La Tour d'Auvergne
Encyclopedia
La Tour d'Auvergne was a French noble family. Its senior branch, extinct in 1501, held the titles of count of Auvergne and count of Boulogne
for about half a century. Its junior branch, extinct in 1802, held the title of duke of Bouillon
since 1594 and the titles of duke of Albret
and duke of Château-Thierry since 1651. The name was also adopted by the famous soldier Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne
, who was descended from an illegitimate branch of the family.
Although various La Tours are mentioned in the documents from the 11th and 12th century, the family history remains unclear until the 13th century, when they owned the lordship of la Tour in the county of Auvergne
, hence the name.
The medieval family was related through marriages to other notable dynasties of the French South, including Ventadour, La Rochefoucauld
, and Levis-Mirepoix.
The la Tours d'Auvergne maintained close ties with the Avignon
popes, and many of them became bishops and cardinals, particularly after 1352, when Guy de la Tour married Marthe Rogier of Beaufort, Popes Gregory XI's niece and Clement VI's grand niece. Their son Bertrand IV of la Tour (1375–1423) married a rich heiress, Marie I, Countess of Auvergne
, in 1389, with their son Bertrand V de la Tour succeeding to the counties of Auvergne
and of Boulogne
in 1437.
Bertrand V's grandson Jean III of la Tour d'Auvergne (1467–1501) was the last medieval count of Auvergne, Boulogne
, and Lauraguais. By his marriage to Jeanne of Bourbon-Vendôme, he left two daughters:
John's elder sister, Jeanne de la Tour d'Auvergne, married Aymar de Poitiers. They were the grandparents of Diane de Poitiers
, mistress of Henry II, King of France.
The cadet line
of this family, extinct in 1497, also owned the lordship of Montgascon. Anne of la Tour d'Auvergne
, the last of her race and heiress to this lordship, married three times:
and several other seigneuries, was the author of the junior line of the family.
He died in 1329 and was buried in Clermont-Ferrand
. His great grandson William de la Tour became bishop of Rodez and catholic Patriarch of Antioch
. The latter's nephew, Agne IV of Oliergues, married in 1444 his cousin, viscountess Anne of Beaufort, succeeding to the viscounty of Turenne upon her death.
Among his children, the younger, Antony Raymond, lord of Murat, became the ancestor of the obscure line of la Tour-Apchier, which rose to prominence shortly before its extinction in the 19th century.
Agne IV's fifth and eldest surviving son, Anthony de la Tour, succeeded him as viscount of Turenne and had two children. The youngest, Gilles de la Tour, lord of Limeuil, had issue, including Isabeau of Limeuil, known as the mistress of Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé
and mother of his natural children.
Francis II de la Tour d'Auvergne, viscount of Turenne (1497–1532) was the eldest son of Anthony de la Tour and husband of Anne de la Tour de Montgascon (see above). Their grandson, Henry de la Tour d'Auvergne (1555–1623), is remembered as a faithful adherent of Henri IV's Huguenot
cause and Marshal of France
. His first wife was Charlotte de la Marck
, heiress to the principality of Sedan and to the duchy of Bouillon. Upon her death, Henry inherited her titles and dominions and remarried Elisabeth of Orange-Nassau, William the Silent
's daughter.
Hoping to succeed the Orange rulers of the Netherlands
, their son and heir Frederic Maurice of the Tour d'Auvergne
(1605–1652) remained in the Dutch service until his marriage to Eleonore-Catherine of Berghes, which was effected against his family's wishes in 1634 and led to his conversion to Catholicism.
Compromised in the Cinq-Mars conspiracy, he was pardoned on condition that he would exchange his principalities of Sedan
, Jametz
, and Raucourt
- highly important strategically - for the titles of duke of Albret
and duke of Château-Thierry in the French peerage. This exchange was formalized in 1651. Although Frederic Maurice
was promised to take rank from the original creation of the duchy of Château-Thierry for Robert III of the Marck
in 1527, this could never be effected due to vocal opposition of other dukes-peers.
