Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon

Born on 16 January 1675, the young Louis de Rouvroy was born into very good circumstances. His father, Claude de Rouvroy, had been elevated to the rank of Duc de Saint-Simon in 1635 and had enjoyed the benefits of being a favourite of Louis XIII. The new mother was Charlotte de l'Aubespine was of an old, distinguished family but that was far from her best quality.

As it happened, Louis would benefit enormously from his mother. She was very intelligent and undertook her son's education personally while maintaining a good relationship with the elite of the French court. For instance, the chosen god-parents for the young boy were none other than Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse. Consequently, Louis spent a large portion of his early childhood with his formidable mother - meanwhile his father, who was 68 years old at the time of his birth, would have taken the more traditionally, aloof approach to the infant.

Thus, the young boy grew into a young man who became more and more aware of his dues as a duke of France. At the age of 22, Louis entered the grey musketeers and immediately went into service. In 1692 he participated in the Siege of Namur before fighting at Neerwinden.

While Louis was fighting elsewhere, a marriage was being prepared for him. By this time, Louis was a very eligible bachelor. His father had died in 1693 leaving him as Duc de Saint-Simon at the age of 18. Already at the age of 19, we see clearly the characteristic that has become almost synonymous with the new Duc de Saint-Simon: obsession with rank. Despite his young age, Louis was perfectly prepared to take legal action when the Duc de Luxembourg attempted to move his place up in the inner hierarchy between dukes. At this point in history, there was a pecking order within the dukedoms in which the highest ranking was the one whose dukedom had been created first. Luxembourg attempted to claim that he should be second - rather than eighteenth - which would push Saint-Simon (number 12) further down. As a result, Saint-Simon filed a formal protest.

The Duc de Saint-Simon in his youth

The chosen bride was Marie-Gabrille de Durfort, the daughter of the Duc de Lorges. The two would marry in 1695. Interestingly, their relationship was remarkably well-suited. One would suspect that a young man with such a large sense of superiority would have little regard for his wife but the reverse proved to be the case. Their marriage would be a prime example of a marriage in the ancien regime; while it does not appear to have developed into downright love, they possessed a mutual respect for each other and worked together to further their interests. 

Also, it was noted that she possessed the knack for curbing his most pompous thinking. To the outside world the two appeared to have a relationship built on respect, trust and a certain level of affection.

Meanwhile, Louis - now in his mid-twenties - was eager to demand his dues. Like most other young noblemen he hoped to gain his reputation through military service and he certainly believed that his rank entitled him to a higher military rank or other promotion. Sadly for him, Louis XIV apparently disagreed. In what can only be described as a pique of wounded pride, he would resign his commission as officer in 1702.

This move on his behalf was characteristic of the young Louis de Rouvroy whose pride in his rank and obsession with furthering himself was already well-known. However, he should have known that Louis XIV was not one to take such a tantrum lightly. The king did not see the resignation as a matter of slighted honour but rather as a refusal to carry out his duty. While he probably did not realise it at the time, this act almost cost Louis his entire career at court.

The young Louis at 16

One can only speculate how the Duc de Saint-Simon managed to survive the obvious displeasure of the Sun King - but he did. From then on, Louis would dedicate his life to the routine of Versailles and the never-ending quest for furthering his family's interests.

One of his key points of conjecture was the matter of the royal bastards. Louis XIV had done everything in his power for his illegitimate children much to the shock of the old aristocracy. Saint-Simon was amongst those who were outraged when the king first married his children to princes and princesses of the blood but even that was nothing compared to what was to come. In 1714 he king decreed that his now legitimised sons could indeed inherit the throne of France, if the legitimised branches died out. While the situation seemed far-fetched considering how many people were in line to throne before them, it was hardly impossible - after all, no less than three dauphins had died since 1710.

His open dislike of the king's favourite children combined with his meticulous insistence on every little thing due to a duke, made the king think very little of him. Still, he appears to have been able to please when he wanted to as the Duc de Saint-Simon was still a welcome guest with many of the leading men of his day. Meanwhile, Louis showed himself to lack a talent - or taste - for court politics which is rather ironic considering his intimate knowledge of the goings-on at court. Even when his good friend, Pontchartrain, was made chancellor, he did not take the opportunity to seek further benefits for himself or his family.

