The Dame du Palais (French pronunciation: [dam dy palɛ], lit. 'Lady of the Palace'), originally only Dame, was a historical office in the royal court of France. It was a title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a female member of the French royal family. The position was traditionally held by a female member of a noble family. They were ranked between the dame d'atours and the Fille d'honneur. They had previously been styled 'Dames'.
The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts (Dutch: Dames du Palais; English: Lady of the Bedchamber; German: Hofstaatsdame or Palatsdame; Italian: Dame di Corte; Russian: Hofdame or Statsdame; Spanish: Dueña de honor; Swedish: Statsfru). The same title has been used for the equivalent position in the courts of Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands.
Contents
History
Dame and Dame d'honneur
Initially, the married ladies-in-waiting who attended the queen of France had the title Dame. This was simply the title of a married lady-in-waiting, who was not the principal lady-in-waiting.
From 1523, the group of 'Dame', (married) ladies-in-waiting who attended the court as companions of the queen had the formal title Dame d'honneur ('Lady of Honour', commonly only 'Dame'), hence the title 'Première dame d'honneur' ('First lady of honour') to distinguish between the principal lady-in-waiting and the group of remaining common (married) ladies-in-waiting. They were third in rank below the Dame d'atours, and above the unmarried Fille d'honneur ('maid of honour').
Dame du Palais
In 1674, the position of Fille d'honneur was abolished, and the 'Dames' were renamed Dame du Palais.
The Dame du Palais were appointed from the highest ranked nobility of France. Only married women were selected. Their task was function as companions to the queen and attend functions as a part of her entourage. The number were in 1674 set at twelve.
The position was abolished with the introduction of the Republic in 1792. It was revived during the First Empire, with the same original position as the title of a married lady-in-waiting below the 'Première dame d'honneur'. It was last used during the Second Empire.
List of Dame du Palais to the Queens and Empresses of France
This is an incomplete list of those who have served as Dame du Palais to the Queen or Empress of France. They also include those prior to 1674, who had the title Dame (formally Dame d'honneur), because it was the same position under different names. The office was normally shared between twelve women, who served in parallel. If additional Dame du Palais was appointed above the number twelve, they were normally named Dame du palais surnuméraire.
Dame (-d'honneur) to Eleanor of Austria 1532–1547
1532-1534 : Hélène Gouffier de Boisy, dame de Traves
1532-1537 : Isabeau de Picart d'Estelan, dame du Ris
1532-1542 : Marie Gaudin
1532-1543 : Marie d'Acigné, dame de Canaples
1532-1543 : Jacqueline de la Queille, dame d'Aubigny
1532-1543 : Anne Lascaris
1532-1543 : Françoise de Longwy
1532-1543 : Diane de Poitiers
1532-1543 : Isabelle de Savoie-Villars, comtesse du Bouchage
1532-1543, 1546-1547 : Louise de Polignac, dame du Vigean
1533-1543 : Madeleine de Mailly, dame de Roye
1534-1537 : Anne de La Fontaine, dame de la Mairie (fille d'honneur 1532 - 1534)
1534-1542 and 1545-1547 : Marie de Langeac, baronne de Lestrange
1537-1543 : Claude de Rohan-Gié (fille d'honneur de 1530 à 1537)
1537-1543 : Marguerite de Savoie-Villars, comtesse de Brienne (fille d'honneur 1533 - 1537)
?-1538 : Jeanne d'Angoulême
1538-1539 : Françoise de Brézé (fille d'honneur 1534 - 1538)
Dame (-d'honneur) to Catherine de' Medici 1547–1589
1544-1547, 1560-1570 : Marie-Catherine Pierrevive
1548-1560 : Anne de Clermont, dame de Saint-Aignan
?-1548 : Claude d'Humières
1549-? : Marguerite d'Albon, dame d'Apchon
1549-? : Jacqueline de l'Hospital, dame d'Aisnay
1549-1560 : Antoinette de Cerisay
?-1549 : Françoise de Pompadour, dame de Lustrac
1551-1574 : Marie de Bony, dame d'Ausances
?-1552 : Madeleine Buonaiuti
1552-? : Louise de Clermont
1552-? : Hélène de Bissipat, dame de Jamets
1552-1555, 1573-1585 : Éléonore Stuart d'Albany, comtesse de Choisy
1552-1560 : Louise de Brézé
1552-1560, 1568-1574 et 1576-? : Anne d'Este
1552-1560, 1573-? : Charlotte de Vienne, dame de Curton
1554-1560 : Antoinette de Bourbon
1554-1560 : Renée du Quesnay, dame de Moncy
1554-1560, 1567-1571 et 1573-1575 : Jeanne de Dampierre
?-1554 : Claude de Saint-Seigne, dame de Dampierre
Dame (-d'honneur) to Mary Stuart 1559–1560
Mary Stuart is recorded to have a household of 290 people, 44 of whom were women, 27 of whom had the status of ladies-in-waiting; all French but two and appointed because they were her relatives or had succeeded from the household of her predecessor. Mary Stuart left France for Scotland in 1561, after which almost all of her ladies-in-waiting chose to remain in France.
