The House of Aumont are descendants of Jean, Lord of Aumont who accompanied Louis IX on his crusade. The family itself hailed from Picardy and held the position of First Gentleman of the King's Chamber for decades.
By 1665, the family's estates were elevated to a duchy which placed the family amongst the leading aristocrats in France. These are the dukes of Aumont during the reign of Louis XIV to Louis XVI:
1) Antoine d'Aumont de Rochebaron & Catherine Scarron de Vaures
Antoine's life was spent remarkably close to Louis XIII; he had served the father of the Sun King from his own childhood. From then on, Antoine focused on a military career which led to him being appointed lieutenant general - he turned out to be a particularly skillful commander. To show his gratitude, the king made him governor of Paris before raising him to the rank of Duc d'Aumont. Sadly, Antoine only got to enjoy his new rank for four years before dying of apoplexy.
Catherine was the niece of a certain Paul Scarron - the first husband of Madame de Maintenon. The couple had four children:
- Louis-Marie-Victor, Duc d'Aumont
- Charles, abbot
- Élisabeth, Comtesse de Broglio
- Catherine-Marie, abbess
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| Antoine |
Serving as captain of Louis XIV's personal guard, Louis also made himself useful to the Grand Dauphin. Louis shared a passion for medallions with both Louis XIV and his heir; as such, the new Duc d'Aumont was often asked to search out objets d'art for the Grand Dauphin's personal collection.
Madeleine was a part of the rising Le Tellier-family; a family whose talent for bureaucratic service made them indispensable to the growing state machinery of Louis XIV. The couple married on 21 November 1660. Dying at the age of 22, her cause of death is unknown - perhaps an illness or complications from pregnancy?
The couple had three children:
- Élisabeth, Comtesse de Châteauneuf
- Louis, Duc d'Aumont
- Anne-Charlotte, Marquise de Créquy-Saint-Paul
Françoise-Angélique was quite a well-connected woman. Her own father was both a duke and a maréchal de France; her mother was governess to the Children of France.
She had one child by Louis:
- Louis, Duc d'Humières
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| Madeleine Le Tellier |
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| Françoise-Angélique |
The son of Louis-Marie-Victor and Madeleine, Louis inherited his father's title and lands. He would later become the king's ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Olympe was Marquise de Piennes in her own right and served as dame d'atours to the Duchesse d'Orléans.
The couple had one child:
- Louis-Marie, Duc d'Aumont
4) Louis-Marie d'Aumont & Catherine de Guiscard
Both Louis-Marie and Catherine had the unfortunate fate of dying young. The former died at 32 years while his wife reached 35 years. Given their ages and the fact that they both died in 1723, it is possible that they died from a disease which infected them both. Before they both died, they had a single child together:
- Louis-Marie-Augustin, Duc d'Aumont
5) Louis-Marie-Augustin d'Aumont & Victoire Félicité de Durfort
Following his parents' premature demise, the young Duc d'Aumont was just fourteen years old. Besides the familial title, he also inherited a massive fortune, a coveted art collection and the position of First Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber. He was therefore one of the most eligible bachelors at court. Besides his courtly duties, he held the rank of lieutenant general and governor of Picardy.
Victoire was the daughter of the Duc de Duras and the Princesse de Bournonville. Despite being just 21 years old at the time of her marriage in 1727, she was already a widow. Victoire had been married first to the Duc de Fitz-James who died after just one year of marriage. She was then immediately married off again to Louis-Marie-Augustin.
The couple had three children:
- Jeanne Louise Constance, Duchesse de Villeroy
- Louis-Marie-Guy, Duc d'Aumont
- Louis d'Aumont, Duc de Villequier
6) Louis-Marie-Guy d'Aumont & Louise-Jeanne de Durfort
Following the military careers of his predecessors, Louis-Marie-Guy rose through the ranks from colonel to maréchal de camp to lieutenant general.
Louise-Jeanne was positively awash in titles. Besides her title of Duchesse d'Aumont through her marriage, she was also Duchesse de Mazarin, de La Meilleraye and de Mayenne. Like her father-in-law she herself possessed an immense art collection which was sold off after her death.
The couple had one child:
- Louise d'Aumont
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| Louise-Jeanne |
The line died out in 1888.
Titles held by the House of Aumont:
Duc d'Aumont
Duc de Mazarin (through marriage)
Marquis d'Isles
Marquis de Villequier
Marquis de Piennes (through marriage)
Special honours and notes:
- For 200 years the House of Aumont held the position of First Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber
- Louis-Marie-Victor was governor of Paris as well as ambassador to London
- Louis-Marie-Celeste aided Napoleon during the Hundred Days
- The title of Duc d'Humières came to Louis d'Aumont through his marriage to Anne-Louise-Julie de Crevant; her father died without a male heir and despite being the youngest daughter, her husband got the title
- Louis-Marie-Augustin d'Aumont amassed a huge collection of artwork which was widely recognised as one of the finest
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