Gabrielle De Polignac - Marie Antoinette 's Confidante

Yolande Martine Gabrielle de Polastron was born in Paris during the reign of Louis XV. She was the daughter of Jean-François Gabriel, the Count of Polastron, and of Jean-Charlotte Hérault de Vaucresson. The house of Polastron was heavily indebted at the time of Gabrielle's birth, and the family led an average lifestyle. Unable to live up to their rank, Gabrielle's parents left the capital for the family chateau of Noué in the southwest of France. Gabrielle was only 3 years old when her mother died, and she was educated by her aunt, the Countess of Antelope. Her father remarried, and her half-brother, Denis de Polastron, was born in 1758. At the age of 16, Gabrielle was betrothed to Count Jules de Polignac. She married him on July 7, 1767, shortly before his 18th birthday. Jules and Gabrielle de Polignac had four children. Aglaé de Polignac, who was married to Antoine VIII de Gramont, Armand de Polignac, the second Duke of Polignac who married Idalie Jeanne-Lina de Neukirchen de Nivenheim, Jules de Polignac, the Prince de Polignac and third Duke of Polignac, and Melchior de Polignac, Comte de Polignac, who married Alphonsine le Vasseur de La Touche. The couple's sixth child was Charles-Marie-Thomas-Étienne-Georges, Count de Polignac, whose grandson, Pierre de Polignac, was the father of Prince Rémir III of Monaco and the grandfather of Prince Albert II of Monaco. The title of Countess of Polignac is currently held by Stéphanie of Monaco. The families of Jules and Gabrielle were of equal rank, both of old nobility but without great wealth. Jules de Polignac's annual salary at the time of his marriage was 4000 livres. In 1775, Gabrielle and her husband were invited to a ball at the Château de Versailles. In the Hall of Mirrors, the Queen noticed her and questioned her entourage about the identity of this unknown woman. She went to meet Gabrielle and asked her why she did not appear more often at court. Gabrielle simply admitted that she did not have the means to maintain her rank, and the Queen, impressed by Gabrielle's frankness, instantly developed a liking for her. Marie-Antoinette, who was 19 years old at the time, developed a lively friendship with the Countess, who was six years her senior. Madame de Polignac gradually replaced the faithful but bland Princesse de Lamballe and became the favourite of the young Queen, who was charmed by her cheerful nature and wit. Eventually, Marie-Antoinette invited Gabrielle to reside permanently at Versailles, which Gabrielle was forced to refuse for financial reasons. Determined to keep her new favourite by her side, however, the Queen had the Royal Treasury pay off the debt of Jules and Gabrielle, which amounted to 400,000 livres, and gave the Count de Polignac a well-paying position at court. Gabrielle de Polignac moved into the Château de Versailles, near the Queen's flats. She quickly won the friendship of the Count of Artois, and even the favour of Louis XVI, who was grateful for the calming influence Gabrielle had on the Queen. On the other hand, she was disliked by other members of the royal entourage, who were astonished by the extent of the advantages granted to the Polignac family in such a short time. Her contemporaries saw Madame de Polignac as a beautiful, elegant, sophisticated, charming and amusing woman. Her position as a favourite benefited her family, who became involved in politics and gained great influence at court. The de Polignac family was showered with royal favours and received an income from the titles and pensions with which they were endowed, the total of which cost the state half a million livres a year. These favours were nevertheless necessary for Gabrielle to be able to afford life at court. On September 20, 1780, Jules de Polignac received the title of Hereditary Duke of Polignac. The Countess of Polignac thus became a Duchess. In 1782, Madame de Guémenet, wife of the Prince of Rohan Guémenet and governess of the royal children, was forced to resign her position after her husband's bankruptcy. Marie Antoinette immediately replaced Madame de Guémenet with the Duchess of Polignac, which shocked some of the courtiers. Her rivals felt that her rank could not justify the granting of such an office. For good measure, Gabrielle was given an apartment with 13 rooms in Versailles. This caused resentment among the courtiers. The favours granted to Madame de Polignac fuelled Marie Antoinette's unpopularity not only among her subjects, but also among a section of the nobility. At the end of the 1780s, vicious pamphlets circulated about the nature of the Duchess's relationship with the Queen. There were also rumours that the Queen was having an affair with Axel von Fersen. In 1785, the Diamond Necklace affair broke out, which further tarnished the monarchy's and the Queen's image. Gabrielle de Polignac, along with other favourites such as the Baron de Besanval, formed the so-called Queen's Party, which was unwavering in its support of the Queen. Gabrielle and her daughter were often invited by the Queen to visit her at the Petit Trianon. During the months leading up to July 1789, Gabrielle and the Count d'Auvertois were at the heart of the unfolding events leading to the French Revolution. Gabrielle took part in convincing Marie Antoinette to undermine Jacques Necker, the popular Minister of Finance. The second dismissal of Necker by Louis XVI on July 11, 1789 fuelled the unstable climate in Paris, which culminated in the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. Thus, when the French Revolution broke out, its leaders despised Madame de Polignac for having benefited from public funds and for having advised the Queen about political anti-revolutionary actions. Two days after the storming of the Bastille, at the request of the King and Queen, the Polignacs and their children left Versailles. They travelled from France to Switzerland, then to Turin, Italy, and further on to Rome. In July 1791, the Polignacs left for Vienna. Gabrielle de Polastron, the Duchess of Polignac, died on the night of 4 to 5 December 1793, a little over a month after the death of Marie Antoinette. She was 44 years old. Gabrielle was buried in Vienna. Her father remained in France and was guillotined in June 1794. This concludes this video about Gabrielle de Polignac. For more French history, join me next Wednesday for a new video. I hope to see you then.