While Louis was scheming to keep the legitimised princes out of any influence, his family was growing. Marie-Gabrielle gave him three children: Charlotte (later Princesse de Chimay), Jacques Louis (Duc de Ruffec) and Armand-Jean.

The death of Louis XIV in 1715 must have come as a relief to the Duc de Saint-Simon whose life had increasingly reached a dead-end. He was still far from gaining any favour with the king which essentially stalled his entire career which had instead begun to focus on cultivating useful alliances at court. When Philippe d'Orléans was declared regent - and Louis XIV's legitimised sons were removed from the line of succession - things appeared to have been far brighter than they had for years.

For the first time in years, the Duc de Saint-Simon found himself with a new appointment: he was amongst those chosen for the regency council. However, if he had expected the regent to take any advice from him, he was sorely disappointed. Louis had his own political vision of a France ruled, not by an absolute king, but by a Council consisting of the leading peers. As such, he himself would have exerted a far greater influence than he ever actually had.

Yet he now had an in with the focus of power which he used to obtain the position of ambassador extraordinary to Spain in 1721. His mission was to arrange for the young Infanta Mariana Victoria to be engaged to Louis XV. 

Louis appears to have relished his time in Spain. After all, he was entrusted with a delicate but highly important task and spent lavishly to impress his hosts. Even when he caught the dreaded smallpox, he does not appear to have been too dejected - perhaps being made a Grandee of Spain helped to ease the pain. 

Louis - with his new title
of Grandee of Spain

Once back in France, Louis' career went from lukewarm to ice-cold. His prodigious expenditure while in Spain had further damaged his already shaky finances. Curiously, the otherwise ambitious man does not appear to have done anything about it. Rather than joining the race for any type of profitable benefit, he instead retired from any form of politics. Towards the latter part of his life, he would write his famous memoirs of his time at court.

It seems paradoxical that a man whose legacy is almost entirely in his extensive memoirs should have left so little knowledge of his later years. By 1743 Marie-Gabrielle died and she was followed by their eldest son, Jacques Louis, in 1746. Considering his relationship with his wife, Louis must have been heartbroken. Whether that contributed to his continued absence from any intrigues can only be guessed at. 

What we do know is that his relationships with men of power - including Cardinal Dubois and the Orléans-family - cooled immensely over the years. Naturally, his memoirs leave no indication for the reason behind such a split.

Louis in 1728 at the age of 53

As his life came to an end, Louis appears to have been a deeply disappointed man. He had grown up with a solid sense of superiority, a superiority which he firmly believed entitled him to some greatness. Yet, he had not received any. Having first been thwarted in his military endeavours by Louis XIV, he was then brushed aside by Philippe d'Orléans who had no time for his political ideas. Even after his successful ambassadorship to Spain, he had no been granted any new office - instead he could only watch the debts pile up. When the Duc de Saint-Simon died on 2 March 1755, he died penniless and somewhat disillusioned.

Looking back on the famous memoirist what type of man was he? Naturally, he is most famous for his almost obsessive insistence on his dues as a duke but he does not appear to have been particularly ambitious. Despite being placed in a prime spot for advancement in the regency council he never made any particular efforts to gain more influence, benefits or even pensions. Haughty to a fault, he appears to have had almost an expectation of being granted such things due to his rank at court - when that failed to materialise, he completely resigned himself. 

The Convenient Marriage of the Duc & Duchesse de Gramont

Béatrix de Choiseul-Stainville was - by all accounts - a difficult woman. She was the sister of the Duc de Choiseul but could not create a life for herself at court when he became Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1758. The reason was that she was unmarried - this being the case despite her having reached her 30th year in an age when noble women were married much earlier. Yet, she was determined the set up a place for herself at court and consequently requested her brother to find a husband for her.

