Paul François de Quelen de la Vauguyon
Encyclopedia
Paul François de Quelen de La Vauguyon or Paul François de Quélen de Stuer de Caussade, duc de La Vauguyon (30 July 1746, Paris
- 14 March 1828, Paris) was a French nobleman. He was governor of Cognac
, after having been involved in the last campaigns of the Seven Years' War
. He wrote a Portrait de feu monseigneur le Dauphin and was menin
to the future Louis XVI, one of the Dauphin's sons. A peer of France, brigadier
, maréchal de camp, knight of the ordre du Saint-Esprit, he was chosen to be minister plenipotentiary to the Estates General of the Dutch Republic. He later became French ambassador to Spain, knight of the Golden Fleece, temporary minister of foreign affairs in 1789, then minister of the conseil d'État of Louis XVIII in Verona
. He was the main intermediary among Louis's agents in France, but became the victim of intrigues. From the Restoration onwards he was lieutenant général
and sat in the peerage of France
, where he was noted for his moderation. He and his wife (dame d'honneur to the comtesse de Provence) had four children, but the Quelen line died out with his children.
to the Dauphin, lieutenant général
of the royal armies, governor, first gentleman of the chamber and grand master of the garde-robe to the duke of Burgundy, to the Dauphin and to the counts of Provence and Artois, knight of the ordre du Saint-Esprit and the order of Saint-Louis.
His mother, Marie Françoise de Béthune (1712–1799) was the daughter of the duke of Charost, himself governor to the king's person to Louis XV.
Paul François is known by his father's living, under the name of the duke of Saint-Mégrin. He entered the public service aged 12 and fought in the last campaigns of the Seven Years' War
. After the war he was made governor of Cognac
and took advantage of the post to write and have published an elogy of Louis XVI's father, entitled Portrait de feu monseigneur le Dauphin. His father had been entrusted with the delicate mission of educating the Dauphin's sons on the Dauphin's death, and Paul himself had been menin
to the future Louis XVI. He succeeded his father as a peer of France in 1773.
In 1776, on the recommendation of Vergennes, Louis XVI chose La Vauguyon to be France's representative to the Estates General
of the Dutch Republic
. On his arrival, the Estates were in a sense under the control of the British government - when he left a solemn deputation from the Estates conveyed him their public recognition for his services and gratitude for the :
In 1784, La Vauguyon was made French ambassador to Spain. On 1 January 1784 he was simultaneously made maréchal de camp and a knight of the order of the Holy Spirit
, and later also became a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
. However, his post as Spanish ambassador was soon lost with the onset of the French Revolution
.
In 1789, La Vauguyon was recalled from Spain by Louis XVI to take possession of the ministry for foreign affairs, as he did on 13 July. He could make the king listen to his advice and found himself under attack from revolutionaries. The Assembly presented new ministers responsible for the events of the 14 July and La Vauguyon gave his resignation on 16 July, having been minister for only three days.
Fearing he would pay for "the short and disastrous honour of his ministry" with his head, he disguised himself as a businessman, took a passport under a false name and fled to Le Havre
with his son in the hope of crossing to England. They were both arrested in Le Havre and the case was referred to the National Constituent Assembly
on 1 August. After a heated discussion Le Havre received orders to set La Vauguyon free.
The king recalled La Vauguyon to Paris and sent him to Madrid again as ambassador. On 16 May 1790, Charles de Lameth complained that his negotiations were as important as those in the hands of La Vauguyon. Differences had arisen between England and Spain, whose cause may be attributed to La Vauguyon's negotiations by the British minister. He was replaced by Bourgoing
on 1 June 1790 but continued to stay in Madrid. The Spanish king granted hospitality to La Vauguyon and his family, granting him properties during the Revolutionary storms and giving his son (the future general La Vauguyon, still a child) a post in the Spanish army.
