Born in 1715, Élisabeth-Charlotte was not initially destined for any particular influence at court. Her parents were newly "made"; her father, Bertrand François Huguet, was Secretary of State to the king (one of many) as well as a maitre d'hotel ordinaire. In other words, he was not a member of the high nobility but had gained his position through professional merit. However much deserved, such a background did not produce expectations of glittering matches or even establishing his two daughters at court.
As for Élisabeth-Charlotte, she likely grew up with her sister, Catherine, and a brother. She might have slipped entirely into obscurity had it not been for a remarkable - and at the time entirely unknown - stroke of good luck. At the age of 20, Élisabeth-Charlotte was married off to Charles Jean, Comte d'Estrades, who came from an entirely aristocratic family. Her new husband was set to inherit the marquisate of d'Estrades but more importantly had Charlotte Le Normant as a mother. Charlotte happened to be from a banking family - the Le Normants - who had also welcomed another young woman into their ranks: Jeanne Antoinette de Poisson, the very woman who would become Madame de Pompadour.
However, in 1735 - when the marriage took place - no one would know that the young Jeanne would one day change Élisabeth-Charlotte's status drastically. The marriage did not alter her position at court much, besides granting her a new title - she was not offered a presentation, for one. No children came from the marriage to Charles Jean and then the unexpected happened - he died. The Comte d'Estrades was killed in battle in 1743, at Dettingen, which left his 28-year old wife a widow.
Whereas Élisabeth-Charlotte might have hoped for a slightly more privileged future as the Marquise d'Estrades, that was dashed entirely. She would likely have faded entirely from memory if it had not been for the meteoric rise of Madame de Pompadour. It is not unlikely that the two had become firm friends through their family connection. They were almost certainly on good terms in 1745 when Madame de Pompadour officially became the king's mistress; it was Élisabeth-Charlotte who hired the ever-money needing Abbé de Bernis to instruct the young Pompadour in Versailles-life. The result was immediate. For Élisabeth-Charlotte, the initiation began with finally being offered a presentation at court.
Once having secured herself at the king's side, Pompadour began rewarding her friends and family, including Élisabeth-Charlotte, who found herself with a very mediocre fortune. It was through her kinswoman's influence that the Comtesse d'Estrades was invited to the king's private suppers. This was an entirely unexpected privilege which was typically only reserved for the king's inner circle. Suddenly, Élisabeth-Charlotte found herself in a circle of influence at the pinnacle of the court.
Élisabeth-Charlotte would be appointed to the financially profitable post of dame d'atours to the king's eldest daughters in 1749 which had a dual benefit: it provided her with an income as well as a place at court, including lodgings. Hitherto, she had shared a hôtel with her brother but now she was given lodgings in Versailles.
It has been speculated that Élisabeth-Charlotte herself tried to supplant Madame de Pompadour but only succeeded in becoming a temporary mistress. Having failed herself, she then - allegedly - tried to champion her niece, Charlotte-Rosalie de Romanet. Such blatant backstabbing likely did not endear her further to Madame de Pompadour who had watched the evolution from grateful and appreciated friend to pretended rival. It likely led to an end of their personal relationship; and end that would prove far more disastrous for Élisabeth-Charlotte than she likely anticipated.
If Élisabeth-Charlotte tried - and failed - to get at the king, she certainly took another lover: M. d'Argenson. The choice adds fire to the rumour of a potential feud with the favourite as d'Argenson was amongst Madame de Pompadour's most outspoken critics. He was even said to have moved in with Élisabeth-Charlotte. That hardly would have indicated a firm friendship and by 1755 her favour had run out.
Without the protection of Madame de Pompadour, no one intervened when Élisabeth-Charlotte was exiled from court. It seems rather more likely that her former blossom friend was behind her downfall. The incident of her disgrace was quite bizarre but very typical of Louis XV. He did not like confrontation and had given Élisabeth-Charlotte no indication that she was in disfavour. On the contrary, Élisabeth-Charlotte had been a firm fixture on all the king's little trips. On this particular occasions, she had accompanied him to La Muette when the king had asked her to conduct some business in Paris. She had barely set off in her carriage when a messenger stopped the carriage and handed her a letter. In it, she found the king's order that she resign immediately and remained away from court.
Utterly confused and dumbstruck, Élisabeth-Charlotte could only continue on her journey. The king had granted her a considerable pension of 10.000 livres but - as reported by Barbier - but no one knew why she had so suddenly fallen from grace. It was whispered that she had reported on matters discussed in private with her lover but it could be just as likely that Madame de Pompadour finally succeeded in ousting her. It has also been suggested that a letter from d'Argenson to Élisabeth-Charlotte was intercepted by Madame de Pompadour who used it to ensure the exile of the two of them at once.
That her lover was involved seems quite likely considering that he, too, was in exile. She promptly joined him there and would remain away from court. There were certainly those who did not miss her. Hénault (President of one of the king's parliaments) described her as an ungrateful schemer who had caused d'Argenson to squander his money on her. Hardly a fan there. Another harsh critic had been the Comte d'Argenson (not to be confused with her lover). He had claimed that she was immensely greedy and had used her position to amass wealth while leaving Madame Adelaide with nothing. Others chimed in and declared that she was both ugly, unfaithful and greedy. Judging by her actions, that she did possess a certain degree of ingratitude and greed seems obvious. However, her ugliness is less likely. To be sure, her portrait show a woman with stronger features than the delicate ones preferred by the rococo but it is extremely unlikely that Louis XV would have taken her as a mistress if she had been ugly.
It is not surprising that some should judge her harshly for the way she treated Madame de Pompadour but others were not quite so severe. She seems to have been able to influence men around her and certainly was very intriguing. However, whether she was particularly successful with her schemes seems less obvious.
It has been suggested that she actually came to have quite a lot of influence at court but that her very public falling out with Madame de Pompadour permanently scarred her reputation. For one, most of those who viciously attacked her character happened to be friends of the royal favourite. It might be possible that Madame de Pompadour continued to view her as a threat even after Élisabeth-Charlotte's attempts at supplanting her had faded.
1764 - nine years after her exile - two deaths occurred. One was that of her former friend, Madame de Pompadour, while the other was that of M. d'Argenson. If Élisabeth-Charlotte had hoped for a return to court upon the death of Pompadour, she was sadly mistaken as no invitation came.
That she had had a genuine connection with d'Argenson seems quite likely. They had remained together for 14 years and he bequeathed her over 1000 volumes from his private library upon his death.
Either frustrated or perhaps just lonely, Élisabeth-Charlotte took an unexpected step and remarried. Her new husband was 20 years younger than her and brought a new (but not improved) title. Nicolas Maximilien Séguier de Saint-Brisson was the Comte de Saint-Brisson. To onlookers Nicolas' choice was utterly bizarre. His chosen bride brought him no fortune, no connections and could not give him an heir.
The last twenty years of Élisabeth-Charlotte passed much like the first twenty years - very little is known except that she never returned to court. Élisabeth-Charlotte died in 1784.
No comments:
Post a Comment