Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Duke of Mortemart (1600 – 26 December 1675) was a French nobleman and father of the Marquise de Montespan

Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan

Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise of Montespan , better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children....

. He was a friend of the French King Louis XIII

Louis XIII of France

Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...

.

Through Madame de Montespan, he is an ancestor of Philippe Égalité

Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror...

, Louis-Philippe I, and Prince Henri, Count of Paris, the present Orléanist

Orléanist

The Orléanists were a French right-wing/center-right party which arose out of the French Revolution. It governed France 1830-1848 in the "July Monarchy" of king Louis Philippe. It is generally seen as a transitional period dominated by the bourgeoisie and the conservative Orleanist doctrine in...

 pretender to the French throne. He is also an ancestor of Juan Carlos I of Spain

Juan Carlos I of Spain

Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...

, Albert II, King of the Belgians

Albert II of Belgium

Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...

, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg OIH is the head of state of Luxembourg. He is the eldest son of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. His maternal grandparents were King Leopold III of Belgium and Astrid of Sweden...

 and Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples

Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples

Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, formerly Crown Prince of Italy is the only son of the Umberto II, the last King of Italy. He is commonly known in Italy as Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia...

, the pretender to the Italian throne.

Biography

Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart, was the son of Gaspard de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquis of Mortemart, and of Louise de Maure, suo jure

Suo jure

Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....

Countess of Maure. His younger brother, Louis de Rochechouart de Mortemart, died without children in 1669.

He spent a great part of his childhood with the future king of France Louis XIII

Louis XIII of France

Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...

, until the assassination of the latter's father, Henry IV

Henry IV of France

Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

, in 1610. In 1630, he was named the First Gentleman of the Chamber to Louis XIII, which entitled him to a pension of 6000 livres. He also maintained the confidence of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu and was an intimate of the Spanish-born queen, Anne of Austria

Anne of Austria

Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...

.

He and his some of his descendants cultivated what became known as the esprit Mortemart, a particular type of wit which allowed impossible things to be said.

He was popular at the royal court, although his brother Louis and his cousin François de Rochechouart had been banished for their involvement in the Day of the Dupes

Day of the Dupes

Day of the Dupes is the name given to the day in November of 1630 on which the enemies of Cardinal Richelieu mistakenly believed that they had succeeded in persuading Louis XIII, King of France, to dismiss Richelieu from power...

 in November 1630, when the enemies of Cardinal Richelieu mistakenly believed that they had succeeded in persuading Louis XIII to dismiss Richelieu from power.

In 1632, he married Diane de Grandseigne (1615 – 11 February 1666), the daughter of Jean de Grandseigne, Marquis de Marsillac, and of Catherine de La Béraudière, dame de Villenon.

A year after his marriage, he was created a Knight of the Orders of the King.

During his infancy, till he succeeded his father, he was known as the Marquis de Vivonne

Vivonne

Vivonne is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart, brother of Madame de Montespan was the duc de Vivonne....

, a subsidiary title which was raised to a duchy

Duchy

A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...

 in 1668.

When his father died in 1643, he took the title of Marquis de Mortemart.

On 23 December 1663, 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...

 raised the Marquisate of Mortemart, to a duchy

Duchy

A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...

. The same day, Anne de Noailles

Anne de Noailles

Anna, Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles , was a Romanian-French writer.-Biography:Born Princess Anna Elisabeth Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan in Paris, she was a descendant of the Bibescu and Craioveşti families of Romanian boyars...

 became Duke of Noailles; the two families were united in 1723 when Gabriel's grandson, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse, the son of Madame de Montespan, married a granddaughter of Anne, Marie Victoire de Noailles

Marie Victoire de Noailles

Marie Victoire Sophie de Noailles, Countess of Toulouse , was the daughter of Anne Jules de Noailles, the 2nd Duke of Noailles, and his wife, Marie-Françoise de Bournonville...

.
In 1669, he was named Governor of Paris.

Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart died in Paris on 26 December 1675.