Around the end of 1795, Louis XVIII summoned Paul François de Quelen de La Vauguyon to Verona
to be one of the four ministers that made up his conseil d'État. La Vauguyon followed this prince to Blackembourg. The counter-revolutionary plan to use conciliatory plans and in virtue of which royalists would still accept public posts can be attributed to him, but it proved too soft a plan. La Vauguyon rendered major services to the royal cause during his ministry and was Louis XVIII's main intermediary to his agents in France, notably in the La Ville-Heurnois
conspiracy. His time in the conseil d'État ended in February 1797 when, due to courtesans' intrigues, he fell into disgrace with the pretender, who his father had nicknamed "the disingenous". The count of Saint-Priest replaced him. He then stayed for a time in Hamburg
before returning to Spain, where he stayed until 1805. In that year he returned to France and lived in retirement until the Bourbon Restoration.
, on 4 June 1814 he was made duke, prince and lieutenant général by a royal decree, with the dukedom made hereditary. He was summoned to sit in the chambre des pairs, where he was of the chief backers for moderation. Lacking ambition, he lived in great simplicity and was received as a member of the société d'instruction élémentaire, several times being elected its president and putting much zeal into spreading mutual education. A doctor's mistake made an intestinal illness fatal, and he died in 1828.
Marie-Antoinette was the daughter of Charles Armand de Pons (1692–1760) and of Rosalie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil (1725–1792), daughter of minister François Victor Le Tonnelier de Breteuil
. Her mother married for the second time in 1771 to Louis Armand Constantin de Rohan-Guemené-Montbazon, known as the "prince de Montbazon" (1731-guillotined 23 July 1794).
In his memoirs baronne d’Oberkirch
writes that:
She also seems to have been close to Marie-Antoinette and sometimes accompanied her on her nights out at Parisian balls:
Du Barri wrote : The duchess of La Vauguyon was a lady of the wardrobe. Very serious and grave, she had an imposing and severe air, such was the basis of her character. She had much spirit but hid it for fear of exposing her dignity by showing it and of also compromising the superiority of Madame la comtesse de Provence.
And on his own :
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...
- 14 March 1828, Paris) was a French nobleman. He was governor of Cognac
Cognac
Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right...
, after having been involved in the last campaigns of 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...
. He wrote a Portrait de feu monseigneur le Dauphin and was menin
Menin (title)
In Ancien Régime France, a menin was one of six gentlemen who were particularly attached to the person of the dauphin. They were also known as gentilshommes de la manche...
to the future Louis XVI, one of the Dauphin's sons. A peer of France, brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
, maréchal de camp, knight of the ordre du Saint-Esprit, he was chosen to be minister plenipotentiary to the Estates General of the Dutch Republic. He later became French ambassador to Spain, knight of the Golden Fleece, temporary minister of foreign affairs in 1789, then minister of the conseil d'État of Louis XVIII in Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. He was the main intermediary among Louis's agents in France, but became the victim of intrigues. From the Restoration onwards he was lieutenant général
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
and sat in the peerage of France
Peerage of France
The Peerage of France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. It was abolished in 1789 during the French Revolution, but it reappeared in 1814 at the time of the Bourbon Restoration which followed the fall of the First French Empire...
, where he was noted for his moderation. He and his wife (dame d'honneur to the comtesse de Provence) had four children, but the Quelen line died out with his children.
Parents
Vauguyon was descended from an old aristocratic family. His father, Antoine de Quélen de Stuer de Caussade (1706–1772) was the duc de La Vauguyon (1759), prince de Carency, pair de France, MeninMenin (title)
In Ancien Régime France, a menin was one of six gentlemen who were particularly attached to the person of the dauphin. They were also known as gentilshommes de la manche...
to the Dauphin, lieutenant général
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
of the royal armies, governor, first gentleman of the chamber and grand master of the garde-robe to the duke of Burgundy, to the Dauphin and to the counts of Provence and Artois, knight of the ordre du Saint-Esprit and the order of Saint-Louis.
His mother, Marie Françoise de Béthune (1712–1799) was the daughter of the duke of Charost, himself governor to the king's person to Louis XV.
Before the Revolution (1758-1789)
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...
