Première dame d'honneur (French pronunciation: [pʁəmjɛʁ dam dɔnœʁ], lit. 'first lady of honour'), or simply dame d'honneur (lit. 'lady of honour'), was an office at the royal court of France. It existed in nearly all French courts from the 16th-century onward. Though the tasks of the post shifted, the dame d'honneur was normally the first or second rank of all ladies-in-waiting. The dame d'honneur was selected from the members of the highest French nobility.
Contents
History
The office was created in 1523.
The term Dame d'honneur has also been used as a general term for a (married) French lady-in-waiting. 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 (married) ladies-in-waiting. In 1674, the position of Fille d'honneur was abolished, and the 'Dames' were renamed Dame du Palais. Thus, the title Dame d'honneur was henceforth reserved for one office holder.
Tasks
The task of the dame d'honneur was to supervise the female courtiers, control the budget, order necessary purchases, and organize the annual account and staff list; she supervised the daily routine and attended both ordinary and ceremonial court functions, as well as escorting and introducing those seeking audience with the queen. She had the keys to the queen's personal rooms in her possession.
When the Dame d'honneur was absent, she was replaced by the Dame d'atour, who normally had the responsibility of overseeing the queen's wardrobe and jewelry in addition to dressing the queen.
In 1619, the office of the Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine, or simply surintendante, was created. The surintendante had roughly the same tasks as the Dame d'honneur—receiving the oath of the female personnel before they took office, supervising the daily routine of the staff and the queen, organizing the accounts and staff list—but she was placed in rank above the dame d'honneur. Whenever the surintendante was absent, she was replaced by the dame d'honneur. The post of Surintendante could be left vacant for long periods, such as between the death of Marie Anne de Bourbon in 1741 and the appointment of Princess Marie Louise of Savoy in 1775.
Later history
The position of Dame d'honneur was revived during the First Empire, when the principal lady-in-waiting to the empress held the same title.
During the Second Empire, the dame d'honneur had the same position as before, but was now formally ranked second below a surintendante with the title Grande-Maîtresse.
List of premières dames d'honneur to the queens and empresses of France
Though the office was commonly only referred to as "Dame d'honneur", this list use the full title of "Première dame d'honneur".
Eleanor of Austria, 1530–1547
1530–1535 : Louise de Montmorency
1535–1538 : Jeanne d'Angoulême, dame de Givry
1538–1547 : Vacant
Catherine de' Medici, 1547–1589
1547–1560: Françoise de Brézé
1560–1561: Jacqueline de Longwy
1561–1578: Philippe de Montespedon
1578–1589: Alphonsine Strozzi, comtesse de Fiesque
Mary Stuart, 1559–1560
1559–1560: Guillemette de Sarrebruck
Elisabeth of Austria, 1570–1574
1570–1574: Madeleine of Savoy
Louise of Lorraine, 1575–1601
1575–1583: Jeanne de Dampierre
1583–1585: Louise de Cipierre (jointly with de Randan)
1583–1601: Fulvie de Randan (jointly with de Cipierre)
Marie de' Medici, 1600–1632
1600–1632: Antoinette de Pons
Anne of Austria, 1615–1666
For the first years in France, before her Spanish entourage was sent back to Spain, Anne had both a French and a Spanish office holder in several posts of her court.
1615–1618: Inés de la Torre (jointly with de Montmorency)
1615–1624: Laurence de Montmorency (jointly with de la Torre)
1624–1626: Charlotte de Lannoy
1626–1638: Marie-Catherine de Senecey
1638–1643: Catherine de Brassac
1643–1666: Marie-Claire de Fleix
Maria Theresa of Spain, 1660–1683
1660–1664: Susanne de Navailles
1664–1671: Julie de Montausier
1671–1679: Anne de Richelieu
1679–1683: Anne-Armande de Crequy
Marie Leszczyńska, 1725–1768
1725–1735: Catherine-Charlotte de Boufflers
1735–1763: Marie de Luynes
1751–1761: Henriette-Nicole Pignatelli d'Egmont, duchess de Chevreuse (deputy)
1763–1768: Anne de Noailles (first term)
Marie Antoinette, 1774–1792
1774–1775: d'Arpajon, Countess de Noailles (second term)
1775–1791: Laure Auguste de Fitz-James, Princess of Chimay
1791–1792: Geneviève de Gramont, Countess d'Ossun
Joséphine de Beauharnais, 1804–1814
1804–1809: Adélaïde de La Rochefoucauld
Marie Louise, 1810–1814
1810–1814: Louise Antoinette Lannes, Duchess of Montebello
Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily, 1830–1848
1830–1848: Christine-Zoë de Montjoye, marquise de Dolomieu
Eugénie de Montijo, 1853–1870
1853–1867: Pauline de Bassano
1867–1870: Marie-Anne Walewska
List of premières dames d'honneur to the dauphine of France
The Household of the wife of the heir to the throne were normally appointed one year before the royal bride arrived to France, so that they could be a part of the royal welcome entourage.
Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, 1680–1690
1679–1684: Anne de Richelieu
Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, 1711–1712
1711–1712: Marguerite Louise Susanne de Béthune, Duchess of Lude
Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, 1744–1746
1744–1746: Marie-Angélique Frémyn de Moras, Duchess of Brancas
Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France, 1747–1767
1746–1762: Marie-Angélique Frémyn de Moras, Duchess Brancas
1762–1767: Louise-Diane-Françoise de Clermont, Duchess of Brancas
Marie Antoinette, 1770–1774
1770–1774: Anne d'Arpajon, Countess of Noailles
Marie Thérèse of France, 1814–1830
1814–1823: Bonne Marie Félicité de Montmorency-Luxembourg, Duchess of Sérent
1823–1830: Anne-Félicité Simone de Sérent, Duchess of Damas-Crux