Louis Auguste de Grandelumiere

Louis Auguste de Grandelumière (13th March 1726 - Présent) is the current "Dauphin de Grandelumière", he was elevated to this status following the passing of his grandmother, l'Impératrice Marie IV. He is the son of Louis XIV Raphael and his wife, Impératrice Marie Catherine d'Espagne.
Louis Auguste was the most attractive child born to Louis XIV and Catherine d'Espagne. He possessed a strong resemblance to Marie IV. His consort, Sophie de Saxe, was a bore and a necessary accessory to him, which made him seek for company in numerous extramarital affairs. Few beautiful women avoided him, extending to beautiful men. Later, he embarked upon a love affair with Louis-Paul Jules de Rochechouart de Mortemart de Belle-Ile, Marquis de Belle-Ile.
Born in 1726, Louis Auguste de Grandelumière was a Fils de Grandelumière and was known at court as Monseigneur le Grand-Dauphin following the birth of Louis François, known as le Petit-Dauphin. He was weak-willed, known to succumb to sexual temptation and immoral behaviour. Throughout the misadventures which littered his life, Auguste had a private moral backbone and a complex relationship with God.
== Early Years ==
=== Birth ===
Louis Auguste de Grandelumière was delivered on the morning of March 13th, 1726 in les Appartements de Madame la Dauphiné at Le Château d'Argenteuil, in the Seine-et-Oise département, Grandelumière. Witnesses to the birth were his father Louis Raphael (subsequently Louis XIV), his grandmother, Marie IV, and grandfather, Emmanuel de Grandelumière (née Soissons). Numerous courtiers filled the adjacent antechambers and rooms while the birth took place. An unremarkable day, the moderate temperature did not plague Madame la Dauphiné or the spectators, the tolerable air was perhaps a comfort to the strenuous labour which Catherine d'Espagne endured. He was proclaimed Duc de Valois upon the moment of birth and unknowingly elevated his parents to Grand-Dauphin et Dauphiné.
Immediately following the birth, Auguste was placed into the care of a multitude of nurses and a governess, Marie-Pauline Raphaëlle de Rochechouart de Mortemart. He grew attached to his wet-nurse, a Madame Melin. This almost parental relationship would continue until her passing in 1743.
=== Childhood ===
Although Auguste had a mostly uneventful childhood he did have a near brush with death at the age of 6. While wandering off one day, Auguste fell into a pond of water. Unable to swim, following his cries for help, his governess, Madame de Rohan, followed by several servants, rushed towards to him. Fortunately, due to the quick thinking of Madame de Rohan, servants would be able to pull Auguste out of the pond before too much damage was done. However, the emotional trauma was complete. Auguste, believing he was going to drown and die, abhorred water ever since. 
Auguste was educated, like his father and uncles had been, by the illustrious Louis Chrétien Hercules de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Archevêque de Paris. He was instructed in religious and moral education, centred around religious devotion and behaviour. Due to the intense teaching and the harshness of the tutors which were employed (primarily l'Abbé de Rochefoucauld) Auguste would come to detest learning. This unpleasantry overshadowed his adolescence. He turned his attention instead to the solace which could be found in his companions and friends.
Even though Auguste had no time for education, he wasn't an imbecile. He had a great passion and talent for music. His main accomplishments were playing both harpsichord and viola de gamba. He also accumulated an enthusiasm for playing the harp, much to the displeasure of his tutors. Music was as far as his educational talent could extend, doing poorly in philosophy, theology, mathematics, and languages. Though he could speak limited Spanish and understood Ecclesiastical Latin, he was not proficient in either.
During his education, Auguste became acquainted with Louise-Aglaé de Troisfontaines from House Harcourt. Louise was 15 and Auguste 14, and this was more of a teenage crush than an overwhelming passion. His education came to a close soon following the separation with Louise. Never again would he take interest in reading or any scholarly pastimes.
== Ten Years War ==
=== Outbreak of War ===
The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth was subject to an invasive occupation by Friedrich II Hohenzollern. The Royal Castle (Zamek Królewski w Warszawie) and the Pałac Koniecpolskich was seized. Following the occupation Warsaw, Prussian forces marched into Silesia then into Saxony, where the Elector Augustus III defended Dresden. After the succession of devastating blows, Marie IV did not hesitate to declare war upon her Lutheran enemy, Friedrich II Hohenzollern. Elector Augustus III was defeated at the Battle of Dresden. He and the entire Royal Family were placed under arrest in the Dresdner Residenzschloss. Auguste avoided traveling to Fort Louis le Grande in Strasbourg when Marie IV announced that the court was to travel there following the declaration of war due to his young age. This was during his education at court and thus was not expected to leave for some time. 