. After the war he was made governor of Cognac
Cognac
Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right...
and took advantage of the post to write and have published an elogy of Louis XVI's father, entitled Portrait de feu monseigneur le Dauphin. His father had been entrusted with the delicate mission of educating the Dauphin's sons on the Dauphin's death, and Paul himself had been menin
Menin (title)
In Ancien Régime France, a menin was one of six gentlemen who were particularly attached to the person of the dauphin. They were also known as gentilshommes de la manche...
to the future Louis XVI. He succeeded his father as a peer of France in 1773.
In 1776, on the recommendation of Vergennes, Louis XVI chose La Vauguyon to be France's representative to the Estates General
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...
of the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. On his arrival, the Estates were in a sense under the control of the British government - when he left a solemn deputation from the Estates conveyed him their public recognition for his services and gratitude for the :
In 1784, La Vauguyon was made French ambassador to Spain. On 1 January 1784 he was simultaneously made maréchal de camp and a knight of the order of the Holy Spirit
Order of the Holy Spirit
The Order of the Holy Spirit, also known as the Order of the Knights of the Holy Spirit, was an Order of Chivalry under the French Monarchy. It should not be confused with the Congregation of the Holy Ghost or with the Order of the Holy Ghost...
, and later also became a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
. However, his post as Spanish ambassador was soon lost with the onset of 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...
.
During the Revolution
Fearing he would pay for "the short and disastrous honour of his ministry" with his head, he disguised himself as a businessman, took a passport under a false name and fled to Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
with his son in the hope of crossing to England. They were both arrested in Le Havre and the case was referred to the National Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
on 1 August. After a heated discussion Le Havre received orders to set La Vauguyon free.
The king recalled La Vauguyon to Paris and sent him to Madrid again as ambassador. On 16 May 1790, Charles de Lameth complained that his negotiations were as important as those in the hands of La Vauguyon. Differences had arisen between England and Spain, whose cause may be attributed to La Vauguyon's negotiations by the British minister. He was replaced by Bourgoing
Jean-François de Bourgoing
Jean-François, baron de Bourgoing was a French diplomat, writer and translator. A commander of the légion d'honneur, he was also a corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences, a member of the Copenhagen Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, a foreign member of the...
on 1 June 1790 but continued to stay in Madrid. The Spanish king granted hospitality to La Vauguyon and his family, granting him properties during the Revolutionary storms and giving his son (the future general La Vauguyon, still a child) a post in the Spanish army.
Around the end of 1795, Louis XVIII summoned Paul François de Quelen de La Vauguyon to Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
to be one of the four ministers that made up his conseil d'État. La Vauguyon followed this prince to Blackembourg. The counter-revolutionary plan to use conciliatory plans and in virtue of which royalists would still accept public posts can be attributed to him, but it proved too soft a plan. La Vauguyon rendered major services to the royal cause during his ministry and was Louis XVIII's main intermediary to his agents in France, notably in the La Ville-Heurnois
Charles Honoré Berthelot La Villeheurnois
Charles Honoré Berthelot La Villeheurnois was a French politician.He was maître des requêtes to Louis XVI and with Charles Brottier and Thomas Laurent Madeleine Duverne de Presle was one of the heads of the plot called the "camp de Grenelle"...
conspiracy. His time in the conseil d'État ended in February 1797 when, due to courtesans' intrigues, he fell into disgrace with the pretender, who his father had nicknamed "the disingenous". The count of Saint-Priest replaced him. He then stayed for a time in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
before returning to Spain, where he stayed until 1805. In that year he returned to France and lived in retirement until the Bourbon Restoration.
Under the Bourbon Restoration (1814-1828)
Whilst in exile La Vauguyon was promoted to lieutenant généralLieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
, on 4 June 1814 he was made duke, prince and lieutenant général by a royal decree, with the dukedom made hereditary. He was summoned to sit in the chambre des pairs, where he was of the chief backers for moderation. Lacking ambition, he lived in great simplicity and was received as a member of the société d'instruction élémentaire, several times being elected its president and putting much zeal into spreading mutual education. A doctor's mistake made an intestinal illness fatal, and he died in 1828.
