The Queen's Expensive Favourite: Madame de Polignac

The family of Polignac were of sound aristocratic stock but sadly impoverished. Before they rose in favour, they had had to mortgage their estates to an amount of 800.000 livres. Therefore, they could not afford to stay at court and rarely had a chance to mingle with those higher up on the social ladder. However, their fortune was to change - and abruptly, too.

In 1775, the Comte and Comtesse de Polignac went to Versailles to pay homage to the new king and queen. There, Yolande de Polignac caught the eye of the young queen Marie Antoinette. The queen was immediately charmed by the new arrival and before long Madame de Polignac was a welcome sight in the royal apartments. Once the royal favour was caught, the family of Polignac entered a golden age - the consequences of which they could not have anticipated.

Life at court was expensive and Madame de Polignac soon amassed significant debts. However, on the queen's request, the king cleared her debts of 400.000 livres. When the queen found herself pregnant (after 7 long years) the coveted post of Governess to the Children of France was bestowed on Yolande. This caused considerable anger at court; usually, that was one of the most prestigious female posts at court and it was felt that it should have gone to a higher ranking lady. The post brought her an annual salary of 50.000 livres.

The position of Governess meant the right to a permanent apartment at court. On an almost unprecedented scale, Marie Antoinette ensured that her friend got a most sumptuous apartment - of 13 rooms! As if this was not enough, the queen's own Maître d'Hotel was appointed to prepare the new suite for the royal favourite. 

Besides the salary that Yolande received she was also further enriched by the queen's generosity. On several occasions, the queen paid out of her own pocket for her friend's expenses. 

Yolande de Polignac

Even in the queen's private sphere, Madame de Polignac was granted exceptional favours. When the Hameau de la Reine had been built, Yolande was given her own little house there. This was an area that was otherwise completely off-limits to anyone who had not been given express permission from Her Majesty. 

However, Yolande was not the only one who benefited enormously from her friendship with the queen. Her immediate family saw the chance of quickly enriching themselves by taking advantage not only of their relation but of the queen's generous nature.

The first to benefit was Yolande's husband, Jules de Polignac. Hitherto, he had enjoyed the rank and title of Comte de Polignac. In 1780, he was raised to Duc de Polignac - a considerable social step forward. He was also made First Equerry of the Queen which brought him a solid wage of 80.000 livres per year. The post also gave him access and use of the queen's horses and her carriages. Finally, he was given the post of Director of the Post from which he could get a handsome pay.

Aglaé - daughter of Yolande

The daughter of Yolande and Jules - Aglaé Louise Françoise Gabrielle - was to make a very advantageous marriage. She was betrothed to the Duc de Guiche and needed a dowry worthy of the match. However, her parents were not quite capable of providing this in 1780, so the king and queen provided an immense sum of 800.000 livres. While it was not uncommon for the royal family to give dowries to favourites, this was a great sum indeed. 

The new member of the family, the Duc de Guiche, was made Captain of the Guards while Yolande's brother-in-law, the Vicomte de Polignac, was given the coveted post of ambassador to Switzerland. The latter post caused some strife, as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Comte de Vergennes, had wanted for a relative of his own.

Meanwhile, Diane de Polignac (Yolande's sister-in-law) was given a position in the household of Madame Élisabeth as dame d'honneur. It was she who had officially presented Yolande to Marie Antoinette - bizarrely enough, the queen did not like her but accepted her presence as a courtesy to Yolande.

Diane de Polignac

The entire family received massive pensions - paid for by the royal treasury. The new Duchesse de Polignac had a pension of 90.000 livres alone. In total, the family received pensions amounting to 700.000 livres per year. This was enough to cause considerable consternation amongst the other courtiers - especially since pensions were handed out to a far wider circle of people than usually. 

For instance, Madame d'Andlau received a pension of 6.000 livres. At first glance, this does not appear to be particularly extravagant. Comtesse Marie-Henriette d'Andlau was Yolande's aunt and had been in the household of Madame Adélaide (daughter of Louis XV). However, when it is taken into consideration that Madame d'Andlau had been exiled from court for providing her young charge with a pornographic book, the pension becomes far more questionable.

After all these favours, the family asked for the estate of Bitche which was worth 100.000 a year. For once, they were rejected but not without compensation. Instead, they were given the estate of Fénestrange which was worth 60-70.000.

The shower of positions, pensions and properties made plenty of enemies for the Polignacs. The major court families resented both their somewhat lowly status before their drastic rise and the fact that they completely cut off the queen from the rest of the court. The queen readily handed out the most coveted posts to members of their family and they were often the only guests allowed in the queen's apartments.

However, rumours of the expensive habits of the Polignacs seeped out to Paris. As was usually the case, the public loved to hate the royal favourites. As the 1780's wore on, the public hate against especially Madame de Polignac became so intense that the family was forced to flee shortly before the revolution broke out.