His involvement with the war was limited during the first years, merely writing back and forth with his parents and grandparents, though his letters were often written for him due to his poor writing skill and only ever signed his own name. His apathy towards the war did not change even as he neared the end of his education, preferring instead to keep himself occupied with his court companions and relationships.
=== Travel to Strasbourg ===
It was only by the end of his formal education that he left for Strasbourg, accompanied by similarly aged male attendants. This had been one of the final causes ending his relationship with the Demoiselle de Troisfontaines, as he left her behind for his travel to Strasbourg, despite the fact she had requested to attend him as he left. This was said to be due to her own indulgences elsewhere, tied closely to the nature of their relationship, which Auguste came to detest. Once at the fort in Strasbourg, he was once more residing under the watchful eye of his grandmother, Marie IV. Being staunchly Catholic, and adamant that her family should also follow the teachings of the Church, the young Duc de Valois kept his carnal pleasures from her sight. To this end, he took on the mistress of Thérèse Marie Jeanne de Nozières in 1742, who was the daughter of the General Marc Louis de Nozières. She was comparatively plain but amusing and kind which entertained the young Valois. 
Also in 1742, Augustus III was given sanctuary in Grandelumière. He was given permission to reside in Saint-Germain-en-Laye with his small exiled court. In 1744, Grandelumière pushed back Prussian forces over the Saxon border. To strengthen the ties between Saxony and Grandelumière in the face of the enemy, Auguste was betrothed to the young Maria Anna Sophie Sabina Angela Franziska Xaveria, Prinzessin von Polen und Sachsen. He was not wholly pleased to be betrothed to the German princess but was willing to accept this arrangement, for at the time he still had the enjoyment of Jeanne de Nozières.
=== Marriage ===
As a result of his engagement, the court would return to Paris in order to hold the wedding in the Capital. Due to the fact that the exiled Polish and Saxon court was residing in Grandelumiere at the time of the wedding, Augustus III handed her over to Marie IV from his residence at Saint-Germain. They would then return to Paris, to remain at Le Louvre on the night before the marriage.
On the day itself, the pair were dressed up in a light grey fabric to mimic silver, with diamonds taken from previous dresses due to the necessity to send money towards the war effort. The ceremony was attended by a variety of officials, Marie IV and Augustus III attending the event in person, while dignitaries from Britain, Spain, Portugal, Austria, and Russia attended, as well as those of the Italian states. While not particularly interested in the Dauphine by any measure, the couple immediately consummated and produced their first child, a daughter, within a year.
The temporary return from Strasbourg became immediately more permanent as the court went back to Argenteuil shortly following the wedding. For this period of time, the Dauphin lived in an awkward contentedness with his wife, children, and mistress. Tolerating his wife for these first few years of his life, he continued to spend most of his time with Jeanne until 1747. 
By this point, Jeanne had become considerably overweight, spoiled by the Dauphin and quickly lost his interest, as he came to believe she was more interested in what he could give her than his person. This was only further hampered when the court was to return to Strasbourg in order to arrange the Treaty of Strasbourg between Prussia and Grandelumiere. While everything was being packed, again, the Dauphin would specifically give instructions for the Demoiselle de Nozières to remain at Argenteuil without him. It was after this that her position was then made clear. Auguste continued, unphased by the issue and in need of further excitement, which was only provided when he met the eager Élisabeth de l'Étang, who provided a rather wild and tempestuous affair. They would frequently keep one another company while at Strasbourg while the negotiation went head, neither paying any particular attention to the politics of the treaty. 
== Return to Peace ==
=== Family Life ===
After the signing of the Treaty of Strasbourg, the court would travel back to Argenteuil with the Empress Marie IV. Here, the Dauphin continued to meet regularly with both his wife and his mistress. Though due to the nature of their relationship, the pair fell apart in 1750. It was also rumoured that Auguste only ever found interest in female company when drunk, and to this end, the Dauphin's attention moved towards that of his first male company, Charles Joseph de Grepiac. Although in order to keep up his virile and fertile reputation he took up Anne Valerie de Gomené as a mistress during the same time. Neither affair lasted long, Grepiac being neither intelligent, funny nor remarkable in appearance, but merely available, and made frequent financial demands on Auguste, while Gomené quickly succumbed to arrogance over her position.
