House of Beauvilliers

The founder of the House of Beauvilliers is assumed to be Herbert-Émussent de Beauvilliers and the first mention is about 1115. The eldest branch pretty much merged with the House of Chartres which was the neighbour of the Beauvilliers.

1) François de Beauvilliers & (1) Antoinette Servien, (2) Françoise Geré de Rancé

During the Fronde, François made the wise choice of siding with the royal party; for that, his county of Saint-Aignan was elevated to a duchy in 1663. Prior to this, François had made his mark as an officer in three different campaigns. Besides being a celebrated soldier, he was also a patron of both artists and literary works.

Antoinette married François in 1633; she died after 47 years of marriage in 1680. Just six months later, François remarried to Françoise. Antoinette had four children by her husband:

• François, Comte de Séry
• Pierre, Chevalier de Saint-Aignan
• Paul, Duc de Saint-Aignan
• Anne, abbess

François did not have to look far for his new wife as Françoise had served his late wife as her femme de Chambre. François then had three more children by Françoise:

• Marie-Françoise, Marquise de Marillac, later Marquise de L'Aubespine 
• François Honorat Antoine, bishop
• Paul-Hippolyte, Duc de Saint-Aignan

François

2) Paul de Beauvilliers & Henriette-Louise de Colbert

Paul continuously found himself in incredibly influential places. Besides being First Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber, he was governor of the king's grandchildren: the dukes of Bourgogne, d'Anjou and Berri. The former was poised to become dauphin and Anjou became king of Spain. At court, he formed a close-knit circle with the Duc de Luynes and the Duc de Saint-Simon. He was later appointed to the king's council; he was devoted to reforms to how the state was run, preferring a council rather than complete absolutism.

Henriette-Louise was the daughter of the influential minister Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay. The couple had one child:

• Marie Henriette

Paul

3) Paul-Hippolyte de Beauvilliers & (1) Marie-Anne de Montlezun, (2) Françoise Hélène Étiennette Turgot

Salic Law prevented Marie Henriette from inheriting her father's title, so the dukedom went to the next available heir of François: Paul-Hippolyte. Like his father, he would be entrusted with matters of importance at court; for one, he was made ambassador to Spain and Rome as well as Lieutenant General. He certainly had an artistic side as well which earned him seats on both the Académie Française and Académie des Inscriptions et des Belles-Lettres.    

Having married Marie-Anne in 1707, the couple would go on to have nine children:

• Marie-Geneviève, nun
• Paul-François, Duc de Beauvilliers
• Paul-Louis, Duc de Saint-Aignan
• Paul-Hippolyte, Marquis de La Ferté de Saint-Aignan
• Paul-Louis-Victor, abbot
• Marie-Paule, nun
• Marie-Anne
• Paul-François-Honorat, Comte de Saint-Aignan
• Marie-Paul-Thérèse, Comtesse de Morangiès

Paul-Hippolyte

The eldest son, Paul-François, died at 32 years old which meant that the title went to the next in line.

4) Paul-Louis de Beauvilliers & (1) Augustine Léonine Olympe de Bullion, (2) Charlotte Suzanne des Nos de La Feuillé

Paul-Louis' life was primarily focused on his military career; he served as maitre de camp of a cavalry regiment which bore his name. It was while leading this regiment that he was killed in the Battle of Rosback in 1757.

Augustine Léonine Olympe de Bullion appears to have been a rather odd choice for a duke; she was the daughter of a marquis but neither her mother nor her father had any particularly high status. The couple had three children:

• Paul Étienne, Marquis de Beauvilliers
• Charles Paul François, Duc de Saint-Aignan
• Colette-Marie-Paule-Hortense-Bernadine, Marquise de La Roche-Aymon

Remarrying in 1753, Paul-Louis and Charlotte did not have any children.

5) Paul Étienne de Beauvilliers & Marie Madeleine de Rosset de Fleury

Paul Étienne served as a cavalry colonel; he died prematurely at the age of 26 in 1771. The couple had one child before Paul's death:

• Marie-Paul-Victoire, Duc de Saint-Aignan

6) Marie-Paul-Victoire de Beauvilliers & (1) Françoise-Camille Bérenger du Gua, (2) Emma-Nathalie-Victurienne de Rochechouart-Mortemart

Remarkably little is known of either this last Duc de Saint-Aignan nor his wives before the revolution. What is known, is that Marie-Paul-Victoire was guillotined in 1794 - although some sources claim that he died while in exile.

The family title died out in 1828.

Titles held by the House of Beauvilliers:
Duc de Beauvilliers
Duc de Saint-Aignan
Baron de La Ferté-Hubert
Comte de Montrésor

Coat-of-arms

Châteaux of the family:

Château du Lude

Château de Chaumont-de-Loire