Anne de Rohan-Chabot (Anne Julie; 1648 – 4 February 1709) was a French noble. A member of the

House of Rohan The House of Rohan ( br, Roc'han) is a Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and is said to trace back to ...

, she was wife of the

Prince of Soubise Within the French nobility, the title of "Prince of Soubise" was created in 1667 when the '' sirerie'' of Soubise, Charente-Maritime was raised to a principality for the cadet branch of the House of Rohan. The first prince was François de Rohan F ...

. It was she who brought the lordship of

Soubise Soubise can refer to: * Soubise, a salpicon of cooked and pureed rice and onions; used primarily "au gratin". (steaks, tournedos) * Soubise sauce, based on Béchamel sauce, with the addition of a ''soubise'' of onion and rice purée * Soubise, Ch ...

into the junior line of the

. She was for some time the mistress of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

. She was sometimes called ''Madame de Frontenay'' due to being the

Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

Frontenay Frontenay () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, ...

Biography

Born to

Henri Chabot Henri Chabot (1616 – 27 February 1655) was a French nobleman and Duke of Rohan (first by marriage and then in his own right). His wife was the heiress Marguerite de Rohan, daughter of Henri, Duke of Rohan. He is also known as Henri de Chabot ...

and his wife

Marguerite de Rohan Marguerite de Rohan (1617 – 9 April 1684) was a French noblewoman and '' suo jure'' Duchess of Rohan. She married Henri de Chabot for love and the couple produced four children. A great heiress, she inherited the Duchy (later principality) of ...

, she was the third of five children. Her parents' marriage had caused a scandal as Marguerite was a

Foreign Prince Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

ss as a member of the

. This had obliged

to issue a decree that she was able to marry Henri and still hold her high rank at court. Her family were allowed to bear the name of Rohan-Chabot, the Rohans being her maternal family. Her younger sister Jeanne Pelagie de Rohan-Chabot married the Prince of Epinoy, who was the paternal grandfather of Louis de Melun, Duke of Joyeuse, and

Anne Julie de Melun Anne Julie de Melun (Anne Julie Adélaïde; 1698 – 18 May 1724) was a French court office holder. She served as deputy Governess of the Children of France. Biography Born in 1698, she was baptised with the names Anne Julie Adélaïde and ...

- a future

Princess of Soubise Within the French nobility, the title of "Princess of Soubise" was given to the current wife of the Prince of Soubise. The title was created in 1667 when the '' sirerie'' of Soubise, Charente-Maritime was raised to a principality. The first princess ...

. On 17 April 1663, at not more than fifteen years old, Anne married Lieutenant-General

François de Rohan François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

. François was a widower and the younger son of

Hercule de Rohan Hercule de Rohan (27 August 1568 – 16 October 1654) was a member of the princely House of Rohan. The second Duke of Montbazon, he is an ancestor of the present Princes of Guéméné. His daughter was the famous Frondeur the '' duchesse de C ...

, Duke of Montbazon, and his wife . His older half sister was

Marie de Rohan Marie Aimée de Rohan (December 1600 – 12 August 1679) was a French courtier and political activist, famed for being the center of many of the intrigues of the first half of the 17th century in France. In various sources, she is often known ...

, Duchess of Chevreuse, a key figure in the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

(also known as the Lorraine War) an event which had a profound influence on the spirit of the era. She was presented at court in 1665. Anne was the Dame of Soubise in her own right. As such, at the time of her marriage she passed the title onto her husband. The couple styled themselves as the Prince and Princess of Soubise after March 1667 based on letters patent which raised the title of Soubise to a

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall un ...

