Charles, Prince of Soubise
Encyclopedia
Charles de Rohan duke of Rohan-Rohan, seigneur of Roberval
, and marshal of France
from 1758, was a military man, a minister to the kings Louis XV
and Louis XVI
, and a notorious libertine. The last male of his branch of the House of Rohan, he was also the great grandfather to the duc d'Enghien, executed by Napoleon
in 1804. Styled prince d'Epinoy at birth, he became the Prince of Soubise after 1749.
on 16 January 1715, the son of Jules, Prince of Soubise
, lieutenant captain of the gendarmes
of the Royal Guard, and of Anne Julie Adélaïde de Melun
. The eldest of five children, he was styled the Prince of Epinoy till his fathers death in 1724.
His parents died in Paris of smallpox
in 1724, remaining his siblings, including Marie Louise
, making them orphans. His sister lost her husband
to smallpox in 1743.
He was entrusted to his grandfather Hercule Mériadec, Duke of Rohan-Rohan
, who raised Soubise to the court, where he became the companion of Louis XV, who was the same age as he. One of his great grandmother's was Madame de Ventadour
, via his paternal grandmother Anne Genevieve de Levis
; Madame de Ventadour, who died in 1744, was close to her great grandson.
He accompanied Louis XV
in the campaign of 1744-1748 and attained high military rank, which owed more to his courtier
ship than to his generalship.
Soon after the beginning of the Seven Years' War
, through the influence of Madame de Pompadour
, he was put in command of a corps of 24,000 men, and in November 1757 he sustained the crushing defeat of Rossbach
. Along with the failure to hold Hanover
following the Invasion of Hanover (1757)
this marked a dramatic turnaround for French fortunes as just months before they have seemed on the brink of victory.
He was more fortunate, however, in his later military career, and continued in the service until the general peace of 1763
, after which he lived the life of an ordinary courtier and man of fashion in Paris.
"Soubise" also refers to a culinary dish with a sauce made with a rice and onion purée, named to compliment Charles de Rohan, prince of Soubise: see sauce Soubise
.
Roberval, Oise
Roberval, Oise is a small village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise....
, and marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
from 1758, was a military man, a minister to the kings Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
and Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, and a notorious libertine. The last male of his branch of the House of Rohan, he was also the great grandfather to the duc d'Enghien, executed by Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in 1804. Styled prince d'Epinoy at birth, he became the Prince of Soubise after 1749.
Biography
The prince was born at VersaillesVersailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
on 16 January 1715, the son of Jules, Prince of Soubise
Jules, Prince of Soubise
Jules de Rohan was a French nobleman and Prince of Soubise. He died of smallpox aged twenty-seven.-Biography:...
, lieutenant captain of the gendarmes
Gendarme (historical)
A gendarme was a heavy cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army from the Late Medieval to the Early Modern periods of European History...
of the Royal Guard, and of Anne Julie Adélaïde de Melun
Anne Julie de Melun
Anne Julie de Melun was a French noblewoman and mother of Charles de Rohan, the famous general of Louis XV as well as Madame de Marsan. She died of smallpox in her twenties.-Biography:...
. The eldest of five children, he was styled the Prince of Epinoy till his fathers death in 1724.
His parents died in Paris of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
in 1724, remaining his siblings, including Marie Louise
Madame de Marsan
Marie Louise de Rohan , also known as Madame de Marsan, was the governess of Louis XVI of France and his siblings.-Biography:...
, making them orphans. His sister lost her husband
Gaston, Count of Marsan
Gaston de Lorraine was a French nobleman and member of a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine. He was the last Count of Marsan. His wife was Marie Louise de Rohan.-Biography:...
to smallpox in 1743.
He was entrusted to his grandfather Hercule Mériadec, Duke of Rohan-Rohan
Hercule Mériadec, Duke of Rohan-Rohan
Hercule Mériadec de Rohan styled the Duke of Rohan-Rohan was a member of the House of Rohan. He married twice and was the grandfather of the Maréchal de Soubise. His first wife was the daughter of Madame de Ventadour...
, who raised Soubise to the court, where he became the companion of Louis XV, who was the same age as he. One of his great grandmother's was Madame de Ventadour
Madame de Ventadour
Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour was the governess of King Louis XV of France, great-grandson of King Louis XIV. She is credited with saving Louis XV from the ministrations of the royal doctors when he was ill as a child...
, via his paternal grandmother Anne Genevieve de Levis
Anne Geneviève de Lévis
Anne Geneviève de Lévis was a French noblewoman. She was Duchess of Rohan-Rohan and Princess of Soubise by marriage. Anne Geneviève was the only child of Madame de Ventadour, governess of the young Louis XV. She married twice and had children with her second husband...
; Madame de Ventadour, who died in 1744, was close to her great grandson.
He accompanied Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
in the campaign of 1744-1748 and attained high military rank, which owed more to his courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
ship than to his generalship.