Wife
On 27 April 1766 Paul François de Quelen de La Vauguyon married Marie-Antoinette Rosalie de Pons de Roquefort (1751–1824), maid of the wardrobe to the comtesse de Provence. According to the "L'almanach de Versailles" of 1790, she was made dame d'honneur to the comtesse de Provence en 1774.Marie-Antoinette was the daughter of Charles Armand de Pons (1692–1760) and of Rosalie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil (1725–1792), daughter of minister François Victor Le Tonnelier de Breteuil
François Victor Le Tonnelier de Breteuil
François Victor Le Tonnelier de Breteuil was a French nobleman. He was minister for war twice under Louis XV. He was also chancelier, garde des sceaux de la Maison de la reine and commander, provost and grandmaster of ceremonies to the order of the Holy Spirit .He was a member of the Le Tonnelier...
. Her mother married for the second time in 1771 to Louis Armand Constantin de Rohan-Guemené-Montbazon, known as the "prince de Montbazon" (1731-guillotined 23 July 1794).
In his memoirs baronne d’Oberkirch
Henriette Louise de Waldner de Freundstein
Henriette Louise de Waldner de Freundstein , Baronne d'Oberkirch is known for having written her Mémoires, which end in 1789....
writes that:
She also seems to have been close to Marie-Antoinette and sometimes accompanied her on her nights out at Parisian balls:
Du Barri wrote : The duchess of La Vauguyon was a lady of the wardrobe. Very serious and grave, she had an imposing and severe air, such was the basis of her character. She had much spirit but hid it for fear of exposing her dignity by showing it and of also compromising the superiority of Madame la comtesse de Provence.
Children
He and his wife had two sons and two daughters :- Paul-Antoine (1768–1824), prince de Carency, on 14 September 1789 married Florence Constance de Rochechouart-Faudoas, daughter of Aimeric count of Faudoas.
- Marie-Antoinette de Quelen de La Vauguyon (1771–1847), on 13 May 1787 married Alexandre de BauffremontAlexandre de BauffremontAlexandre de Bauffremont was prince-duke of Bauffremont.In 1787 he married Marie-Antoinette, daughter of Paul François de Quelen de La Vauguyon. He emigrated to Koblenz on the French Revolution but rallied to Napoleon and accepted the title of comte de l'Empire. He was made a peer of France in...
, prince-duc de Bauffremont.
- Paul-Yvon (1777–1837) was duke of La Vauguyon, prince de Carency, and marquis of Saint-Megrin, peer of France, maréchal de camp, and lieutenant généralLieutenant GeneralLieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
(firstly in the kingdom of NaplesKingdom of NaplesThe Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
, then the French Army). He fought in Napoleon's armies and was aide de camp to grand-duke de Berg. He followed Joachim MuratJoachim MuratJoachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
to Naples and became general and colonel general of infantry in his guard. Unmarried and without children, the Quelen family died out with him.
- Pauline-Antoinette de La Vauguyon (1783–1829), married Joseph de Savoie-Carignan, count of Villafranca.
Works
- "Portrait de feu monseigneur le Dauphin", par M. L. O. D. (with Cerutti); Paris, 1765, 1816, in-8°;
- "Les Doutes éclaircis, ou réponses aux objections de l'abbé de Mably sur l'ordre naturel des sociétés politiques" ; Paris, 1768, in-12. "Cet ouvrage, en forme de lettre, qui parut d'abord dans les Éphémérides du Citoyen pour 1768, est très rare, dit Barbier, l'édition ayant été imprimée à un petit nombre d'exemplaires " ;
- "Tableau de la Constitution française", Paris, 1816, in-8 ;
- "De la simplification des principes constitutifs et administratifs, ou commentaire nouveau sur la Charte constitutionnelle", Paris, lviO, in-60 ;
- "Du Système général des Finances", Paris, in-8° : les trois derniers ouvrages ont paru sons les initiales de M. L. D. D. L. V. L. L
And on his own :
- "Duc de Choiseul, Eloge de M. le duc de La Vauguyon, prononcé è la chambre des pairs le 10 avril 1828. "
- Lardier, "Histoire biographique de la Chambre des Paires". Barbier, Dict. des Anonymes
- Quérard, "La France Littéraire".