Duchy of La Vallière

The Duchy of La Vallière (duché de La Vallière) was a noble French title created on 13 May 1667 by Louis XIV for his one time mistress Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc. It became extinct de facto in 1780 at the death of Louise's great-nephew Louis César de La Baume Le Blanc, the famous bibliophile and military man.

Louise de La Vallière, known as Mademoiselle de La Vallière was the mistress of Louis XIV from 1661 to 1667. Louise was the mother of six of Louis' children even though only two of them survived infancy. The duchy was given the subsidiary title of Duke of Vaujours (duc de Vaujours).

The Lordship of La Vallière (seigneurie de La Vallière) had been owned by Louise's family since the lifetime of her great grandfather Laurent Le Blanc. Laurent's only son, Jean took on the name of La Baume Le Blanc in his lifetime. He was also the baron de La Papelardière. Louise was given the title after she was displaced by Madame de Montespan who also had children with Louis.

When Louise left court, she gave the two duchies to her only daughter Marie Anne de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Blois and widow of Louis Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti. Widowed in 1685 aged 19 and childless. In 1698 Marie Anne gave the title to her cousin, Charles François de La Baume Le Blanc. Till then, Charles François had been styled the marquis de La Vallière.

After 1698 he took the ducal title as well as the duchy of Vaujous. When his son, Louis César was born in 1708, he was styled as duc de Vaujours till the death of Charles François in 1739 when he succeeded to the Duchy of La Vallière. Louis César, close to Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour, was the great bibliophile who assembled a great library. He was a first cousin of Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon a grandson of Madame de Montespan and Louis XIV.

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