That might have been easier if Béatrix did not have a somewhat murky reputation. She had previously very openly courted the post of Louis XV's maitresse-en-titre but had been unsuccessful. Her rejection was already the knowledge of the entire court but she did not seem to have been deterred from future attempts. While she was admittedly both intelligent and capable, she was also incredibly dominating, ambitious and somewhat shameless in her pursuits of her goals. For instance, her attempts at winning the king's affection had been entirely destroyed by her brazenness - the skittish king was thrown completely off by her open attempts at seducing him.

Béatrix de Choiseul-Stainville

Thus, her problem in 1758-59 was that she could not live permanently nor participate in court activities without having been officially presented - and for that to happen, she had to be married. 

This is where her brother stepped in. Even with her faults, she was still the sister of a powerful minister who - at the time - had the king's ear. Yet it seemed to have been difficult for the Duc de Choiseul to find a man of suitable rank willing to marry his sister. Finally, he reached an agreement with Antoine VII, Duc de Gramont.

The Duc de Gramont was not much older than Béatrix, just 7 years. There appears to have been an understanding between the two ducal families that the marriage was merely pro forma. As such, Béatrix could claim her position at court both as a married lady and as a duchess. Consequently the union was celebrated on 16 August 1759. If anyone had any doubts that the marriage was little more than a gateway for Béatrix to the gilded halls of Versailles, they were quickly removed when the couple separated - just three months after the wedding. Yet, this separation was not legally binding until an official application for separation had been granted by the Châtelet du Paris.

Apparently, this application for a separation had been filed by Béatrix and was finally granted on 18 July 1761. So while the couple had not lived together for almost three years, they had still been - legally - considered to be husband and wife.

It is unknown what caused the Duc de Gramont to agree to such a union. The couple had no children; indeed, she would immediately move to her brother's household which she quickly took over. As for Antoine, he already had a legitimate heir to his title. He had been married once before to Marie Louise Victoire de Gramont (his first-cousin) who had given him a son before dying in 1756. 

Antoine VII de Gramont

In "Marie Antoinette, Her Early Years" the author briefly mention the rapid breakdown of the couple's marriage but also give a clue as to the Duc de Gramont's reasons to accept. It was suggested that Antoine "preferred the company of the members of the corps de ballet". While that may be more gossip than fact, it would not be unthinkable that the Duc was more inclined to accept a wife if it would lead attention away from his affairs - especially if the affairs were with other men. Of course, this is entirely speculation but that would allow him to continue his affairs while enjoying the respectability of a conventional marriage in an age where homosexuality was not just illegal but punishable by death. To Béatrix, it would also be an ideal arrangement. 

She would not have to endure having to submit to her husband's will while still being able to take his rank at court. She, too, would avoid the stigma of being an unmarried, non-ecclesiastical woman and she would be able to stand by her brother as his career advanced at court.

Their marriage was to endure - albeit in name only - for a staggering 34 years until the revolution. During this time the couple can hardly be said to have resembled anything other than mere acquaintances. Surprisingly, the whole affair does not appear to have made much of a stir at court. While it should be remembered that all marriages within the aristocracy were arranged marriages of convenience, it was still a rare thing to have the matter dealt with so bluntly. Otherwise it would not be uncommon for husband and wife to live in what amounts to little more than a partnership focused on furthering the interests of their family.

The Battle for Prime Minister of 1743

The early years of Louis XV's reign was remarkably untarnished by political intrigues - the few conspiracies that did appear were quickly dealt with by the regent. However, in the 1740's the court of Versailles had taken on a very different nature. 

Unlike his predecessor, Louis XV was not keen on assuming sole responsibility for state affairs and kept a prime minister; furthermore, his preference for privacy resulted in him retreating to his private apartments. This - in turn - left the courtiers free to form factions in a manner that Louis XIV's near omnipresence had otherwise prevented.

To set the stage, by 1743 the king of France was 33 years old but had not taken on the role of absolute monarch yet; instead, the running of the state went to his Prime Minister, Cardinal Fleury. However, Cardinal Fleury had been old for years - by 1743, he had reached the impressive age of 89. When he died in January of that year, the scene was set for a power play to determine the new Prime Minister.

