Gabrielle Angélique de Rohan
    Marie Isabelle de Rohan
    Marie Isabelle de Rohan was a French noblewoman and grand daughter of Madame de Ventadour. Marie Isabelle was the governess of the children of Louis XV and his consort Marie Leszczyńska.-Biography:Born in Paris the fourth child of five...

    (17 January 1699 – 15 January 1754) married Marie Joseph d'Hostun de La Baume-Tallard, Duke of Hostun, Duke of Tallard (son of Camille d'Hostun
    Camille d'Hostun, duc de Tallard
    Camille d'Hostun de la Baume, duc de Tallard was a French noble, diplomat and military commander, who became Marshal of France.-Military career:...

    ), no issue; was the Governess of the Children of France
    Governess of the Children of France
    In France, the Governess of the Children of France , was charged with the education of the children and grand children of the monarch. The holder of the office was taken from the highest ranking nobility of France...

    ;
  • Louise Gabrielle Julie de Rohan (11 August 1704 – Aft 12 March 1741) married Hercule Mériadec de Rohan, Prince of Guéméné, and had issue including the Prince of Guéméné.

Ancestry



Titles and styles

  • February 1673 – 16 February 1691 Mademoiselle de Ventadour
  • 16 February 1691 – 4 August 1692 Her Highness the Princess of Turenne
  • 4 August 1692 – 15 February 1694 Her Highness the Dowager Princess of Turenne
  • 15 February 1694 – 18 December 1714 Her Highness the Princess of Maubuisson
  • 18 December 1714 – 20 March 1727 Her Highness the Duchess of Rohan-Rohan, Princess of Soubise
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