These affairs did not create a strong relationship between Auguste and his grandmother, Marie IV. The two individuals did spend some time together, with the Empress visiting the young Valois in his rooms from time to time, and Marie IV even went so far as to admire the young Valois' more outgoing nature. While never wholly approving his extra-marital affairs, Marie IV was content enough if these affairs were kept from her presence. The two shared a quiet familial relationship, typical of the time. Auguste furthermore, like with his mother, admired the piety shown in both and looked up to the devotion shown by either one, bringing him closer to them.
His relationship with his father, however, was nearly non-existent. Having little in common with his father who merely seemingly disapproved of his behaviour, he contented himself to fill this familial void with male company. This lack of relationship between his father, coupled with the fear and resentment he felt towards his male tutors, brought about his more submissive nature around men. In response to this, he was a relatively loving father himself, though he found it difficult to maintain. Being of a temperamental nature, he was not able to be around them for long without the aid of a Governess. He did enjoy visiting them himself when he could, having them brought to his chambers from time to time for tea, so long as a Governess was on hand to watch over their behaviour.
=== Court Life ===
In 1755, Auguste took up the voluptuous, sensual and likeminded Françoise Élisabeth Marguerite Zéphyrine de Pardaillan de Gondrin. The two took much pleasure in a short-lived physical liaison. Though their love affair did not last long, the two found a close companionship due to their harmonious nature. Zéphyrine treated Auguste as an equal and as a fellow human rather than the Dauphin. She was even permitted to call Auguste "Louis." A coveted honour. She would remain an individual who he would trust for her opinions and thoughts on his works and actions for a considerable period of time. 
Her enemy, the fanciful, attractive, well-bred and humorous Marie-Sophie Augustine de Rochechouart de Mortemart followed. She made Auguste smile and was seen as pleasing company, as Auguste once exclaimed: "I only keep myself surrounded by the best of company." Believing her life one of contentment and bliss, she could only be shocked when she was replaced to her great displeasure by Louis-Paul Jules de Rochechouart de Mortemart. Jules would be important to Auguste. He entertained, amused and took great care of the temperamental nature which Auguste possessed. This relationship was looked down on by many courtiers, many finding Paul brash and a "putain d'attention." Much to the displeasure of those who opposed the attraction, Paul would be long lasting and would remain a lifelong companion to Auguste. 
Other small fancies followed, par exemple: Louis-Alexandre Hercules de Rochechouart de Mortemart, but nobody could quite replace Paul. Alexandre de Rochechouart de Mortemart brought on his own dishonour. He had more attention for Zéphyrine, Mademoiselle de Moncontour. This greatly displeased Auguste which made him abandon the idea of pursuing anything with him. There was much gossip around the court to the fact that Augustine had been replaced by her very own brother. This only tickled Zéphyrine.
=== Death of the Duc de Normandie ===
As most of Auguste and his wife's children had survived childhood, he soon stopped visiting her rooms. If one ever did find them in conversation it was usually purely ceremonial or about their surviving children. However, in 1758, tragedy stuck. After the the pair were notified that their eldest son, Louis François, Duc de Normandie, was deathly ill, they rushed to his side, immediately calling the court physician. Subsequently, the court was given permission to enter, with Normandie being given his last rites. Almost immediately after, he passed on the 23rd of February, 1758, the court physicians coming to the conclusion that he had died from an aneurysm in his stomach. 
Instantly, Auguste sunk into a deep period of melancholy. Always close with his children, the death of his heir devastated him. The day of Normandie's death Auguste left to his private estate, Chateau d'Houilles, wishing for a private recluse away from court and his duties. Traveling with Paul, now the Marquis de Belle-Ile, Auguste soon settled in the more quiet, serene life. While there, Belle-Ile would take precautions in his interactions with him, although would slow but steadily lift Auguste out of his melancholy. As time wore, Auguste became utterly reliant on Belle-Ile to lift his spirits. Nevertheless, after about two weeks Auguste and Belle-Ile returned to court.