1560 : Jacqueline de Longwy
1560 : Marie-Catherine Pierrevive
1560 : Françoise Babou de la Bourdaisière
1560 : Madeleine de Savoie
1560 : Antoinette de Bourbon
1560 : Louise de Brézé
1560 : Anne d'Este
1560 : Louise de Rieux, marquise d'Elbeuf
1560 : Diane de Valois
1560 : Françoise de Brézé
1560 : Marguerite de Lustrac, maréchale de Saint-André
1560 : Marie de Beaucaire, dame de Martigues
1560 : Marguerite Bertrand, marquise de Trans
1560 : Antoinette de Cerisay
1560 : Marie de Gaignon, dame de Boisy
1560 : Anne Hurault, dame de Carnavalet
1560 : Antoinette de La Marck, maréchale de Damville puis duchesse de Montmorency
Dame (-d'honneur) to Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France 1570–1575
1572-? : Renée de Cossé, dame de Meru
1572-? : Françoise de Rye, comtesse de Charny
1572-1573 : Antoinette de La Tour-Landry, duchesse de Rouannois
1572-1573 : Jacqueline d'Averton, comtesse de Mauleuvrier
1573-? : Françoise d'Orléans (1549-1601)
1573-? : Gabrielle de Rochechouart, dame de Lansac
1573-? : Jeanne de Montmorency, duchesse de Thouars
?-1573 : Marie de Montmorency, comtesse de Candalle
1574-? : Renée de Savoie-Tende
?-1574 : Anne de Daillon, dame de Ruffec
?-1574 : Marguerite de Bourbon-Vendôme
?-1574 : Louise de Brézé
Renée d'Anjou-Mézière
Antoinette de Bourbon
Françoise de Bourbon-Vendôme
Marie II de Saint-Pol
Claude Catherine de Clermont
Henriette de Nevers (1542-1601)
Catherine de Clèves
Marie de Clèves (1553-1574)
Dame (-d'honneur) to Louise of Lorraine 1575–1601
1575-1590 : Françoise Babou de la Bourdaisière
1577-? : Catherine de Lorraine, duchesse de Mercœur
1577-? : Marie de Luxembourg (1562-1623)
1577-? : Marguerite de Conan, dame d'Acerac
1577-? : Jeanne de Cossé-Brissac, dame de Saint-Luc
?-1577 : Diane de Cossé, comtesse de Mansfeld
?-1577 : Charlotte Picart d'Esquetot, dame de Brissac
1578-? : Hélène Bon, dame de la Tour
1578-? : Françoise de la Baume, dame de Carnevenoy
1579-? : Isabeau de Sorbières, dame de Saint-Germain
1579-? : Renée d'Averton, dame de Sérillac
1579-? : Anne de Daillon, dame d'Estissac
1579-? : Jacqueline de la Chapelle, dame de Malicorne
1579-? : Gilberte de Marconnay, dame de Montmorin
1579-? : Françoise de Rochechouart, dame de Richelieu
1579-? : Catherine Tournabon, dame d'Elbenne
1580-? : Sylvie de la Rochefoucault, dame de Champdenier
1580-? : Antoinette de La Tour, comtesse de Chasteauvillain
Dame (-d'honneur) to Marie de' Medici 1600–1632
Louise Marguerite of Lorraine
Charlotte des Essarts
Charlotte-Marguerite de Montmorency
Dame (-d'honneur) to Anne of Austria 1615–1666
Louise Marguerite of Lorraine
Dame du Palais to Maria Theresa of Spain 1660–1683
The Dame (-d'honneur) were renamed Dame du Palais in January 1674.
Princess Louise of Savoy, 1664-73
Madame la Duchesse d’Uzais
Louise Antoinette Thérèse de la Châtre, Duchesse la Marêchale de Humiéres
Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan
Marguerite-Louise-Suzanne de Béthune Sully, Madame la Comtesse de Guiche, prêsentement Duchesse du Lude
Elizabeth, Countess de Gramont in 1667-
Anne de Rohan-Chabot, Madame la Princesse de Soubize in 1674-
Marie-Françoise de Villars-Brancas, Madame la Princesse de Harcourt in 1667-1683
Jeanne Marie Thérèse Colbert, Madame la Duchesse de Chevreuse
Marie d'Albret, Madame d’Albret
Marie Françoise de Bournonville, Madame la Duchesse de Noailles
Madame la Marquise de la Valiére
Marie Louise Claire D'Albert de Luynes, Madame la Princesse de Tingry, in 1679-1683
Jeanne Angélique Rocque (de Varengeville), duchess de Villars
Henriette Louise Colbert, Madame la Duchesse de Beauvilliers
Dame du Palais to Marie Leszczyńska 1725–1768
Many of the Dame du Palais of Marie Leszczyńska were transferred to the court of Marie Antoinette in 1770 with the title Dame pour accompanger, and became Dame du Palais again when Marie Antoinette became queen in 1774.