Frederic Maurice's
younger brother was Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (1611–1675), undoubtedly the most illustrious member of this family and one of the most successful French generals ever. Hailed by Napoleon as the greatest military leader in history, Turenne was buried at Saint-Denis
among the kings. Both he and his brother enjoyed the rank and precedence of foreign prince in the French peerage.
son, Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne
(1641–1721), was the first member of his family to become a truly sovereign duke of Bouillon. This happened in 1678 when the Duchy of Bouillon was finally reconquered from the Spaniards by the Marshal de Créquy
. Apart from his ducal titles, Godefroy-Maurice also held the title of Count of Évreux
. He became the Grand Chamberlain of France
in 1658 and governor of Auvergne in 1662. All these titles would remain in the La Tour d'Auvergne family for more than a century.
The family were created Foreign Prince
s in France in 1651, this entitled them to the style of [Most Serene] Highness att the French court in which they lived.
Godefroy-Maurice's younger brother, Count Frederic Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne (1642–1707), was a prominent general in the service of the Dutch. He married Henrietta von Hohenzollern (1648–1698), heiress to the marquessate of Bergen-op-Zoom, a title which passed to their children. After their line went extinct in 1732, Bergen devolved upon Count Palatine
Johann Christian von Sulzbach
(1700–1733), who had married an heiress, Marie Henriette Leopoldine de La Tour d'Auvergne, in 1722.
Godefroy-Maurice's wife, Marie Anne Mancini
(1649–1714), best remembered for her literary pursuits and for her patronage of La Fontaine, was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. Their eldest son Louis married the heiress to the Duchy of Ventadour but predeceased his parents. The Duchy of Bouillon and other titles passed to their second son, Emmanuel Théodose (1668–1730), whose fourth wife was Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine
. Another son, Frédéric-Jules, Prince d'Auvergne (1672–1733), married an Irish adventuress.
Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne
(1706–1771) was Emmanuel-Théodose's son and the 5th Duke of Bouillon. His wife was his brother's widow, Maria Karolina Sobieska
, the granddaughter of King John Sobieski of Poland. Their only daughter, Marie Louise Henriette Jeanne de La Tour, was a famous adventuress and was guillotined in 1793. Although officially married to Jules de Rohan, Duke of Montbazon, she had an illegitimate son who died in infancy by her cousin, Charles Edward Stuart
, Jacobite
claimant to the thrones of England
and cotland].
Her brother, Godefroy Charles Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne (1728–1792), was the 6th Duke of Bouillon. He married Louise de Lorraine
, known prior to marriage as Mademoiselle de Marsan. He served with distinction in the Seven Years' War
and was elected to the Royal Academy of Sculpture and Painting in 1777. In just three months, he squandered almost a million livres on his mistress, an opera singer, thus bringing his family to the verge of ruin. Although the 6th duke embraced the French Revolution
enthusiastically, the Duchy of Bouillon was annexed by the Republic within three years after his death. His only son, Jacques Léopold Charles Godefroy, incapacitated by a road accident, died in 1802, leaving no issue of his marriage to a Princess of Hesse-Rheinfels
. As a consequence, the main line of the La Tour d'Auvergne family went extinct.
sometime in the 13th century. In 1787, the 6th Duke recognized this legendary connection and adopted Philip Dauvergne, calling on him to succeed his own son in the case the latter were to die without male issue.
In 1809 Napoleon endorsed an arrangement, whereby the La Tour estates and liabilities pertaining to the 1651 exchange devolved upon the French state. The 6th Duke's Château de Navarre
and the Hôtel d'Évreux
in Paris
were bequeathed to the Empress Josephine and her relatives. The Hôtel d'Évreux was subsequently renamed the Élysée Palace
and currently serves as the official residence of the President of France. As for the Duchy of Bouillon, its citizens recognized Philip Dauvergne as their legitimate ruler and duke.
The Congress of Vienna
, however, awarded the sovereignty of the duchy to the King of the Netherlands
, whereas the private property holdings of the former dukes were to be redistributed by special arbitration either to Philip Dauvergne or to an Austrian claimant, Charles-Alain-Gabriel de Rohan-Guéméné, who was the last duke's closest relative on his paternal side. The issue was eventually settled in Rohan's favor, and Philip Dauvergne committed suicide two months later.
In 1817, Rohan was sued by other claimants to the La Tour d'Auvergne estate, including the duc de Bourbon, the duc de La Tremoille, the princesse de Bourbon-Condé and the princesse de Poix. All were related to the 7th duke of Bouillon on his maternal side. Seven years later, their claims were upheld by a court in Liège, and Rohan had to step down as duke.
