Laure-Auguste de Fitz-James, Princess de Chimay

Princesse of Chimay by Van Loo

Laure-Auguste de Fitz-James, Princess de Chimay (7 December 1744 - 26 September 1814) was a French courtier. She served as lady-in-waiting to queen Marie Antoinette from 1770 to 1791.

Life

Laure-Auguste de Fitz-James was born in Paris as the daughter of Charles de Fitz-James and Louise Victoire Sophie Goyons Matignon. She married Philippe Gabriel Maurice d'Alsace Henin-Liétard, 15th prince de Chimay, in 1762. She thus became the sister-in-law of Charles-Joseph de Hénin-Liétard d'Alsace. The couple had no children.

As her mother before her she served as dame du palais to queen Marie Leszczynska from 1767 to 1768 and was, as many of the courtiers of the late queen, appointed to serve Marie Antoinette upon her arrival to France in 1770. She served as dame du palais in 1770-74, as dame d'atour in 1774-75, and as dame d'honneur from 1775 onward. She replaced Anne d'Arpajon, whom the queen disliked, as dame d'honneur in 1775, making her first in rank of the female courtiers, but her rank was demoted to number two when the queen reintroduced the post of Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine for princess de Lamballe the same year. Because of this, the queen was obliged to grant a promotion to one of her relatives to prevent Chimay from leaving court. Chimay was described as reliable and dedicated and had a good work relationship to Marie Antoinette, with whom she shared an interest in opera.

When Victoire de Rohan was to be replaced as Governess of the Children of France in 1782, de Duras, alongside Louise-Charlotte de Duras, was commonly assumed to be the two most suitable candidates for the post: however, Marie Antoinette refused de Chimay because of her too severe religiosity and de Duras because she reportedly felt a certain academic inferiority toward her, and chose Yolande de Polastron for the position instead.^[1]

On the outbreak of the French revolution, she belonged to those courtiers accompanying the royal family from Versailles to Paris after the Women's March on Versailles in October 1789. She was "extremely unpopular", and left France in early 1791, during a flood of nobles emigrating after the departure of the Mesdames de France, after which her office was given to Madame d'Ossun. ^[2]

She spent the following years in Germany and the Austrian Netherlands. She eventually returned to France, and died in Paris.

References