Marie Victoire de Noailles
Encyclopedia
Marie Victoire Sophie de Noailles, Countess of Toulouse (Versailles, 6 May 1688 – Paris, 30 September 1766), was the daughter of Anne Jules de Noailles, the 2nd Duke of Noailles
, and his wife, Marie-Françoise de Bournonville. Her second husband was Louis Alexandre de Bourbon
, Count of Toulouse, the youngest legitimised son of King Louis XIV of France
and his maîtresse-en-titre
, Madame de Montespan
.
on 6 May 1688. She was one of twenty children. Many of her sisters married into important noble families in France. Her sister Marie Christine married Antoine de Gramont, duc de Guiche
in 1687. Another sister, Lucie Félicité, married the Maréchal d'Estrées
, great-nephew of King Henri IV
's famous mistress, Gabrielle d'Estrées
. Yet another sister married Charles de Baume Le Blanc, the nephew of Louise de La Vallière
, and became the mother of Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc
.
In 1707, Marie Victoire married Louis de Pardaillan de Gondrin, whose father, Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin
, was the son of Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin, marquis de Montespan
(1640–1701) and of his wife, Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise de Montespan. Thus, while her first husband was the grandson of Madame de Montespan, the second, the comte de Toulouse (1678–1737), who was the son of Madame de Montespan with Louis XIV, was her first husband's uncle, ten years younger than his nephew.
At the time of her first marriage, Marie Victoire, marquise de Gondrin, was a dame du palais
to the king's granddaughter-in-law, the duchesse de Bourgogne, future Dauphine of France and mother of King Louis XV
.
From her first marriage, Marie Victoire had two children:
In 1712, both her husband, and the duchesse de Bourgogne, died. On 2 February 1723, Marie Victoire married, in a secret ceremony, the comte de Toulouse, the legitimised younger son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. The marriage was announced only after the death of the Régent
in December of the same year.
When she married the comte de Toulouse, Marie Victoire became the :
After two years of marriage, Marie Victoire gave birth to the couple's only child, a son, the sole heir of his father:
The comte and comtesse de Toulouse had official rooms at Versailles. Their apartments, which later were given to the daughters of the new king, Louis XV
, were situated on the ground floor of the palace and were the former suite of rooms which had belonged to the comte's mother, Madame de Montespan.
The comte de Toulouse died in December 1737. In 1744, Marie Victoire helped to arrange the marriage of her son. The chosen bride was an Italian princess, Marie Thérèse Félicité d'Este
, who was also a descendant of Madame de Montespan
. The bride was the grand-daughter of Françoise-Marie de Bourbon
, sister of the comte de Toulouse, who had married the duc d'Orléans, Régent
of France
during the minority of King Louis XV.
Marie Victoire had a very good relationship with the young Louis XV, who was her son's godfather. According to Nancy Mitford
's book on Madame de Pompadour
, she was the only woman who was allowed to see the young king without an official appointment. She also had access to all of his private papers of state. After his mother died when he was only two years old, Marie Victoire became the nearest female family member to the motherless child.
On 30 September 1766, the Marie Victoire died at the Hôtel de Toulouse
, the Parisian townhouse bought by her husband in 1713. She was buried beside her husband in the family crypt at the church of the then village of Rambouillet
, but later her body and that of her husband were removed by their son, the duc de Penthièvre, to the Collégiale de Saint-Etienne de Dreux
, after he had sold the Château de Rambouillet
and its vast domain to King Louis XVI
in 1783.
through her granddaughter, Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon
, the wife of Philippe Égalité
, who was the mother of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. Through the House of Orléans, she is also an ancestor of the modern Belgian, Brazilian, Bulgarian royal families.
Duke of Noailles
The title of Duke of Noailles was a French peerage created in 1663 for Anne of Noailles, count of Ayen.The second, third and fourth dukes were all marshals of France...
, and his wife, Marie-Françoise de Bournonville. Her second husband was Louis Alexandre de Bourbon
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...