In the 1820s, the La Tour name and inheritance were disputed between the families of La Tour d'Auvergne d'Apchier, which represented the last known surviving line of the La Tour d'Auvergne before its eventual extinction in 1896, and La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais, whose historical ties to the original La Tour lines were uncertain. From the latter family, Prince Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais (1876–1914) married in 1916 Elisabeth Berthier de Wagram (1885–1960), daughter of the third Prince de Wagram
and a member of the Rothschild dynasty
.
Count of Boulogne
The county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day French département of the Pas-de-Calais , in parts of which there is still a Dutch-speaking minority....
for about half a century. Its junior branch, extinct in 1802, held the title of duke of Bouillon
Duke of Bouillon
The Duke of Bouillon is a title of nobility. Until the nineteenth century, the Duke of Bouillon was the ruler of the semi-sovereign Duchy of Bouillon , a small state located between Luxembourg, Champagne, and the Three Bishoprics and centered on Bouillon.- History of the Duchy of Bouillon :The...
since 1594 and the titles of duke of Albret
Duke of Albret
Duke of Albret was a title in the French nobility.It was created in 1550 for the King of Navarre, Henry II. He died in 1555 and was succeeded by his daughter, Queen Joan III. The duchy was made into a peerage for her in 1556...
and duke of Château-Thierry since 1651. The name was also adopted by the famous soldier Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne
Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne
Théophile Malo Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne was a French officer named by Napoleon "first grenadier of France". He was also a celtomaniac antiquarian who introduced the words "dolmen" and "menhir" into general archaeological usage.- Career :He was born at Carhaix in Brittany, the son of an...
, who was descended from an illegitimate branch of the family.
Senior line: counts of Auvergne and Boulogne
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
, hence the name.
The medieval family was related through marriages to other notable dynasties of the French South, including Ventadour, La Rochefoucauld
La Rochefoucauld
La Rochefoucauld can refer to:People:* Antoine de La Rochefoucauld* Count Antoine de La Rochefoucauld , 19th century Rosicrucian* François de La Rochefoucauld , French author...
, and Levis-Mirepoix.
The la Tours d'Auvergne maintained close ties with the Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
popes, and many of them became bishops and cardinals, particularly after 1352, when Guy de la Tour married Marthe Rogier of Beaufort, Popes Gregory XI's niece and Clement VI's grand niece. Their son Bertrand IV of la Tour (1375–1423) married a rich heiress, Marie I, Countess of Auvergne
Marie I, Countess of Auvergne
Marie I of Auvergne was suo jure Countess of Auvergne and Countess of Boulogne from 1424 to her death in 1437, having inherited the titles from her cousin Joan II, Countess of Auvergne...
, in 1389, with their son Bertrand V de la Tour succeeding to the counties of Auvergne
Rulers of Auvergne
-History:In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine...
and of Boulogne
Count of Boulogne
The county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day French département of the Pas-de-Calais , in parts of which there is still a Dutch-speaking minority....
in 1437.
Bertrand V's grandson Jean III of la Tour d'Auvergne (1467–1501) was the last medieval count of Auvergne, Boulogne
Count of Boulogne
The county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day French département of the Pas-de-Calais , in parts of which there is still a Dutch-speaking minority....
, and Lauraguais. By his marriage to Jeanne of Bourbon-Vendôme, he left two daughters:
- The eldest daughter, Anne of la Tour d'Auvergne, married John StuartJohn Stewart, 2nd Duke of AlbanyJohn Stewart, Duke of Albany was Regent of the Kingdom of Scotland, Duke of Albany in peerage of Scotland and Count of Auvergne and Lauraguais in France.-Early life:...
, duke of AlbanyDuke of AlbanyDuke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish, and later the British, royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover....
. they had a son John Stewart, she was married secondly to Louis de Seyssel Count de la Chambre, they had 5 sons, the fourth, Phillippe de la Chambre became Cardinal de Boulogne - The youngest, Madeleine of la Tour d'AuvergneMadeleine de la Tour d'AuvergneMadeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne was a younger daughter of Jean III de La Tour , Count of Auvergne and Lauraguais, and Jeanne de Bourbon-Vendôme . She was a penultimate representative of the senior branch of the house de La Tour d'Auvergne...
