Catherine-Charlotte de Boufflers

Catherine-Charlotte de Boufflers née de Gramont (1670–1739) was a French court official, foremost known as the Marechale de Boufflers. She served as Première dame d'honneur to the queen of France, Marie Leszczyńska, from 1725 until 1735.[1]

Life

She was the daughter of Antoine Charles IV de Gramont and Marie-Charlotte de Castelnau, and married duke Louis-François de Boufflers in 1693.

In 1725, he was appointed to the office of Première dame d'honneur to the new queen of France, and as such responsible for the female courtiers, controlling the budget, purchases, annual account and staff list, the daily routine and presentations to the queen.

Catherine-Charlotte de Boufflers was described as a person known for her strict morals,[2] and her appointment was motivated by the king as suitable because of her many virtues.[3] Despite the efforts of André-Hercule de Fleury, most of the other office holders to the Queen's Household was appointed because of their tank and loyalty to prime minister Duke de Bourbon and his mistress Madame de Prie, and as such had a reputation of decadence about them as associated to the infamous 'Decadence of the Regency'.[4] Because of the former and contemporary love affairs of many of the other ladies-in-waiting of the queen, such as Amable-Gabrielle de Villars, Catherine-Charlotte de Boufflers was nicknamed as 'Madame Pataclin' after the manager of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, where women were imprisoned for alleged sexual offences.[5] She resigned in 1735.

She is mentioned in the memoirs of the time.

References

Clarissa Campbell Orr: Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press (2004)
Clarissa Campbell Orr: Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press (2004)
Edmond et Jules de Goncourt: La duchesse de Châteauroux et ses soeurs, Paris, 1906
Edmond et Jules de Goncourt: La duchesse de Châteauroux et ses soeurs, Paris, 1906
Edmond et Jules de Goncourt: La duchesse de Châteauroux et ses soeurs, Paris, 1906

Court offices
Preceded by Anne-Armande de Crequy	Première dame d'honneur to the Queen of France 1725–1735	Succeeded by Marie Brûlart

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[1] Clarissa Campbell Orr: Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press (2004)

[2] Clarissa Campbell Orr: Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press (2004)

[3] Edmond et Jules de Goncourt: La duchesse de Châteauroux et ses soeurs, Paris, 1906

[4] Edmond et Jules de Goncourt: La duchesse de Châteauroux et ses soeurs, Paris, 1906

[5] Edmond et Jules de Goncourt: La duchesse de Châteauroux et ses soeurs, Paris, 1906