Nobility of France


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The search for an aristocratic Frenchman who is believed to have murdered his wife and four children in cold blood has returned to the isolated countryside where he was last seen.
Police are preparing to visit underground caves and abandoned potassium mines in the area around Roquebrune-sur-Argens, where Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes was spotted by a CCTV camera in April 2011.
He fled his home in Nantes, western France, a few days earlier after neighbours reported not having seen any of the family for more than three weeks.
Police search French caves for Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes 'who butchered his wife, children and dogs' | Mail Online
 
How do titles work for the children of French aristocrats? If the father is a French Marquis does the eldest son have a seperate courtesy title? What about younger children, are they all titled or are they just Monsieur and Mademoiselle?
 
Marquis Jean-Louis de Ganay passed away on 13 April 2013, aged 91.

He was born on 6 February 1922, son of Marquis Hubert de Ganay and of his wife, née Maria Bemberg.
He was married since 1946 to Philippine de Noailles, daughter of the 7th Duke of Mouchy and 7th Prince and Duke of Poix and of his wife, née Marie de La Rochefoucauld. Jean-Louis and Philippine became parents of four daughters, one of whom predeceased her parents.

Jean-Louis de Ganay - Telegraph
Noailles

extracts from the Telegraph obituary

[Marquis] Jean-Louis de Ganay, who has died aged 91, was an aristocratic agent of the Special Operations Executive in France before and after D-Day, narrowly avoiding arrest to blow up a railway line and a canal lock transporting vital supplies to German forces.

He returned to Paris in March 1946, and married shortly afterwards, dedicating the rest of his life to restoring and modernising the family estates and the chateau at Courances. He inherited the chateau on the death of his father in 1974 and, with his brothers, farmed and revived the hunting. During his time there he hosted several members of the British Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and Prince Charles.

Active in local politics, Jean-Louis de Ganay was mayor of Courances for more than 50 years. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his work with SOE. .
 
Alix de Castries (b.1988) [second of three children and younger daughter of Henri de La Croix, Count of Castries (b.1954, French bussinessman and CEO of AXA. S.A.) & his wife Anne, nee Millin de Grandmaison (b.1963)] will marry Prince Charles de La Tour d'Auvergne Laurageais on 7 September.

Sources: Google Translate
Henri de Castries - Wikipédia
 
Alfred de la Rochefoucauld, Duke de la Roche-Guyon, died on 25 October 2013, aged 85.

He was born at La Roche Guyon on 13 August 1928, the eldest son of Gilbert de la Rochefoucauld, Duke de la Roche-Guyon, by his second wife Marie Louise Lerche.
He married twice: firstly on 2 June 1949 to Eva Millier and secondly on 25 October 1952 to Lydie Jacobé de Haut-de-Sigy.
He became father of five children by his second wife: Lydwine, Gildine, Guy-Antoine, Cyrill and Alexis. His daughter Lydwine died aged 21 in 1975 and his son Cyrill died one week after his birth in 1964.
He is survived by his wife Lydie, their three surviving children and their families.

La Rochefoucauld
 
Death of the Duc de Castries

Jean-François de la Croix, Duke of Castries
(b.1938, son of René de La Croix, count de Castries, & his wife, Monique de Cassagne de Saint-Jean de Libron),
died at Paris on 2 January,
survived by his wife, France, and by a son and stepchildren.

Source: Royal News of 2014, Section III
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Antoine de Gramont, 14th Duke de Gramont and Prince de Bidache, died on 18 February 2014 in Houston, Texas. He was 62.

He was born on 26 April 1951, the only child of Henri, 13th Duke de Gramont, and of his wife, née Odile Sublet d'Heudincourt de Lénoncourt. He became the 14th Duke at his father's death in 1995.
He was married since 2003 to Catherine Forget, by whom he had a son in 2008.
He is survived by his wife and their son Antoine (now the 15th Duke de Gramont and Prince de Bidache).

Le prince de Bidache est mort, ses châteaux demeurent - SudOuest.fr
Gramont
 
Princess Letitia Murat (de Lubersac)

As a "newbie" here I asked this elsewhere but apparently it should have been posted in this forum:

Princess Laetitia Murat

Can anyone here provide any info on the life of this French royal lady who initially married an American from a very prominent Boston family (Charles Codman Jr.) and after being widowed married a de Lubersac.

She was born in the mid 20's and died in 2009 - I would so like to see a photo of her and her family and find out about her life after her marriage into the de Lubersac family. So far I have had no luck and hoping someone here can help.
 
Is there a Comte in France named Jean-Michel de Boissy?

Thanks very much!
 
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Baroness Philippine de Rothschild passed away on 23 August 2014. She was eighty years old.

She was the daughter of Elisabeth Pelletier de Chambure, a French Catholic aristocrat, and Philippe de Rothschild. Her parents were not married at the time of her birth, and instead her mother's husband was Jonkheer Marc de Becker-Ré my. They divorced in 1934 after Marc attempted to kidnap Baroness Philippine. She has one brother, Baron Charles Henri de Rothschild, who was born and died in 1938. Her mother was arrested by the Gestapo during World War Two and later passed away at Ravensbrück concentration camp, becoming the only known member of the Rothschild family to pass away during the war. In the 1950s, Baroness Philippine later became an actress and took the stage name Philippine Pascale. She had a leading role in Harold and Maude between 1973 and 1980. She also worked in the Rothschild's wine business and was rewarded the Légion d'Honneur in 2007.

She is survived by her first husband; Jacques Noël Sereys, with whom she was two children, Camille Sereys de Rothschild and Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, who were born in 1961 and 1963 respectively. And also her second husband; Jean-Pierre de Beaumarchais with whom she had one son; Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, who was born in 1971.