, married Lorenzino de Medici and gave birth to Catherine de' MediciCatherine de' MediciCatherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
, who inherited both Auvergne and BoulogneCount of BoulogneThe county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day French département of the Pas-de-Calais , in parts of which there is still a Dutch-speaking minority....
. And became Queen of France.
John's elder sister, Jeanne de la Tour d'Auvergne, married Aymar de Poitiers. They were the grandparents of Diane de Poitiers
Diane de Poitiers
Diane de Poitiers was a French noblewoman and a prominent courtier at the courts of kings Francis I and his son, Henry II of France. She became notorious as the latter's favourite mistress...
, mistress of Henry II, King of France.
The cadet line
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...
of this family, extinct in 1497, also owned the lordship of Montgascon. Anne of la Tour d'Auvergne
Anne de la Tour d'Auvergne
Anne de la Tour d'Auvergne is the name of:* Anne de la Tour d'Auvergne , daughter of Bertrand VI of Auvergne, wife of the 1st Duke of Albany and then comte de La Chambre...
, the last of her race and heiress to this lordship, married three times:
- firstly, in 1506, to Charles of Bourbon, count of Roussillon.
- secondly, in 1510, to John of Montmorency, lord of ChantillyChantilly, OiseChantilly is a small city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune in the department of Oise.It is in the metropolitan area of Paris 38.4 km...
. - thirdly, in 1518, to her distant cousin, Francis II of la Tour, viscount of Turenne. For her issue by the last marriage, see below.
Junior line: viscounts of Turenne and princes of Sedan
Bertrand de La Tour d'Auvergne, owner of OllierguesOlliergues
Olliergues is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
and several other seigneuries, was the author of the junior line of the family.
He died in 1329 and was buried in Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
. His great grandson William de la Tour became bishop of Rodez and catholic Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...
. The latter's nephew, Agne IV of Oliergues, married in 1444 his cousin, viscountess Anne of Beaufort, succeeding to the viscounty of Turenne upon her death.
Among his children, the younger, Antony Raymond, lord of Murat, became the ancestor of the obscure line of la Tour-Apchier, which rose to prominence shortly before its extinction in the 19th century.
Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé
Louis de Bourbon was a prominent Huguenot leader and general, the founder of the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon.-Life:...
and mother of his natural children.
Francis II de la Tour d'Auvergne, viscount of Turenne (1497–1532) was the eldest son of Anthony de la Tour and husband of Anne de la Tour de Montgascon (see above). Their grandson, Henry de la Tour d'Auvergne (1555–1623), is remembered as a faithful adherent of Henri IV's Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
cause and Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
. His first wife was Charlotte de la Marck
Charlotte de La Marck
Charlotte de La Marck was a member of the House of La Marck and Duchess of Bouillon in her own right. She married into the House of La Tour d'Auvergne but died without issue.-Biography:...
, heiress to the principality of Sedan and to the duchy of Bouillon. Upon her death, Henry inherited her titles and dominions and remarried Elisabeth of Orange-Nassau, William the Silent
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
's daughter.
Hoping to succeed the Orange rulers of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, their son and heir Frederic Maurice of the Tour d'Auvergne
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon was prince of the independent principality of Sedan, and general in the French royal army....
(1605–1652) remained in the Dutch service until his marriage to Eleonore-Catherine of Berghes, which was effected against his family's wishes in 1634 and led to his conversion to Catholicism.
Compromised in the Cinq-Mars conspiracy, he was pardoned on condition that he would exchange his principalities of 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:...
, Jametz
Jametz
Jametz is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
, and Raucourt
Raucourt-et-Flaba
Raucourt-et-Flaba is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.-Population:-References:*...
- highly important strategically - for the titles of duke of Albret
Duke of Albret
Duke of Albret was a title in the French nobility.It was created in 1550 for the King of Navarre, Henry II. He died in 1555 and was succeeded by his daughter, Queen Joan III. The duchy was made into a peerage for her in 1556...
and duke of Château-Thierry in the French peerage. This exchange was formalized in 1651. Although Frederic Maurice
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon was prince of the independent principality of Sedan, and general in the French royal army....
was promised to take rank from the original creation of the duchy of Château-Thierry for Robert III of the Marck
Robert Fleuranges III de la Marck
Robert III de La Marck , Seigneur of Fleuranges, Marshal of France and historian, was the son of Robert II de La Marck; Duke of Bouillon, Seigneur of Sedan and Fleuranges, whose uncle was the celebrated William de La Marck, The Wild Boar of the Ardennes...
in 1527, this could never be effected due to vocal opposition of other dukes-peers.