Titles

Peer of France, Prince of Tonnay-Charente, Viscount of Rochechouart (the oldest title in France, 980), Marquis of Montpipeau (granted by Louis XIII), Count of Limoges (1661), Duke of Vivonne (1668). Lordships and parishes of Montrol, Nouic, Blond, Vaulry, Beuilaufa, Le Fraisse, Javerdat, Saint-Victurnien (Barony), Oradour-sur-Glane (Châtellenie) along with the Baronies of Châtellenies of Lussac, Verrières and Dienné.

Arms

Parti de trois et coupé de un, qui font huit quartiers: 1, de gueules au croissant de vair (Maure); 2, d'azur à trois fleurs de lys d;or au bâton de gueules (Bourbon); 3, de gueules a neuf mâcles d'or (Rohan); 4, burelé d'argent et d'azur à trois chevrons de gueules (La Rochefoucauld); 5, d'argent à la guivre d'azure engoulant un enfant au naturel (Milan); 6, de gueules aux chaînes posées en croix, sautoir et orle d'or (Navarre); 7, de gueules au pal de vair (des Cars); 8, d'hermine plain (Bretagne); sur le tout, fascé-ondé-enté d'argent et de gueules (Rochechouart).

Issue

Name	| Portrait	Lifespan	Notes
Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Duke of Mortemart was a French nobleman and member of the ancient House of Rochechouart. His father Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart was a childhood friend of Louis XIII... Duke of Mortemart		25 August 1636 - 15 December 1688	Born in Paris, he died at Chaillot; married and had 6 children; currant descendants include the Dukes of Noailles;
Gabrielle de Rochechouart de Mortemart Gabrielle de Rochechouart de Mortemart Gabrielle de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marchioness of Thianges was a French noblewoman. A great beauty and wit, she was the older sister of Françoise de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Madame de Montespan.-Biography:... marquise de Thianges		1634- 12 September 1693	Married Claude Leonor Damas, Marquis of Thianges and had issue; her daughter Diane Gabrielle Damas de Thianges married Philippe Jules Mancini and had issue; currant descendants include the 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...  through Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois, also a descendant of the duchesse de Polignac;
Françoise de Rochechouart de Mortemart Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise of Montespan , better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children.... Athénaïs de Montespan Madame de Montespan Marquise de Montepsan		5 October 1641 – 27 May 1707	Born at the Château of Lussac-les-Châteaux, she married Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin , marquis of Montespan, was a French nobleman. He is most notable as the husband of Louis XIV's mistress Madame de Montespan.-Life:...  and had issue; was King 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... 's maîtresse-en-titre and had issue including the future duc du Maine Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Legitimé de France was the eldest legitimised son of the Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan... , Madame la Duchesse Louise-Françoise de Bourbon Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the eldest surviving legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan. She was said to have been named after her godmother, Louise de La Vallière, the woman that her mother had replaced as the king's... , Duchess of Orléans Françoise-Marie de Bourbon Françoise Marie de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the youngest legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. Originally known as the second Mademoiselle de Blois, that style eventually gave way to the name Françoise Marie de...  and Count of Toulouse Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Comte de Toulouse Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse , duc de Penthièvre , d'Arc, de Châteauvillain and de Rambouillet , , was the son of Louis XIV and of his mistress Madame de Montespan... ;
Marie Christine de Rochechouart de Mortemart		?	Little is known of her;
Marie Madeleine Gabrielle Adélaïde de Rochechouart de Mortemart Abbess of Fontevraud		1645 - 15 August 1704	Never married, took religious life and was Abbess of Fontevraud Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud Abbey or Fontevrault Abbey is a religious building hosting a cultural centre since 1975, the Centre Culturel de l'Ouest, in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in Anjou, France. It was founded by the itinerant reforming preacher Robert of Arbrissel, who had just created a... ; known as the Reine des abbesses;

Titles and styles

• 1600 – 25 July 1643 the Marquis of Vivonne
• 25 July 1643 – 23 December 1663 the Marquis of Rochechouart
• 23 December 1663 – 26 December 1675 the Duke of Rochechouart