Marie de Rohan

Marie more known Aimee de Rohan under the name of duchess of Chevreuse (1600 - August 12th 1679), girl of Hercules de Rohan, Duke of Montbazon, is a French Aristocrate famous especially for its great charm and its many political intrigues.

It belonged to the Famille of Rohan resulting from the first sovereigns of Brittany, which by itself and its various branches, had a long time a considerable part of Brittany and Anjou.

In September 1617, it marries in first weddings large the Connétable, Charles of Albert de Luynes, Duc of Luynes, Favori of Louis XIII. Luynes took pleasure to form it; it gave him the first lessons of the policy without scruples of the time which was composed especially of intrigue and audacity. Marie de Rohan benefitted this school quickly.

The first interest of the favorite of Louis XIII was to keep the heart of the king for him and them his, and to also seize the confidence of the Anne queen, in order to be a Master assured all the court. It thus introduced its young woman there while giving him for instruction to endeavor to gain the good graces of the queen and the king. She succeeds there with wonder, and in December 1618, Louis XIII names it surintendante house of the queen Anne of Austria in the place of the Connétable of Montmorency. It consequently will exert a strong influence on the queen.

In 1620 is born Louis-Charles from Albert whose Louis XIII will be the godfather right before death with the combat of the Duc of Luynes. Widow at 21 years, Marie de Rohan remarie the April 21st 1622 with Claude of Lorraine, duke of Chevreuse.

This new marriage it left only the girls. Two were nuns:

Anne-Marie, abbess of Bridge-with-Ladies, was born in London in 1625 and died in 1652;
Charlotte-Marie of Lorraine, born in 1627, after having failed to marry the Prince de Conti, it becomes the mistress of the cardinal of Retz with which it played a part in the Sling. She dies without alliance in 1652.
Henriette of Lorraine (1631-1693), abbess of Jouarre, born in 1631, was withdrawn in Port-Royal where it finished her life in 1693.

In 1622, it is excluded from the court by Louis XIII following an incident which has occurred by pushing the Queen to be run in the corridors of Louvre. This one is wounded and its 6 weeks pregnancy is fallen through. The duke of Chevreuse will use then of his influence near the king to make it reinstate the court.

To keep her influence, the duchess of Chevreuse takes part then in:

the business Buckingham (1623-1624) of which it is the instigator with her lover, the Count de Holland.
the Conspiracy of Chalais organized by his/her lover, the count de Chalais in 1626.
with the negotiations with the duke of Lorraine and the Spain carried out by his/her lover Charles of Aubespine, marquis de Châteauneuf in 1633.
in the secret exchanges of correspondences between Anne of Austria and Spain in 1637.
conspiracy of the count de Soissons in 1641.
the Cabal of Important the against Mazarin in 1643.

Considered wild in its political plots, it is several times driven out of the Court but returns each time.

After the death of Louis XIII, Anne of Austria ensures regency with Mazarin and the duchess of Chevreuse loses any capacity.

She takes then the party of the Fronde and, during the following years, intrigues to ensure the fortune of her family. She in particular makes marry with her grandson, Charles de Luynes, the girl of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the most influential man of the time after Louis XIV.

In 1679, at 79 years, it is withdrawn in a convent with Gagny to die there far from its family.

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