, Count of Toulouse, the youngest legitimised son of King Louis XIV of France
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 his maîtresse-en-titre
Maîtresse-en-titre
The maîtresse-en-titre was the chief mistress of the king of France. It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartments. The title really came into use during the reign of Henry IV and continued until the reign of Louis XV....
, Madame 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....
.
Biography
Marie Victoire was born at VersaillesVersailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
on 6 May 1688. She was one of twenty children. Many of her sisters married into important noble families in France. Her sister Marie Christine married Antoine de Gramont, duc de Guiche
Antoine V de Gramont
Antoine V de Gramont , Duke of Guiche, French military figure and member of the Gramont family. He was the oldest child of Antoine Charles IV de Gramont and Marie Charlotte de Castelnau. At the age of thirteen, he became a musketeer and by 1687 he had become head of his regiment and had married the...
in 1687. Another sister, Lucie Félicité, married the Maréchal d'Estrées
Victor-Marie d'Estrées
Victor Marie d'Estrées, count then duke d'Estrées was a Marshal of France.-Biography:...
, great-nephew of King Henri 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....
's famous mistress, Gabrielle d'Estrées
Gabrielle d'Estrées
Gabrielle d'Estrées, Duchess of Beaufort and Verneuil, Marchioness of Monceaux was a French mistress of King Henry IV of France, born at either the Château de la Bourdaisière in Montlouis-sur-Loire, in Touraine, or at the château de Cœuvres, in Picardy....
. Yet another sister married Charles de Baume Le Blanc, the nephew of Louise de La Vallière
Louise de La Vallière
Louise de La Vallière was a mistress of Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667. She later became the Duchess of La Vallière and Duchess of Vaujours in her own right...
, and became the mother of Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc
Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc
Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc, duc de Vaujours, duc de La Vallière was a French nobleman, bibliophile and military man...
.
In 1707, Marie Victoire married Louis de Pardaillan de Gondrin, whose father, Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin
Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin
Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin , marquis of Antin, Gondrin and Montespan , then 1st Duke of Antin was a French nobleman...
, was the son of Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin, marquis de Montespan
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:...
(1640–1701) and of his wife, Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise de Montespan. Thus, while her first husband was the grandson of Madame de Montespan, the second, the comte de Toulouse (1678–1737), who was the son of Madame de Montespan with Louis XIV, was her first husband's uncle, ten years younger than his nephew.
At the time of her first marriage, Marie Victoire, marquise de Gondrin, was a dame du palais
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to the king's granddaughter-in-law, the duchesse de Bourgogne, future Dauphine of France and mother of King Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
.
From her first marriage, Marie Victoire had two children:
- Louis de Pardaillan de GondrinLouis de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1707–1743)Louis de Pardaillan de Gondrin . known as the Duke of Antin was a member of the French court and a male line descendant of Madame de Montespan.-Biography:...
(1707–1743), Duke of Antin; married Françoise Gillonne de Montmorency-Luxembourg and had issue; - Antoine François de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1709–1741), Marquis of Gondrin; died unmarried;
In 1712, both her husband, and the duchesse de Bourgogne, died. On 2 February 1723, Marie Victoire married, in a secret ceremony, the comte de Toulouse, the legitimised younger son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. The marriage was announced only after the death of the Régent
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
in December of the same year.
When she married the comte de Toulouse, Marie Victoire became the :
- Countess of Toulouse
- Duchess of Vendôme
- Duchess of Rambouillet
- Duchess of Arc-en-Barrois
- Duchess of Châteauvillain
- Duchess of Penthièvre
After two years of marriage, Marie Victoire gave birth to the couple's only child, a son, the sole heir of his father:
- Louis Jean Marie de BourbonLouis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de PenthièvreLouis Jean Marie de Bourbon was the son of Louis Alexandre de Bourbon and his wife Marie Victoire de Noailles. He was also a grandson of Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Madame de Montespan. From birth he was known as the Duke of Penthièvre...