. Anne was also the Dame of Frontenay in her own right. She received an excellent education for the time . Although only a teenager, she was devoted to her husband. She was also a great beauty of the era with her red hair, fresh pale skin and almond eyes. Known as ''la Belle Florice'', she maintained her beauty by keeping to a strict diet of chicken and salad, fruit, dairy products, and water with wine sometimes added. Anne became Louis XIV's mistress in 1669 when he was staying at the Château of Chambord where Anne was also present. At the time, Louis' affections were split between

Louise de La Vallière Françoise ''Louise'' de La Vallière, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours, born Françoise Louise de La Baume Le Blanc de La Vallière, Mademoiselle de La Vallière (6 August 1644 – 7 June 1710) was a French noblewoman and the first mistress ...

and her future successor

Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

. Some time later Anne gave birth to her second son, Hercule Mériadec de Rohan (future Prince of Soubise yet styled at birth as the Duke of Rohan-Rohan). In January 1674 Anne became a ''

Lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

'' to Queen Marie Thérèse and five months later she gave birth to another son

Armand Gaston Maximilien de Rohan Armand de Rohan (Armand Gaston Maximilien; 26 June 1674 – 19 July 1749) was a French churchman and politician. He became Bishop of Strasbourg in 1704, Cardinal in 1712 then Grand Almoner of France in 1713 and member of the regency council ...

. It was by then common knowledge that the King and Anne were lovers and it was commonly said that her son was really from Louis XIV and not Monsieur de Soubise although he acknowledged the baby as his son. Although nothing was proved, Louis XIV did allot a large sum of money to the compliant husband, "in consideration of his services." In the portraits of the time, the similarity between the king and Armand is obvious. Her husband quickly became wealthy. The couple's affair ended in 1675 having been on and off for some six years. At the same time the relationship between Madame de Montespan and the King also came to an end. She persuaded her husband to purchase the Hôtel de Guise from the trustees of the late

Duchess of Guise Lady of Guise Non hereditary, 950–? Elder House of Guise, ?–1185 House of Avesnes, 1185–1244 House of Châtillon, 1244–1404 House of Valois-Anjou, 1404–1417 Countess of Guise House of Valois-Anjou, 1417–1425 House of L ...

. He bought the property on 27 March 1700 and renamed it the ''Hôtel de Soubise''. She died there of a cold on 4 February 1709."Mitford, Nancy, The Sun King" p.221

Issue

*Anne Marguerite de Rohan, Abbess of Jouarre (5 August 1664 – 26 June 1721) no issue; *Louis de Rohan, Prince of Rohan (11 March 1666 – 5 November 1689) no issue; *Constance Émilie de Rohan (1667 – ?) married Don José Rodrigo da Camara, 2nd Count of Ribeira Grande (Portuguese nobleman) and had issue; * Hercule Mériadec de Rohan, Prince of Maubuisson,

Duke of Rohan-Rohan Duke of Rohan-Rohan References and notes {{Reflist House of Rohan Dukes of Rohan-Rohan Princes of Soubise ...

(8 May 1669 – 26 January 1749) married

Anne Geneviève de Lévis Anne Geneviève de Lévis (February 1673 – 20 March 1727) was a French noblewoman. She was Princess of Turenne by her first marriage and Duchess of Rohan-Rohan, Princess of Soubise by her second marriage. Anne Geneviève was the only child ...

, had issue; married

Marie Sophie de Courcillon Marie Sophie de Courcillon (6 August 1713 – 4 April 1756) was a French salonnière, Duchess of Rohan-Rohan and Princess of Soubise by marriage. She was the granddaughter of Philippe de Courcillon, better known as the ''marquis de Dangeau'' ...

, no issue; *Alexandre Mériadec de Rohan (19 July 1670 – 9 March 1687) no issue; *Henri Louis de Rohan, Chevalier de Rohan (4 January 1672 – 30 July 1693) no issue; *

, Cardinal de Soubise (26 June 1674 – 19 July 1749) Grand Almoner of France, suspected issue of Louis XIV, never married; *Sophronie-Pélagie de Rohan (2 July 1678 – ?) married Don Alphonso Francisco de Vasconcellos, had issue; *Éléonore Marie de Rohan, Abbess in Origny (25 August 1679 – 2 November 1753) no issue; *Maximilien Gaston de Rohan (1680 – 23 May 1706) died in the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon a ...

, no issue; *Frédéric Paul Malo de Rohan (1682) no issue.

Ancestry

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohan-Chabot, Anne De 1648 births 1709 deaths Anne Anne 17th-century French people 18th-century French people Anne Frontenay, Lady of, Anne de Rohan-Cahbot French courtesans Mistresses of Louis XIV Infectious disease deaths in France French ladies-in-waiting