One of the numerous members of the Noailles-family, Amable Gabrielle was born on 18th February 1706 as the second child of the Duc de Noailles. Little is known of her childhood which was likely spent with her family's governess before a suitable match was found for her. At the age of 15 she was betrothed and married to Honoré Armand de Villars, the heir to the dukedom of Villars. At the time of her marriage she was described as being "beautiful, very well-made and perfectly brought up".
The marriage was not particularly good; Honoré was notoriously homosexual which greatly impeded the couple's quest for an heir. As it happens, they would only have a single child. On 18th March 1723, Amable Gabrielle gave birth to a daughter whom she named Aimable-Angélique. Aimable-Angélique would later be married to the Comte d'Egmont. It was rumoured that Aimable-Angélique was not the daughter of Honoré at all but rather of more elevated parentage - and considering that her supposed father was a duke, that is saying a lot. The potential candidate for Aimable-Angélique's father was Jean-Philippe d'Orléans, a prince of the blood as the son of the Regent, Philippe II. Either way, Honoré officially accepted paternity of the young girl - the couple never had more children.
Meanwhile Amable Gabrielle's career at court was taking off - she was presented at court and placed as dame du Palais to Marie Leszczynska in 1727. The two women found a common cause in their love of philanthropy; Amable Gabrielle was often with the queen when she undertook charitable work. Furthermore, Amable Gabrielle was accepted as one of the queen's personal friends which secured her position but did not grant her particular influence at court as the queen herself had none. On the contrary, Louis XV ensured that his wife had no impact on politics or even appointments at court.
A true testimony to the regard she had inspired with the queen was the appointment in 1742 of Amable Gabrielle as dame d'atours. This position was amongst the highest available to women at court and placed the Duchesse de Villars in charge of the queen's wardrobe. The benefits were considerable and she became one of the few ladies at court with her own income.
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| Amable Gabrielle |
Amable Gabrielle made very little fuss at court during her tenure ship. She was a remarkable bibliophile, pious, and readily slipped into the retired inner circle of the queen. It was also rumoured that she had an affair with the Comte d'Argenson but that is unconfirmed. It does seem, though, that her and her husband lived entirely separate lives. It was to her - and the Duchesse de Luynes - that Madame de Pompadour turned when her physical relationship with the king ended. In an interview with the two ladies, the royal mistress confessed that henceforth her relationship with the king would be as a close friend and advisor.
She remained in her position until the queen's death in 1768 - a considerable feat for any court official. Upon the death of Marie Leszczynska, Amable Gabrielle was amongst the women who were promised a role in the household of the soon-to-arrive dauphine, Marie Antoinette. Consequently, Amable Gabrielle transferred to the service of the 15-year old dauphine.
By this point, Amable Gabrielle was 64 years old and found it difficult to properly fulfill her role. Unfortunately, the dauphine's wardrobe descended into chaos with spending going through the roof and administration becoming chaotic. According to the report by the Austrian ambassador to Marie Antoinette's mother, Empress Maria Theresia, the age and infirmities of the Duchesse de Villars was wrecking havoc on the dauphine's wardrobe. During the 18 months that Amable Gabrielle was in charge, the wardrobe's expenses rose from 120.000 livres to 350.000 livres.
It was a rather awkward state of affairs as high-ranking officials were rarely fired. Amable Gabrielle herself was both from a powerful family and had married into another; furthermore, she was widowed in 1770 which would have made a dismissal seem callous. However, before long that problem solved itself in a very natural way.
On 16th September 1771, Amable Gabrielle died and was succeeded by the far more suitable Adélaide Diane de Cossé.
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