Soon after the beginning of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, through the influence of Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
, he was put in command of a corps of 24,000 men, and in November 1757 he sustained the crushing defeat of Rossbach
Battle of Rossbach
The Battle of Rossbach took place during the Seven Years' War near the village of Roßbach, in the Electorate of Saxony. Frederick the Great defeated the allied armies of France and the Holy Roman/Austrian Empire...
. Along with the failure to hold Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
following the Invasion of Hanover (1757)
Invasion of Hanover (1757)
The Invasion of Hanover took place in 1757 during the Seven Years' War when a French army under Louis Charles César Le Tellier, duc d'Estrées advanced into Electorate of Hanover and neighbouring German states following the Battle of Hastenbeck. French forces overran most of Hanover forcing the Army...
this marked a dramatic turnaround for French fortunes as just months before they have seemed on the brink of victory.
He was more fortunate, however, in his later military career, and continued in the service until the general peace of 1763
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
, after which he lived the life of an ordinary courtier and man of fashion in Paris.
"Soubise" also refers to a culinary dish with a sauce made with a rice and onion purée, named to compliment Charles de Rohan, prince of Soubise: see sauce Soubise
Mirepoix (cuisine)
A mirepoix is a combination of celery , onions, and carrots. Mirepoix, either raw, roasted or sautéed with butter, is the flavor base for a wide number of dishes, such as stocks, soups, stews and sauces...
.
Marriages
Charles married three times:- Firstly in 1734 to Anne Marie Louise de La Tour d'AuvergneAnne Marie Louise de La Tour d'AuvergneAnne Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French noblewoman and the wife of Charles de Rohan. She was Marchioness of Gordes and Countess of Moncha in her own right as well as Princess of Soubise by marriage...
1722 - 1739, daughter of Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'AuvergneEmmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne (1668–1730)Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French nobleman and ruler of the Soveriegn Duchy of Bouillon. He was the son of Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne and his wife Marie Anne Mancini...
and a grand daughter of the famous Marie Anne ManciniMarie Anne ManciniMarie Anne Mancini, duchesse de Bouillon , was the youngest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes because their uncle was the king's chief minister, Cardinal...
; Anne Marie Louise died in 1739 giving birth to a son who died in 1742. Their daughter was;- Charlotte Élisabeth Godefride de RohanCharlotte Élisabeth Godefride de RohanCharlotte de Rohan was a French aristocrat who married into the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the ruling House of Bourbon, during the Ancien Régime. She was Princess of Condé by her marriage...
1737 - 1760 known as Charlotte. She married Louis Joseph de BourbonLouis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de CondéLouis Joseph de Bourbon was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of Prince du Sang.-Biography:...
, a Prince du SangPrince du SangA prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
and descendant of Louis XIV of FranceLouis XIV of FranceLouis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and Madame de Montespan. Charlotte was the paternal grand mother of the murdered duc d'Enghien.
- Charlotte Élisabeth Godefride de Rohan
- In 1741 he married again this time to a Savoyard Princess named Anna Teresa 1717 - 1745, a daughter of the Prince of CarignanVictor Amadeus, Prince of CarignanVictor Amadeus of Savoy was an Italian nobleman who was Prince of Carignano from 1709 to 1741. He was the son of Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Carignano and his wife, the Maria Angela Caterina d'Este.-Biography:...
and Maria Vittoria Francesca of SavoyMaria Vittoria Francesca of SavoyMaria Vittoria of Savoy was an illegitimate daughter of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia and his favourite mistress Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes, estranged wife of Joseph Ignace Scaglia, Count of Verua. She was an ancestor of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy and thus the whole present pretending...
who in turn was an illegitimate daughter of Victor Amadeus II of SardiniaVictor Amadeus II of SardiniaVictor Amadeus II was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of marquis of Saluzzo, duke of Montferrat, prince of Piedmont, count of Aosta, Moriana and Nizza. Louis XIV organised his marriage in order to maintain French influence in the Duchy but Victor Amadeus soon broke away...
. Anna Teresa (known as Anne Thérèse de Savoie) gave birth to another daughter- Victoire Armande Josèphe de RohanVictoire Armande Josèphe de RohanVictoire de Rohan, Princess of Guéméné was a French aristocrat who was the governess of the children of Louis XVI of France. She is known better as Madame de Guéméné...
1743 - 1807. She married Henri Louis Marie de Rohan, Prince of Guéménée who was a cousin. Victoire was later the governess to the daughter of Marie AntoinetteMarie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
. Anne Thérèse died in 1745.
- Victoire Armande Josèphe de Rohan
- The same year Charles married again to a German Princess, Landgravine Anne Victoire of Hesse-Rotenburg 1728 - 1792. Anna Viktoria was a niece of an old Princess of Condé, Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-RotenburgLandgravine Caroline of Hesse-RotenburgPrincess Caroline of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg was the consort of Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon.-Biography:Born at Rotenburg an der Fulda in Hesse, Germany, she was the daughter of Ernest Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg, head of the Roman Catholic branch of the House of Hesse, by his wife...
. Anna Viktoria had no children.
Ancestry
Titles and styles
- 16 July 1715 – 6 May 1724 His Highness the Prince of Epinoy
- 6 May 1724 – 4 July 1787 His Highness the Prince of Soubise