Sources: Décès de la baronne Philippine de Rothschild
Philippine de Rothschild - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Interesting that her children have the surnames combined: Sereys de Rotschild and De Beaumarchais de Rothschild.
 
:previous:
The Rothschild name carries more clout.
 
Yes I agree. The De Beaumarchais (Caron de Beaumarchais) family belongs to the haute bourgeoisie anyway. Naming yourself Monsieur de Beaumarchais de Rotschild absolutely will open doors for you...

:lol:
 
How do titles work for the children of French aristocrats? If the father is a French Marquis does the eldest son have a seperate courtesy title? What about younger children, are they all titled or are they just Monsieur and Mademoiselle?

In the Netherlands, Luxembourg, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries the sons and daughters of a titled nobleman have his titles. The most senior male titleholder is, for an example, THE Count while the others are Count/Countess [name]. In France and Belgium often the daughters do NOT share the titles but have the honorific Demoiselle/Jonkvrouw (= noble lady). It depends on the exact wording of the Letters Patent in which the Nobility has been confirmed.

An example of daughters sharing the title:

The Count de Lannoy (= the actual head)
Count Jehenne de Lannoy
Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy

An example of daughters not sharing the title:

The Count du Parc Locmaria (= the actual head)
Demoiselle Claude du Parc Locmaria
Count Alain du Parc Locmaria
Demoiselle Anne du Parc Locmaria
Count Gaëtan du Parc Locmaria

Another example of daughers not sharing the title

The Prince Ruffo di Calabria (= the actual head)
Don Fabrizio, Prince Ruffo di Calabria
Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria

Outside the United Kingdom secondary titles are mostly used in Spain. The Heir to the Dukedom of Alba is the Duke of Huéscar, to name an example.
 
In Sweden it's only in families that was noble before 1809 that everybody share the same rank as the head of the family. If the family was ennobled after 1809 it's only the caput familiae that is a noble and in families that was noble before the same year but received a higher title after it's only the cf that has this title and the others have the older and lower one.
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I stand corrected, I thought the daughters of a Greve are always a Grevinna and the daughters of a Friherre are Friherrinna but I see it depends on the exact wording of the Letters Patent which differs before and after 1809. It looks like the situation in my country. Maybe the French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte introduced that new system? Does this also mean that Nobility pre 1809 is seen as more prestigious than Nobility after 1809?
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The new system regarding noble status and titles was just one part of the new Constitution of 1809 that came to be after a liberal revolution deposed King Gustav IV Adolf so this was before J-B Bernadotte came to Sweden.
I have no idea about the status of the pre/post 1809 nobility but isn't noble status always because of a combination of ancienneté, titles and wealth?
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d'Harcourt

The House of Harcourt is a Norman family.
In 1280 they established the College d'Harcourt in Paris.
The College d'Harcourt is now the Lycee Saint-Louis.
 
The Duchess de Noailles, née Nadèje Donin, passed away on 13 November 2014, a few days short of her 69th birthday.

She was born on 25 November 1945; she was the wife, since 1972, of Hélie de Noailles, who at the time of their wedding was the Duke d'Ayen and since 2009 is the 10th Duke de Noailles.
She is survived by him and by their three children (Julie, Maria-Alicia and Emmanuel, Duke d'Ayen).

Noailles
 
In the English edition of Hello, there is a three page spread about the Duke of Blacas and his family, who own the Château d'Ussé in the Loire Valley, which was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle. You can find an online PDF version of the spread below:

http://takeapeek.hellomagazine.com/UK/HEUK1355/documento.pdf

I was reading that last week HereditaryPrincess,I had never heard of them but the family seem to have an interesting history plus a picturesque chateau!

I believe one is his ancestors is buried at the Franciscan church Kostanjevica in Slovenia,resting place of Charles X and members of the exiled French Royal Family.
 
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:previous: I had never heard of the family either until I read the article. 'Duke of Blacas' sounds more Spanish to me than French (though the 'd'Aulps' part of their title does indeed sound more French), or perhaps Portuguese. (But according to their Wikipedia page, the family have always been French.) They must be quite well connected though, because they are related to the Counts de Limburg-Stirum, which I do believe is one of the oldest titles of the Belgian nobility.

This Wikipedia page would be a good place to start for those like me who want to learn more about the family:

Blacas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And the website of the Château d'Useé:

Welcome to Sleeping Beauty's Castle - Chateau of Uss?
 
The House of Murat

I was wondering, are all members of house Murat ranked as His/Her Highness or are they, aside from the head and heir, Serene Highnesses?
 
Countess Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld, Duchess d'Estissac, née Antoinette de Moustier, passed away on 29 June 2015, aged 91.

She was born on 27 September 1923 in Paris, daughter of Count Pierre de Moustier and of his wife, née Élisabeth de Talhouët-Roy.
She married in 12/14 October 1943 to Count Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld (1917-2008), eldest son and heir of the Duke d'Estissac. On the same days her twin sister Marie-Agnès married to Count Jean de La Rochefoucauld, brother of Alexandre.
The Duke and Duchess d'Estissac became parents of six children: Jeanne (Princess Bernard de Polignac), Nathalie (Countess Pierre de Bernis Calvière), Pierre-Louis (current Duke d'Estissac), Claude (Mrs. Antoine de Burin de Roziers), Emmanuel and Philibert.
She is survived by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Avis de décès de Antoinette de MOUSTIER paru le 30/06/2015 dans L'Est Républicain - Libra Memoria
La Rochefoucauld
 
Twins who married brothers? That's very interesting...charming!:)
 
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