page_title: Anne de Noailles (1729–1794)
section_title: Courtier
hierarchical_section_title: Anne de Noailles (1729–1794) / Courtier
caption_attribution_description: English: Anne d'Arpajon, comtesse de Noailles
context_page_description: Anne d'Arpajon, comtesse de Noailles was a French noblewoman and court official. She served as the dame d'honneur of two Queens of France, Marie Leszczyńska and Marie Antoinette. She was called "Madame Etiquette" by Marie Antoinette for her insistence that no minutia of court etiquette ever be altered or disregarded.
context_section_description: In 1763, she was appointed to the position of dame d'honneur to queen Marie Leszczyńska in succession to Marie Brûlart.  She served until the death of the queen five years later.  Her position made her the first in rank of all ladies-in-waiting at the French royal court.  Her daughter Louise Henriette Charlotte Philippine de Noailles was appointed dame du palais.
  Upon the death of the queen in 1768, she kept her position awaiting to be transferred to the equivalent position in the household of the new Dauphine of France, alongside the Dame d'atour, Amable-Gabrielle de Villars, and the rest of the ladies-in-waiting to the late queen.  In the spring of 1770, they were dispatched to the border to welcome the new dauphine, Marie Antoinette of Austria, upon her arrival in France.
  On April 1770, she and the rest of the Household of the Dauphine were introduced to Marie Antoinette by her husband Philippe de Noailles in the Pavilion of Kehl at Rhen.  During the ceremony when the new crown princess was handed over from her Austrian to her French entourage, a famous scene allegedly took place, in which Marie Antoinette lost her composure, burst into tears and threw herself into the arms of the countess de Noailles, whose chilly response resulted in her regaining her composure.
  As dame d'honneur, Anne de Noailles was responsible for the behavior of Marie Antoinette and her ladies-in-waiting and given the task of instructing her in the etiquette of the French royal court and making sure that she behaved accordingly.  Early on, this came to cause discord between her and Marie Antoinette, who resented de Noailles for restricting her life with reference to court etiquette.   In Nancy, during the journey from the border to the meeting with the king and the dauphin in the Forest of Compiégne, de Noailles reproached Marie Antoinette for being too friendly with her relatives of the House of Lorraine by stating that, as dauphine, Marie Antoinette could not regard the king's subjects as her equals.
  During the following years, Marie Antoinette shocked de Noailles by playing with the children of one of her ladies-in-waiting; she was also prevented by the countess from participating too much in the festivities at court, and, when playing masquerade with her brothers-in-law, was forced to hide the costumes and stop playing when de Noailles entered the room. Marie Antoinette reportedly made fun of de Noailles' adherence to etiquette and her reprimands of her staff, referring to her as Madame Etiquette. On one occasion, after falling off a mule in the Forest of Compiégne, Marie Antoinette laughingly asked her entourage to fetch de Noailles so that she could ask her for instructions on the correct etiquette for how a Dauphine of France should behave after having fallen off a mule.
  Anne de Noailles was the first to greet Marie Antoinette as queen upon the death of Louis XV in 1774.  When the queen reintroduced the old office of Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine and her favorite, the Princesse de Lamballe was appointed to that post, over ranking the post of dame d'honneur, Anne de Noailles resigned and was replaced by Laure-Auguste de Fitz-James, Princess de Chimay.
  Her resignation was well received by the queen, whose lack of respect for the court protocol prompted de Noailles to become a part of the circle of the Kings' aunts, Mesdames de France, who gathered the noble opposition of the queen in protest toward her disregard for etiquette, which had replaced rank as the prerequisite to be a member of the queen's circle with her personal affection for favorites.
caption: Anne d'Arpajon comtesse de Noailles
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