 thumb|250px|marquise de tourzel louise-Ãlisabeth de croÃ¿ de tourzel (louise Ãlisabeth fÃ©licitÃ© franÃ§oise armande anne marie jeanne josÃ©phine de croÃ¿ de tourzel) 11 june 1749 &ndash; 15 may 1832), the marquise de tourzel (later duchess) was a french noblewoman and courtier to the royal court of king louis xvi. she was the last governess to the royal children of louis and his wife, queen marie antoinette. decades after the french revolution, de tourzel published widely-read memoirs, which presented a unique perspective on the royal family. ==life== louise Ãlisabeth was born in paris, into the illustrious croÃ¿ family during the reign of louis xv. the duchess's father was the duke louis ferdinand joseph of havrÃ© and his mother the princess marie louise of montmorency-luxembourg. she was married in 1766, at the age of seventeen, to the marquis de tourzel. they enjoyed a happy marriage for twenty years, in which louise Ãlisabeth bore six children. her husband was killed in a hunting accident in 1786. she was a staunch supporter of the house of bourbon, and had this motto engraved on a ring she refused to part with: lord, save the king, the dauphin, and his sister! ===french revolution=== in 1789, after the fall of the bastille, many members of the queen's intimate circle were forced to flee abroad. the duchesse de polignac, the queen's favourite and the governess to the royal children, was forced to emigrate to switzerland. marie antoinette appointed louise Ãlisabeth to the newly vacant post, with particular attention to be paid to the dauphin, louis-charles. the m
1749_births 1832_deaths French_ladies-in-waiting French_memoirists Governesses_to_the_Children_of_France House_of_CroA? Writers_from_Paris