Anne Geneviève | |||||
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Duchess of Rohan-Rohan Princess of Soubise Princess of Turenne | |||||
Anne Geneviève by Nicolas de Largillière
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Born | February 1673 | ||||
Died |
20 March 1727 Rue de Paradis, Paris, France |
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Burial |
23 March 1727 Église de La Merci, Paris |
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Spouse |
Hercule Mériadec de Rohan Louis Charles de La Tour d'Auvergne |
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Issue Detail |
Louise Françoise, Duchess of La Meilleraye Charlotte Armande, Abbess of Jouarre Jules, Prince of Soubise Marie Isabelle, Duchess of Tallard Louise, Princess of Guéméné |
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House |
House of Lévis (by birth) House of Rohan (by marriage) House of La Tour d'Auvergne (by marriage) |
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Father | Louis Charles de Lévis | ||||
Mother | Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Full name | |
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Anne Geneviève de Lévis |
Anne Geneviève de Lévis (February 1673 – 20 March 1727) was a French noblewoman. She was Duchess of Rohan-Rohan and Princess of Soubise by marriage. Anne Geneviève was the only child of Madame de Ventadour, governess of the young Louis XV. She married twice and had children with her second husband. She died in Paris aged fifty-four.
Anne Geneviève was the only child of Louis Charles de Lévis and his wife Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt. Her parents had married in 1671 in Paris. Her father was the Duke of Ventadour and governor of the Limousin (1647–1717). The Duke was generally considered "horrific" — very ugly, physically deformed, and sexually debauched — yet the privileges of being a duchess compensated for the unfortunate match, e.g. le tabouret: In a letter to her daughter, Madame de Sévigné described an incident that took place at St. Germain during an audience with the Queen.
"… a lot of duchesses came in, including the beautiful and charming Duchess of Ventadour. There was a bit of a delay before they brought her the sacred stool. I turned to the Grand Master and I said, 'Oh, just give it to her. It certainly cost her enough,' and he agreed."
While unmarried, she was styled as Mademoiselle de Ventadour.
As she had no siblings, her father made her his heiress. He died in 1717 and she succeeded to his lands which passed to the House of Rohan. The Dukedom of Ventadour however was extinct.
In 1689, according to the memoirs of the marquis de Dangeau, Anne Geneviève was a proposed bride for Jacques Henri de Durfort (1670-1697), the son of Jacques Henri de Durfort (1625-1704) and Marguerite Félice de Lévis - the latter was Anne Geneviève's own paternal aunt making the proposed groom her first cousin. The marriage never materialised as Anne Geneviève's mother as well as grandmother Louise de Prie opposed the union.