Ready to fight it out within the gilded halls of Versailles were three powerful factions: Chauvelin, Noailles and Belle-Isle.

Faction of Chauvelin

Named for the king's Keeper of the Seals, Chauvelin, was seen as the obvious candidate by many at court. Indeed, he enjoyed remarkably widespread support from such powerful houses as that of the Condé, the Duc de Villeroy, the Carignan-family, the Prince de Chalais, the Duc de Biron, the Duc d'Aumont, the Duc de Créquy, the Marquis de Beringhen etc.

But one of his most valued supporters was a man of far lower rank but who had the immense advantage of holding one of the most sought-after posts in the king's household: First Valet to the King. Bachelier, as was his name, was one of the most intimate friends of the king and as such in an invaluable position to influence things as he saw fit.

And what of the main figure himself? Germain Louis Chauvelin, Marquis de Grosbois, is a rather unknown figure to contemporary minds. Unlike other ministers of his time such as Fleury, Bourbon and Argenson, he seems to have gone somewhat under the radar. This may have been due to his background. Unlike Noailles and Belle-Isle, Germain Louis Chauvelin was not of noble stock. His family were lawyers and had been attached to the Parlament de Paris; they might never have come any further had they not made several vital connections. The first was with the family of Michel Le Tellier who served as an influential politician to Louis XIV. He apparently saw the talents of the Chauvelins and attached them to his service and later to his son, Louvois.

The second was the introduction of Germain to none other than Cardinal Fleury. From there, the two struck up a mutually beneficial relationship in which Germain acted as an aide to the increasingly powerful Cardinal. Chauvelin would reap the benefits of this connection when he was made Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs - a post he held for a decade between 1727 and 1737. However, in 1737, he was suddenly fired by none other than Cardinal Fleury.

One can only imagine that Chauvelin relished the opportunity to succeed the very man who had turned his back on him.

Germain Louis Chauvelin

Faction of Noailles

Undoubtedly one of the more famous families of French nobility, the house of Noailles had already exerted considerable influence during Louis XIV. They had managed to keep a hold on power during the regency and had been instrumental in the rise of the king's trusted advisor, Cardinal Fleury.

The sheer number of Noailles' at court was a massive boon - for instance, the then-reigning Duc de Noailles (Adrien Maurice) had no less than nine sisters, most of whom were married to other dukes or high-ranking noblemen. This, naturally, bound the family of Noailles closely together with other houses - there were so many of them connected by marriage that the Duc de Luynes simply referred to the family as "the tribe". Amongst these houses were those of d'Estrées, Grammont, La Vallière - and the legitimised son of Louis XIV, the Comte de Toulouse. Through the latter, the faction had a key to the king's inner circle in a good friend of the Comtesse de Toulouse: Madame de Mailly. This young lady happened to be amongst the king's first official mistresses and therefore had access to him in private.

The Duc de Noailles was already Minister for War and upon the death of Cardinal Fleury, he surprisingly showed the king a letter that would have tremendous effect. The author of the letter was none other than Louis XIV and the recipient had been his grand-son who had (then) recently been elevated to the throne of Spain as Philip V. In the letter, the Sun King did not mince his words and clearly instructed the newly-crowned Spanish king to take no prime minister but rule by his own will - the argument was that god had chosen him for the role, and god would provide all the guidance needed.

That would be the tipping point - Louis XV chose no new Prime Minister but took on the role of absolute king. But why would the Duc de Noailles do such a thing? One could argue that he missed the chance of becoming Prime Minister himself.

There is one thing that is worth remembering. The Duc de Noailles was no fool and he knew the king's character remarkably well. He knew that Louis XV hated change but also that the king would not hesitate to get rid of a minister who had become bothersome - the king was infamous for his often callous manner of dismissing his ministers as he would rarely give them an opportunity to speak to him. Instead, he would simply have someone else deliver a message of dismissal.

A creature of habit, the king was far more likely to keep people around him whose company he enjoyed and whom he was used to. Much like he would keep Madame de Pompadour as his official mistress for years, even after they stopped sleeping together, so the king disliked an interruption of his normal life. A minister was easy to replace - a friend harder.

