The Courtiers' Lodgings (III)

Louise Maclovie de Coëtquen, Duchesse de Duras

Louise was housed on the first floor of the Aile du Midi; she was a neighbour to Monsieur Herault and the Marèchale de Berwick. The Duchesse de Duras left these rooms in 1741.

Apartment of the Duchesse de Duras

Louise

Louise-Jeanne de Durfort,  Duchesse de Mazarin

The Duchesse de Mazarin was housed in a spacious apartment on the first floor of the Aile du Midi. Her apartment must have been interesting to inspect; she was known as one of the great art collectors of her day. Her neighbours were the Marquis de Livry and the king's physician, Monsieur Chicoyneau.

Louise-Jeanne

Louis Hector Honoré Maxime de Sabran, Bishop of Laon

The Bishop of Laon's presence at court was required on a regular basis; he was the Grand Almoner of Marie Antoinette which meant that he was also responsible for the ecclesiastical household of the queen. He was housed in the attic of the Corps Central - more specifically, right above the Salon of the Grand Covert. As can be seen, he enjoyed a fairly large apartment. Three large chambers and several smaller cabinets made up his lodging.

Apartment of the Bishop of Laon

Marie Victoire de Noailles, Comtesse de Toulouse

The large apartment occupied by the Comtesse de Toulouse was entered mainly through the large antechamber which she shared with the Duc and Duchesse de Penthièvre. The Comtesse de Toulouse served as a dame de compagnie to Marie Josèphe in the 1760's. Prior to this, she had gained the favour of Louis XV by helping to facilitate his affairs with all four sister of the Nesle-family. This apartment was occupied by Marie Victoire in 1744 and was located on the ground floor of the Corps Central. The reason for why she was lodged in this prestigious part of the château was that she had married the Comte de Toulouse, legitimized son of Louis XIV.

The shared antechamber is to the far left - following that was
a private antechamber, flanked by two wardrobes

The Courtiers' Lodgings: The Queen's Favourites

Royal favour was one way of gaining an apartment at Versailles; one example is the lodgings given to the Princesse de Lamballe and the Duchesse de Polignac - close friends of Marie Antoinette. These changed over the years according to both the personal relationship between the three women and the positions they received from their royal friend.

Madame de Lamballe

Upon her marriage to the Prince de Lamballe, Marie Thérèse Louise had shared an apartment with her husband and father-in-law, the Duc de Penthièvre. In this arrangement, she had a bedchamber to herself.

In July 1780, the Princesse de Lamballe was housed in a magnificent apartment on the first floor of the Aile du Midi. No less than 15 rooms were allocated to the royal friend; the location of the apartment meant that she had an excellent view of the garden and the Orangery. Her rooms were as follows: (a) billiard room, (b) passage, (c) toilet, (d) boiler, (e) bath, (f) library, (g) cabinet, (h) salon, (i) gaming room, (j) first antechamber, (k) second antechamber, (l) bedchamber, (m) toilet, (n) cabinet and (o) wardrobe.

Note the small chamber adjoining the first antechamber. It was used as a bedroom for a female servant. By 1780, she had to leave these rooms because the Duc d'Angôuleme had need of a new apartment. She was then housed on the ground floor of the same wing but, unfortunately, I have not been able to find a floor plan of that particular apartment.

Madame de Lamballe's apartment, 1780

Madame de Lamballe

Madame de Polignac

In comparison to Madame de Lamballe, Yolande's favour rose later on in the 1780's which is shown clearly in the gradually larger apartments she received. In 1780 - same year that Madame de Lamballe was moved - she occupied a small apartment. This also happened to be on the ground floor.

Madame de Polignac's apartment, 1780

However, they did not share the ground floor for long. Already in 1781, Madame de Polignac was moved to the Minister's Wing (extending from the Corps Central on the side of the Aile du Midi). Here, she shared a larger apartment with her husband.

The Apartment of the Duc & Duchesse
de Polignac, 1781

Once Yolande was appointed to the post of Governess of the Children of France, she was moved back to the Aile du Midi - traditionally, the where the Governess lived since it was near the apartments of her charges. The apartment she received was smaller than the one she had previously occupied but it came with the adjoining entresol. This is the apartment Yolande occupied in the last years of Versailles as the seat of the monarchy.

(a) antechamber, (b) dining room, (c) salon, (d) bedchamber), (e) wardrobe and (f + g) bathrooms 

1789

The entresol counted rooms for her servants as well as her library and a boudoir. Her husband had benefited from her promotion as well; he occupied an apartment to the left of hers but it appears to have been a temporary structure since it no longer exists.

Madame de Polignac

The Courtiers' Lodgings (II)

Anne de Noailles, Comtesse de Noailles

The infamous "Madame Etiquette" had a long career at court which began long before Marie Antoinette arrived in France. By 1766 she was lodged in the Aile du Nord, near the chapel. At this point in time she had the prestigious post of dame d'honneur to Marie Leszczynska which entitled her to a rather large apartment: (a) cabinet, (b), bedchamber, (c) dining room, (d) salon and (e) interior cabinet.

The Comtesse de Noailles

François-Hyppolite Sanguin, Marquis de Livry

The post of the king's Premier Maître d'Hôtel was occupied by the Marquis de Livry for quite some years. To befit his status, the Marquis was given a very sumptuous apartment on the first floor of the Aile du Midi. In comparison, this wing was usually occupied by the princes and the very top of the royal households. Consisting of six larger rooms, two smaller cabinets and three very small cabinets (located between the staircases), the Marquis certainly did not lack for space - or fireplaces of which he had eight! However, no "chaise" or toilet appears to have been installed.