(1725–1793), duc de Penthièvre who was the founder of the House of Bourbon-PenthièvreBourbon-PenthièvreThe House of Bourbon-Penthièvre was an illegitimate branch of the House of Bourbon, thus descending from the Capetian dynasty. It was founded by the duc de Penthièvre , the only child and heir of the comte de Toulouse, the youngest illegitimate son of Louis XIV of France and the marquise de...
.
The comte and comtesse de Toulouse had official rooms at Versailles. Their apartments, which later were given to the daughters of the new king, Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
, were situated on the ground floor of the palace and were the former suite of rooms which had belonged to the comte's mother, Madame de Montespan.
The comte de Toulouse died in December 1737. In 1744, Marie Victoire helped to arrange the marriage of her son. The chosen bride was an Italian princess, Marie Thérèse Félicité d'Este
Maria Teresa d'Este
Maria Teresa Felicitas d'Este was born a Princess of Modena and was by marriage the Duchess of Penthièvre. She was the mother-in-law of Philippe Égalité and thus the grandmother to the future Louis-Philippe of France.-Life:...
, who was also a descendant of Madame 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....
. The bride was the grand-daughter of Françoise-Marie de Bourbon
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...
, sister of the comte de Toulouse, who had married the duc d'Orléans, Régent
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
of 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...
during the minority of King Louis XV.
Marie Victoire had a very good relationship with the young Louis XV, who was her son's godfather. According to Nancy Mitford
Nancy Mitford
Nancy Freeman-Mitford, CBE , styled The Hon. Nancy Mitford before her marriage and The Hon. Mrs Peter Rodd thereafter, was an English novelist and biographer, one of the Bright Young People on the London social scene in the inter-war years...
's book on Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
, she was the only woman who was allowed to see the young king without an official appointment. She also had access to all of his private papers of state. After his mother died when he was only two years old, Marie Victoire became the nearest female family member to the motherless child.
On 30 September 1766, the Marie Victoire died at the Hôtel de Toulouse
Hôtel de Toulouse
The Hôtel de Toulouse, former Hôtel de La Vrillière, situated 1 rue de La Vrillière, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, was built between 1635 and 1640 by François Mansart, for Louis Phélypeaux, seigneur de La Vrillière....
, the Parisian townhouse bought by her husband in 1713. She was buried beside her husband in the family crypt at the church of the then village of Rambouillet
Rambouillet
Rambouillet is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is located in the suburbs of Paris southwest from the center...
, but later her body and that of her husband were removed by their son, the duc de Penthièvre, to the Collégiale de Saint-Etienne de Dreux
Dreux
Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...
, after he had sold the Château de Rambouillet
Château de Rambouillet
The château de Rambouillet is a castle in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines department, in the Île-de-France region in northern France, southwest of Paris...
and its vast domain to King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis 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....
in 1783.
Descendants
Marie Victoire is a direct ancestor of the modern House of OrléansHouse of Orleans
Orléans is the name used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. It became a tradition during France's ancien régime for the duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king...
through her granddaughter, Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon
Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon
Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, Duchess of Orléans, , was the daughter of Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre and of Princess Maria Theresa Felicitas of Modena. At the death of her brother, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, prince de Lamballe, she became the wealthiest heiress in France...
, the wife 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...
, who was the mother of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French. Through the House of Orléans, she is also an ancestor of the modern Belgian, Brazilian, Bulgarian royal families.
Titles and styles
- 6 May 1688 - 25 January 1707 Marie Victoire de Noailles
- 25 January 1707 - 22 February 1712 Madame la marquise de Gondrin
- 22 February 1712 - 2 February 1723 Madame la marquise de Gondrin Douairière
- 2 February 1723 - 1 December 1737 Her Serene HighnessSerene HighnessHis/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
the Countess of Toulouse - 1 December 1737 - 30 September 1766 Her Serene HighnessSerene HighnessHis/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
the Dowager Countess of Toulouse