That could very well have been the thought behind the action. Perhaps the Duc de Noailles considered his chance of having lasting influence to be greater if he had access to the king in a more intimate atmosphere than merely at the council table. If so, he would have been quite right - as the years following 1743 would show, Louis could be influenced but primarily by those he shared a close bond with.

Adrien Maurice de Noailles

Faction of Belle-Isle

Charles Fouquet, Duc de Belle-Isle was no stranger to intrigue. Having spent the majority of his life in military service, he attempted to persuade Louis XV to join forces with Frederick II of Prussia who was in the midst of violating his own treaty by attacking the newly-crowned Maria Theresia of Austria.

Supported by several influential persons at court, the Duc de Belle-Isle managed to avoid potential disaster when Cardinal Fleury learned that he had previously had ties to another faction which had been forcibly disbanded in 1723. It was only due to the influence of his ally, the Duchesse de Lévis, that Cardinal Fleury not only overlooked it but promoted him to lieutenant-general. 

Besides the Duchesse de Lévis, he could count amongst his friends the Cardinal de Rohan, the Duc de Richelieu (on occasion), Marechal de Boufflers and Madame de Castries. He had also married a member of the Béthune family. However, he would eventually make a blunder. 

Having succeeded in persuading Louis XV to enter the War of the Austrian Succession, France soon found herself in an unfortunate situation. Once Prussia had gotten what they wanted, they hastily made peace with Austria. This left the outnumbered French troops alone against the Habsburg-forces. While Belle-Isle did manage to retreat in a dignified manner - his courage and use of his military experienced gained him respect even from the Austrians - his troubles did not end there. He was said to have openly criticised Cardinal Fleury - it was even rumoured that he had called him an "old fool". 

Naturally, the French were not too pleased to learn that their army had been sent packing and Belle-Isle's reputation suffered. To make matters worse, he found that Cardinal Fleury had little to say in his defence and it is hardly unlikely that the Cardinal would have complained of Belle-Isle to the king. Unfortunately for Belle-Isle he was not even present to defend himself at court. On route back to Versailles, he had been captured by the English army who held him prisoner for a year. One can only imagine the damage that would have done to his reputation.

 

Charles Fouquet, Duc de Belle-Isle

Interestingly, none of these men's rise to influence resembled one another. Chauvelin had climbed up from the position of lawyer and had reached his peak thanks to a mixture of patronage and talent. Noailles - while being astute and intelligent himself - came from an old family to which there were traditional allies to draw on. Finally, Belle-Isle had had to extricate himself several times from former scandals and had used his success on the battlefield to gain further influence.

What they all did have in common were three key characteristics: ambition, intelligence and pragmatism. Each of them had seen the necessity of cultivating a good relationship with Cardinal Fleury (at least until Belle-Isle became too bold) and all had drawn on family connections to achieve their ends. That was hardly a new invention - on the contrary it was all but impossible to make a name for oneself without having at least one, powerful connection already at court.

So, when Louis XV chose to lead France himself, which one of these would-be Prime Ministers came out on top?

The Duc de Noailles continued to exert considerable influence at court; politically, he held the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs for a brief period in 1744. Otherwise, his extensive family ties ensured him a considerable amount of influence at court.

The Duc de Belle-Isle once again demonstrated his uncanny ability to survive immense adversity. Once back on French soil, he was soon dispatched to the army again, despite the previous disaster. This proved to be the right choice as he managed to prevent an invasion of Provence. In return, the king raised him to duke and peer - even his dreams of politics were not unanswered. In 1758, he became Minister for War before dying in 1761.

The man who got the short end of the stick was undoubtedly Chauvelin. Having been exiled to his estates following his dismissal from his post of Secretary of State, he saw the death of Fleury as an opportunity to regain royal favour. Unfortunately, Louis XV would have none of it and in what must have been extremely embarrassing circumstances, Chauvelin was obliged to - once again - leave court for his estates. It was not until his friend, d'Argenson, interceded on his behalf that he was finally allowed near the court in 1746 - but any dream of further political office was over. He would never hold a position of note again.