1725–1740: Marie-Adélaïde de Gramont, duchesse de Biron, dite duchesse de Gontaut
1725–1728: Henriette-Julie de Durfort, comtesse d’Egmont
1725–1740: Marie-Françoise de Rochechouart-Mortemart, princesse de Chalais
1725–1737: Julie-Christine-Régine Gorge d’Antraigues, duchesse de Béthune-Charost
1725–1746: Garcie-Joséphine-Pétronille de Salcedo, comtesse de Mérode
1725–1741: Edmée-Charlotte de Brenne, marquise de Matignon
1725–1729: Armande Félice de La Porte Mazarin, marquise de Nesle
1725–1726: Agnès Berthelot de Pléneuf, marquise de Prie
1725–1741: Marie-Marguerite de Tourzel d’Alègre, marquise de Rupelmonde
1725–1727: Jeanne-Angélique Rocque de Varengeville, duchesse de Villars
1725–1757: Françoise-Gillette de Montmorency-Luxembourg, duchesse d' Antin
1725–1729: Marie Isabelle de Rohan, Duchess of Tallard
1726–1734: Marie-Josèphe de Boufflers, duchesse d'Alincourt
Dame du Palais to Marie Antoinette 1774–1792
Many of the Dame du Palais of Marie Antoinette were transferred to her from the former court of Marie Leszczyńska in 1770. They had the title Dame pour accompanger when Marie Antoinette was Dauphine, and became Dame du Palais again when Marie Antoinette became queen in 1774.
1774–1791: Louise-Charlotte de Duras
1774–1775: Laure-Auguste de Fitz-James, Princess de Chimay
1774-1789: Guyonne-Élisabeth-Josèphe de Montmorency-Laval, Duchesse de Luynes
1774–1788: Guyonne-Marguerite-Philippine-Élisabeth de Durfort, Vicomtesse de Choiseul-Praslin
1774–1781: Louise-Adélaïde-Victoire de Durfort de Civrac, Marquise de Clermont-Tonnerre
1774–1789: Madeleine-Suzanne-Adélaïde Voyer d'Argenson de Paulmy, Duchesse de Luxembourg
1774–1785: Marie-Éléonore de Lévis de Châteaumorand, Comtesse de Tavannes
1774–1780: Marie-Elisabeth Chamillart, Marquise de Talleyrand
1774–1788: Marie-Louise-Sophie de Faoucq de Garnetot, Comtesse de Gramont
1774–1786: Marie-Madeleine de Rosset de Fleury, Duchesse de Beauvilliers
1774–1781: Marie-Paule-Angélique d'Albert de Luynes, Duchesse de Chaulnes
1775–1792: Colette-Marie-Paule-Hortense-Bernardine de Beauvilliers de Saint-Aignan, Marquise de La Roche-Aymon
Dame du Palais to Joséphine de Beauharnais 1804–1814
1804–1804: Élisabeth Le Michaud d'Arçon de Vaudey
1804–1809: Jeanne Charlotte du Lucay
1804–1809: Madame de Rémusat
1804–1809: Elisabeth Baude de Talhouët
1804–1809: Madame Lauriston
1804–1809: Madame d'Arberg
1804–1809: Marie Antoinette Duchâtel
1804–1809: Sophie de Segur
1804–1809: Madame Séran
1804–1809: Madame Colbert
1804–1809: Madame Savary
1804–1809: Aglaé Louise Auguié Ney
1804–1809: Élisabeth de Vaudey
Dame du Palais to Marie Louise 1810–1814
1810-1813 : Aglaé Auguié
1810-1814 : Marie Madeleine Lejéas-Carpentier, duchesse de Bassano
1810-1814 : Comtesse de Montmorency
1810-1814 : Madame Mortemart
1810-1814 : Madame de Bouille
1810-1814 : Élisabeth Baude de Talhouët
1810-1814 : Madame Lauriston
1810-1814 : Marie-Antoinette Duchâtel
1810-1814 : Madame Peron
1810-1814 : Madame Lascaris
1810-1814 : Madame Noailles
1810-1814 : Madame Ventimiglia
1810-1814 : Madame Gentili
1810-1814 : Madame Canisy
1810–1814: Anna Pieri Brignole Sale
1810-1814 : Adélaïde de Saint-Germain
1810-1814 : Dorothée de Courlande
Dame du Palais to Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily 1830–1848
1830-1848 : Isabella Charlotte de Rohan-Chabot
Dame du Palais to Eugénie de Montijo 1853–1870
1853–1870: Adrienne de Villeneuve-Bargemont
1853–1870: Anne Eve Mortier de Trévise
1853–1870: Claire Emilie MacDonnel
1853–1870: Jane Thorne
1853–1864: Louise Poitelon du Tarde
1853–1870: Nathalie de Ségur
18??–18??: Mélanie de Pourtalès
1866–1870: Amélie Carette