Madame de Ventadour

Infobox Person
name = Charlotte-Eléonore Madeleine de la Motte Houdancourt


image_size = thumb|200px
caption = Madame de Ventadour
birth_date = 1654
birth_place = France
death_date = 1744
death_place = France
education =
occupation =
title = Duchesse de Ventadour
spouse = Louis-Charles de Lévis, Duke of Ventador
parents = Philippe de la Mothe Houdancourt, Louise de Prie
children = Anne-Geneviève de Lévis Ventadour
nationality = French
website =

Charlotte-Eléonore Madeleine de la Motte Houdancourt, Duchesse de Ventadour (1654–1744) 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.

Personal life

Charlotte was the youngest of the three daughters of Philippe de la Mothe Houdancourt, duc de Cardone and maréchal (d. 1657), and Louise de Prie, marquise de Toucy, duchesse de La Motte Houdancourt, maréchale, governess to the children of France. Charlotte's sisters were:
* Françoise Angélique de La Mothe-Houdancourt, dame de Fayel (b. 1650), who married on 28 November 1669 Louis-Marie-Victor, duc d'Aumont (9 December 1632–5 April 1711).
*Marie Isabelle Angélique de la Mothe-Houdancourt, duchesse de La Ferté Senneterre (d. 1726).

Charlotte married Louis-Charles de Lévis, duc de Ventadour and governor of the Limousin (1647-1717) on 14 March 1671 in Paris. The duke was generally considered "horrific" — very ugly, physically deformed, and sexually debauched [Syms, L.C. "Selected Letters of Madame de Sévigné" (American Book Company, 1898). P. 25.] — 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 described an incident that took place at St. Germain 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." [Letter from Madame de Sévigné to Madame de Grignan, April 1, 1771]

Charlotte and Louis-Charles had one daughter: Anne-Geneviève de Lévis Ventadour, born in 1673.

Royal governess

She was appointed governess to the royal children in 1704.

In 1712, an outbreak of measles struck the French royal family, causing a number of significant deaths. First to die was the "Dauphine", Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy. Within a week of her death, her heartbroken husband, Louis the Dauphin, had also died, leaving his sons Louis, duc de Bretagne and Louis, duc d'Anjou, orphaned, and the elder child as heir to the throne.

The sickness, however, had not yet run its course: both the duc de Bretagne and the duc d'Anjou became ill with measles. The Dauphin was ministered to by the royal doctors, who bled him in the belief that it would help him to recover; instead, it merely weakened the young boy, who swiftly died, leaving the duc d'Anjou as Dauphin. Deciding that she would not allow the same treatment to be applied to the duc d'Anjou, Madame de Ventadour locked herself up with three nursery maids, and refused to allow the doctors near the boy. Louis survived his disease, becoming King of France upon the death of his great-grandfather three years later.

Madame de Ventadour continued in her position as royal governess until 1717, when the King was deemed old enough to be raised by men. Her husband died in the same year. She then became Lady-in-waiting to the Dowager Duchess of Orleans, widow of Duke Philip I.

Links

* [http://chrisagde.free.fr/bourb/l15hommes.php3?page=8 Biography (in French)]

Bibliography

*Madame de Sévigné. " _fr. Correspondance". Texte établi, présenté et annoté par Roger Duchêne. Paris: Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. 1973-78. 3 vol..

References