Frederic Maurice's
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon was prince of the independent principality of Sedan, and general in the French royal army....
younger brother was Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (1611–1675), undoubtedly the most illustrious member of this family and one of the most successful French generals ever. Hailed by Napoleon as the greatest military leader in history, Turenne was buried at Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
among the kings. Both he and his brother enjoyed the rank and precedence of foreign prince in the French peerage.
Later history: Dukes of Bouillon and Albret
Frederic-Maurice'sFrédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon was prince of the independent principality of Sedan, and general in the French royal army....
son, 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...
(1641–1721), was the first member of his family to become a truly sovereign duke of Bouillon. This happened in 1678 when the Duchy of Bouillon was finally reconquered from the Spaniards by the Marshal de Créquy
François de Créquy
François, chevalier de Créquy and marquis de Marines was marshal of France.-Life:He was born in the military Créquy family dating back to the 10th century....
. Apart from his ducal titles, Godefroy-Maurice also held the title of Count of Évreux
Count of Évreux
The Count of Évreux was a French noble title and was named after the town of Évreux in Normandy. It was successibly used by the Norman dynasty, the Montfort-l'Amaury family, the Capetian's as well as the House of La Tour d'Auvergne...
. He became the Grand Chamberlain of France
Grand Chamberlain of France
The Grand Chamberlain of France was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France, a member of the Maison du Roi , and one of the Great Offices of the Maison du Roi during the Ancien Régime...
in 1658 and governor of Auvergne in 1662. All these titles would remain in the La Tour d'Auvergne family for more than a century.
The family were created 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 in France in 1651, this entitled them to the style of [Most Serene] Highness att the French court in which they lived.
Godefroy-Maurice's younger brother, Count Frederic Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne (1642–1707), was a prominent general in the service of the Dutch. He married Henrietta von Hohenzollern (1648–1698), heiress to the marquessate of Bergen-op-Zoom, a title which passed to their children. After their line went extinct in 1732, Bergen devolved upon Count Palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
Johann Christian von Sulzbach
John Christian, Count of Palatinate-Sulzbach
John Christian was the Count Palatine of Sulzbach from 1732 until 1733....
(1700–1733), who had married an heiress, Marie Henriette Leopoldine de La Tour d'Auvergne, in 1722.
Godefroy-Maurice's wife, 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...
(1649–1714), best remembered for her literary pursuits and for her patronage of La Fontaine, was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. Their eldest son Louis married the heiress to the Duchy of Ventadour but predeceased his parents. The Duchy of Bouillon and other titles passed to their second son, Emmanuel Théodose (1668–1730), whose fourth wife was Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine
Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine
Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine was a French noblewoman and member of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine...
. Another son, Frédéric-Jules, Prince d'Auvergne (1672–1733), married an Irish adventuress.
Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne
Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne
Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French nobleman and member of the powerful House of La Tour d'Auvergne.-Biography:...
(1706–1771) was Emmanuel-Théodose's son and the 5th Duke of Bouillon. His wife was his brother's widow, Maria Karolina Sobieska
Maria Karolina Sobieska
Maria Karolina Sobieska was a Polish noble lady, daughter of Jakub Ludwik Sobieski. Known as Marie Charlotte or just Charlotte, she was the Princess of Turenne and later Duchess of Bouillon by marriage...
, the granddaughter of King John Sobieski of Poland. Their only daughter, Marie Louise Henriette Jeanne de La Tour, was a famous adventuress and was guillotined in 1793. Although officially married to Jules de Rohan, Duke of Montbazon, she had an illegitimate son who died in infancy by her cousin, Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
, Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
claimant to the thrones of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and cotland].
Her brother, Godefroy Charles Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne (1728–1792), was the 6th Duke of Bouillon. He married Louise de Lorraine
Louise de Lorraine
Louise of Lorraine was a French noblewoman and member of the House of Lorraine. She married into the House of La Tour d'Auvergne and was Duchess of Bouillon.-Biography:...
