Agathe de Rambaud

Agathe de Rambaud , born Agathe-Rosalie Mottet, was born with Versailles and was baptized in the Saint-Louis church of Versailles the December 10th 1764. She died in Aramon, in the Gard, the October 19th 1853 and was buried with the Cimetière Saint-Véran, with Avignon.

She was chambermaid of Marie-Antoinette, Berceuse of the Children of France , attached to the person of the Dauphin of 1785 to 1792.

Before the Revolution

Agathe Mottet is the girl of Louis Melchior Mottet, general police chief responsible for the colonies and Jeanne Agathe Proux of the River, itself girl of a first police chief of the Navy. His/her father is the son of the baron Claude Nicolas Louis Mottet of the Mound, '' lord of the Mound, fieffé baron of Saint Crow, officer in the hunting of the king '' and Agathe is the niece of the baron Benoît Mottet of the Fountain, police chief-director of the French establishments of India, governor of Pondichéry.

One gives sometimes to Agathe de Rambaud, born Mottet, the title of countess of Ribécourt which is then used like titrates courtesy.

Agathe Mottet Marie with Andre Rambaud, of which the father belonged to the Bourgeoisie of Marseilles, captain and knight of the Ordre of Saint-Louis, on March 7th, 1785, in Versailles, in the Saint-Louis church. The witnesses of the groom are the baillif Pierre André de Suffren and Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse. It becomes by its marriage the sister-in-law of Georges-Rene Pléville Pelley, captain of the vessels of the king, future admiral and Minister for the Navy and the Colonies under the Directoire.

Auguste de Rambaud, their first child, is born on January 11th, 1786 and is baptized the following day with the Saint-Louis parish of Versailles. The godfather is his uncle Georges-Rene Pléville Pelley. When is born Madeleine Célinie de Rambaud on July 29th, 1787 in Versailles, his/her father is not there already more: he was appointed commander of three forts and governor of the Royaume of Galam, for the Compagnie of Senegal.

Agathe de Rambaud is chosen by the queen to be the lullaby of the duke of Normandy, born in 1785, which becomes the Dauphin with died of his/her older brother Louis de France (1781-1789). Alain Decaux will write: Madam de Rambaud was placed near the Dolphin since the day of its birth until August 10th, 1792, that is to say during seven years. During these seven years, it did not leave it, it rocked it, it looked after it, it has it vêtu, it comforted it, it thundered it. Ten times, hundred times more than Marie-Antoinette, it were for him, a true Mother

Her husband, Andre de Rambaud, are killed in 1789 at the height Saint-Joseph de Galam, located at five hundred kilometers of the coasts of the Senegal.

Revolution with the Empire

The assassination of the mayor Jacques Guillaume Simonneau, brother-in-law of the one of his aunts, the March 3rd 1792 with Étampes frightens it and the imposing ceremonies which follow do not reassure it.

The August 10th, 1792, Agathe de Rambaud flees of the Palais of Tileries with Jean-Baptiste Cléry - which, lengthily, speaks about it in its Journal from what occurred to the tower from the Temple during the captivity from Louis XVI . They avoid little the Prison of the Abbey.

As of the first days of the imprisonment of the royal family, Madam de Rambaud in vain asks to be used for the prison of the Tour of the Temple the Dauphin, Louis-Charles, and her parents.

Agathe de Rambaud does not emigrate; she must however hide because of her old functions, as also certain members of its relationship do it. After the Fall of Robespierre, the majority of its close relations, who were enthusiast novel ideas and freemasons, serve with zeal the Directoire, the Consulat and the First Empire.

She becomes it close relationship of several ministers, of the mayor of Toulouse, the scientist Philippe-Isidore Picot of Lapeyrouse, and generals.

Georges-Rene Pléville Pelley, minister and brother-in-law of Madam de Rambaud obtains a station for his/her father, without income since 1792.

The French Restoration

Auguste, his son, gives his resignation and joined the allied troops, then the king, with Compiegne on March 29th, 1814. The family adopts the new mode. However, the illusions disappear quickly. Agathe touches only one pension of thousand francs of the king, starting from September 6th, 1815, as old attached to the person of the Dolphin. His/her son, Auguste de Rambaud, police chief of the wars with Ghent, are put in half-pay.

Agathe de Rambaud re-examines with Montfort-l' Amaury the duchess of Angouleme, the duchess of Berry, and Louise-Elisabeth de Croÿ de Tourzel, in the uncle of her daughter-in-law, the general-count Louis Groult of the Rivers, former captain-colonel in survival of the Company of Swiss of the ordinary Guard of the body of the future Charles X.

When Louis XVIII dies, Agathe de Rambaud is received at the Court more regularly. Its grand-daughter will remember to have seen her grandmother discussing with the the duchess Angouleme, at the time of the passage of king de Naples, in 1827, with the castle, where Charles X, posing his hand on our heads, each one requiring our age of us, caused a few moments with our grandmother and got informed about what interests it.

Madam de Rambaud attends the Parisian good company, as well the friends of the duke Sosthène of Rochefoucauld, which will write: Madam de Rambaud was an extremely honest woman , that those of the count Charles d' Hozier, or even of Philippe Louis Marc Antoine de Noailles, prince de Poix.

The Monarchy of July

The Glorious Three do not have any negative consequence on the life of Agathe de Rambaud. The latter seems to be one of the very rare boarders of the old civil list which is regarded as worthy receiving, as a former chambermaid of the Dolphin, wire of Louis XVI , a pension of thousand francs. His/her daughter-in-law sees herself allotting by the new king a pension of six hundred francs, like child of former servants of the House of the children of the king.

His/her son, initially police chief of the wars, then half-pay, having noted with Vendôme that its future in the army was non-existent, had preferred to leave to the Indies, then with the Mexico, where he dies in 1834. Like the woman of this last, Therese Gaudelet d' Armenonville, remarie with the count Amédée d' Allonville, Agathe de Rambaud must raise her grandchildren, Ernest de Rambaud, future Polytechnicien, and Ernestine.

It is at that time that a man who claims to be Louis XVII become adult re-appears in his life. During more than one year, it will live at her and she will question it and evoke of old memories, to also note marks on her body identical to those which she had noted at the request of Marie-Antoinette on the body of the Dauphin.

Agathe de Rambaud almost carries out until her death a long combat to defend vigorously the rights of Charles-Guillaume Naundorff. Its apartment is searched by police officers who seize in addition to hundreds of documents belonging to the prince, the family archives and even of the gifts of the royal family.

End of its life

Agathe de Rambaud dies many years later with Aramon. She lived since years in the husband of her grand-daughter, street Banasterie, with Avignon, the foot of the Palais of the Popes. She is buried initially with Aramon, then she joined the new family vault with the Cimetière Saint-Véran (Avignon). A street of Avignon bears its name of young girl: Agathe Rosalie Mottet. And it is quoted among the famous characters of Avignon on the site of the town hall.

Many years after the death of Madam de Rambaud, whereas hundreds of books and reviews speak about it, its vault will become one of the famous tombs of the Cimetière Saint-Véran (Avignon) and a mason stone will be in charge of its maintenance. A small inhabitant of Avignon obviously being unaware of all so captivating history of this Agathe will be fascinated by this one, will like to read and read again the epitaph of it on her tomb. She will tell one day all that in her memories, Oui I believe , of Mireille Mathieu.

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