Marie-Josèphe de Boufflers, Duchesse d'Alincourt

The Duchesse d'Alincourt replaced Madame de Prie as dame du palais to Marie Leszczynska. As such she was technically entitled to a lodging at court but not a very prestigious one. I chose her particular apartment to show how simple such a lodging could be. As the floorpan shows, she had just two rooms and a small passage from the staircase. Nevertheless, an apartment was still a massive privilege so she was undoubtedly envied.

Apartment of the Duchesse d'Alincourt

Charles-Juste de Beauvau-Craon & Marie-Charlotte-Sylvie de Rohan-Chabot, Prince & Princesse de Beauvau

On occasion, married couples would be given a combined apartment which was the case for the Prince and Princesse de Beauvau. By 1770, they were lodged in the attic of the Aile du Nord, right next to the Opera. Considering that it was meant for two people, it was larger than usually and certainly had its perks: (a): wardrobes, (b) toilets, (c) cabinet, (d) first antechamber, (e) second antechamber, (f) bedchamber, (g) grand salon, (h) bedchamber, (i) cabinet and (j) another wardrobe. 

Prince de Beauvau

The Courtiers' Lodgings (I)

Louis-Marie-Augustin d'Aumont de Rochebaron, Duc d'Aumont

The Duc d'Aumont served as the king's First Gentleman of the Bedchamber (Premier Gentilhomme de la Chambre) and as such was given an apartment in the Aile du Midi where he lived around 1732. Despite his grand charge at court, his apartment consisted of just three rooms - not much compared to the eight rooms assigned to the First Maître d'Hôtel who was housed in the same wing. Note that while his apartment included two fireplaces it had no place to reheat food.

Apartment of the Duc d'Aumont

Charles-Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duc de Bouillon

Charles-Godefroy held one of the so-called "grand charges" of the French crown: Grand Chambellan or Great Chaplain. As such, it was no surprise that he was given a sumptuous apartment in the Aile du Nord - conveniently close to the magnificent chapel. The floor plan of his apartment dates to 1755 and counts no less than 11 separate rooms: (a) wardrobe, (b) passage, (c) toilet, (d) cabinet, (e) bedchamber, (f) first antechamber, (g) second antechamber), (h) grand cabinet, (i) inner cabinet and (j) toilet. It is quite incredible that his apartment contained no less than two toilets in an age where some had none at all!

Apartment of the Duc de Bouillon

Duc de Bouillon

Françoise de Chalus, Comtesse de Narbonne

Françoise had the benefit of being a close confidante of Mesdames of France; as such, she was housed in their near vicinity in the Aile du Nord. She was particularly attached to Madame Adélaide who wielded a considerable influence with her father, Louis XV. Perhaps it is due to this influence that the Comtesse de Narbonne managed to secure a large apartment for herself which included rooms for her husband too. No less than 13 rooms were allocated for her use: (a) uncertain, (b) first antechamber, (c) personal cabinet, (d) second antechamber, (e) wardrobe, (f) cabinet, (g) wardrobe), (h) bedchamber, (i) maid-servant, (j) reserved for her husband and (k) servant.

Madame de Narbonne's apartment

Interestingly, this is the only apartment of the four which specifically shows accommodation for servants: one female (housed in "i") and one for a boy-servant (housed in "k"). The rooms marked with an "a" were described as "pieces noirs" which I am not quite sure what means. Still, she inhabited the apartment in 1766.

Comtesse de Narbonne

Joachim-Casimir-Léon de Béthune, Comte de Béthune

The Comte de Béthune had achieved the post of Chevalier d'Honneur to Madame Adélaide and from there was granted entry into the king's chamber.  Nevertheless, he had to "make due" with an apartment in the Ministers' Wing. Still, his living conditions were better than others who were lodging in the palace proper. He had fireplaces in four out of five rooms which helped a great deal in the uninsulated apartment. If you look closely at the room farthest to the left, there is a small square with two circles on it. This is most likely a stove for reheating meals. He lived here from 1761-67.

Comte de Béthune

 The Comte de Béthune's apartment

The Courtiers' Lodgings

Besides the royal family, certain aristocrats were entitled to a lodging at court. These would be the ones who were occupying key positions in the royal households; consequently, they would be near at hand whenever their master or mistress required their services. In truth, the apartments were constantly changing. Depending on status, employment and royal favour courtiers were moved from one apartment to the next. Furthermore, once settled in their new accommodations, it was not uncommon to petition the king for renovations to be done. These included usual upkeep but additions too - as a result, the layout of apartments changed quite a bit over the years.

The "Bâtiments du Roi" was in charge of the king's buildings (hence the name) and produced several lovely floor plans of both entire wings of the château and individual apartments. This gives us an insight into exactly who lived at the palace at which times. The nobles below were not in the immediate royal family but still lived at court and is not an exhaustive list. The years depend on the time when the floor plans were created. Note that the royal family's key members (king, queen, dauphin, dauphine etc) were mainly housed in the Corps Central. Therefore, few other courtiers were on the main floors.

Generally, there were four floors (besides the basements) were courtiers could be lodged. This include the attic apartments and the mezzanines. The posts in this category are meant to give an insight into the types of apartments available at Versailles; therefore, I have chosen a wide variety of people and positions. Stay tuned as new posts are uploaded describing individual apartments in detail!