, known prior to marriage as Mademoiselle de Marsan. He served with distinction in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
and was elected to the Royal Academy of Sculpture and Painting in 1777. In just three months, he squandered almost a million livres on his mistress, an opera singer, thus bringing his family to the verge of ruin. Although the 6th duke embraced the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
enthusiastically, the Duchy of Bouillon was annexed by the Republic within three years after his death. His only son, Jacques Léopold Charles Godefroy, incapacitated by a road accident, died in 1802, leaving no issue of his marriage to a Princess of Hesse-Rheinfels
Hesse-Rheinfels
Hesse-Rheinfels was created as a cadet line of Hesse for Philip II, Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels , landgrave from 1567 until 1583, and as a cadet line of Hesse-Kassel for Ernest, Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels , landgrave from 1627 until 1658.-First creation:Philip was the third son of Philip the...
. As a consequence, the main line of the La Tour d'Auvergne family went extinct.
Bouillon Succession
In 1780, the 6th Duke of Bouillon developed a friendship with Philip Dauvergne, a British naval officer imprisoned in France. As a family legend had it, the Dauvergne family represented a collateral branch of the ancient Counts of Auvergne, which had moved to the island of JerseyJersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
sometime in the 13th century. In 1787, the 6th Duke recognized this legendary connection and adopted Philip Dauvergne, calling on him to succeed his own son in the case the latter were to die without male issue.
In 1809 Napoleon endorsed an arrangement, whereby the La Tour estates and liabilities pertaining to the 1651 exchange devolved upon the French state. The 6th Duke's Château de Navarre
Château de Navarre
The Château de Navarre was a château near Évreux in Normandy. It was built for Queen Joan II of Navarre and later came into the possession of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne....
and the Hôtel d'Évreux
Élysée Palace
The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in Paris....
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...
were bequeathed to the Empress Josephine and her relatives. The Hôtel d'Évreux was subsequently renamed the Élysée Palace
Élysée Palace
The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in Paris....
and currently serves as the official residence of the President of France. As for the Duchy of Bouillon, its citizens recognized Philip Dauvergne as their legitimate ruler and duke.
The Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
, however, awarded the sovereignty of the duchy to the King of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, whereas the private property holdings of the former dukes were to be redistributed by special arbitration either to Philip Dauvergne or to an Austrian claimant, Charles-Alain-Gabriel de Rohan-Guéméné, who was the last duke's closest relative on his paternal side. The issue was eventually settled in Rohan's favor, and Philip Dauvergne committed suicide two months later.
In 1817, Rohan was sued by other claimants to the La Tour d'Auvergne estate, including the duc de Bourbon, the duc de La Tremoille, the princesse de Bourbon-Condé and the princesse de Poix. All were related to the 7th duke of Bouillon on his maternal side. Seven years later, their claims were upheld by a court in Liège, and Rohan had to step down as duke.
In the 1820s, the La Tour name and inheritance were disputed between the families of La Tour d'Auvergne d'Apchier, which represented the last known surviving line of the La Tour d'Auvergne before its eventual extinction in 1896, and La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais, whose historical ties to the original La Tour lines were uncertain. From the latter family, Prince Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais (1876–1914) married in 1916 Elisabeth Berthier de Wagram (1885–1960), daughter of the third Prince de Wagram
Prince de Wagram
The French noble title Prince de Wagram began with Louis Alexandre Berthier who in 1806 was created sovereign prince of Neuchâtel by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte...
and a member of the Rothschild dynasty
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
.
See also
- Duchy of Bouillon
- Duke of BouillonDuke of BouillonThe Duke of Bouillon is a title of nobility. Until the nineteenth century, the Duke of Bouillon was the ruler of the semi-sovereign Duchy of Bouillon , a small state located between Luxembourg, Champagne, and the Three Bishoprics and centered on Bouillon.- History of the Duchy of Bouillon :The...
- Duchess of BouillonDuchess of Bouillon-Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty, ?-1100:-House of La Marck, ?-1588 :-House of La Tour d'Auvergne, 1594-1794 :-House of La Tour d'Auvergne, 1794-1802 :-House of Rohan, since 1816 :...