Within some time of the Duc de Normandie's death, Auguste found himself increasingly melancholic. After a succession of parties held at Houilles in which Paul lavished his attention on his old flame, Zéphyrine, who was at this point still a trusted friend of Auguste, he found himself more withdrawn. Angered not only by the betrayal of who he had called a friend, but also that of his lover, he would frequently lash out. This came to a head when during one of his final major parties at Houilles, Paul did not speak to the Dauphin throughout the entirety of the evening, instead, keeping Zéphyrine company. Both Auguste and Paul ended up in a heated argument, in which he held Paul under the water at the bath before Paul would knock him over with a bottle.
Confiding in his valet, it would be noted that he admitted; "I give him everything, and he stabs my heart. A Dauphin should not crawl to ask for love." It was said soon after that Zéphyrine had lost any favour with the Auguste thereafter for her continued ploys to take Paul, while his Chevalier's own position was precarious. Auguste would promptly begin arrangements for Paul's own future as a result.
=== Demise of Belle-Ile ===
By mid 1763, Auguste and and Paul had grown continuously distant. While Paul engaged in a short lived affair with the infamous Madeleine-Clemence de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duchesse de Bouillon, Auguste busied himself with short lived fancies such as Louis-Marc Hercules de Choiseul, Duc de Choiseul, and Eduoard Leon-Joseph d'Albert de Luynes, Duc de Luynes. Publicly, Auguste and Paul put out a united front, Paul even befriending and gaining the support of the Dauphine. However it was clear things were near over. Finally, Auguste ordered Paul to leave court, and exiled him to Paris. While the Dauphin admitted to his close friends that he still loved Paul, he was in a difficult situation, with numerous other courtiers pressuring him to exile Paul, hoping to replace him as chevalier-en-titre with someone who they could benefit from. Writing to his sister, the Queen of Spain, one letter states that, "I [Auguste] still love him, I do, but he [Paul] runs from me, dearest sister. He becomes distant, cruel, and less intimate, and I, to the ends of the earth, embody jealousy."
 Auguste, desperate to make himself feel fulfilled once more, began speaking with philosophers, card readers, and priests. However, this only made him feel more despondent. Diagnosed by physicians with severe melancholy, Auguste entreated the Duc de Mortemart and the Duc de Luynes to speak to Paul, but nothing worked. Finally, Auguste decided to visit him himself, in the Pavillon du Roi, Le Marais. To his shock and horror, Auguste discovered that Paul had taken his own life, jumping out the window onto the street below. 
Auguste was plunged into a severe, depressive state. Devastated, he declared that he would dress in mourning for the rest of his life, and draped his apartments in purple and black. Surrounding courtiers did accomplish their goal of having a new chevalier-en-titre, with the Duc de Chaulnes being installed in the position later that year, but it was clear that Auguste had not forgotten about Paul. Constantly talking about him, he admitted to the Queen of Spain that he only had other relations to "bury this hole, this emptiness and continued abyss, which I have fallen into and cannot escape from."
During his depressive state with Belle-Ile, Auguste began to do small favors towards his wife, the Dauphine, and came to appreciate her quiet and pious nature; although, he was still far from satisfied with her. To mark this new favor and his consolatory feelings, he approved of her plan to send their youngest daughter, Princesse Marie Benedicte Philippine to marry the new Elector of Saxony, Friedrich Augustus von Sachsen, the Dauphine's nephew. Although the handover of the tender three year old princess didn't go as well as possible, (The Saxon Ambassador even snubbing Auguste), Philippine departed as planned. From then out, Auguste asserted that Germans were "completely irritating". Consequently, the distance between the couple reaffirmed itself once more.
=== War of the British Succession ===
In late 1763, Louis XIV had become seriously ill, and as such, had retired to the Chateau de Chambord to take the airs, as they were said to be able to improve his health. Consequently, he named his powerful and influence wielding consort, Catherine d'Espagne, as regent. Auguste, anxious for power of his own, convinced his father to name him co-regent before he left for Chambord. For the first time in his life, Auguste would hold real power publicly. This new change, of course, wouldn't go unnoticed by his circle and the court. 
Louis Charles de Blois de Penthievre, Duke of Penthievre, first prince of the blood, and by such, Monsieur le Prince, had recently replaced the Comte de Sezanne as Controller-General of Finance in the council. Penthievre wished to defeat Britain and assert Grandelumiere as Europe's dominant power. Therefore, he conceived the idea of putting a Stuart pretender on the throne of Britain as a puppet king. In order to gain support, he went to Auguste, now co-regent. Reportedly, Penthievre visited Auguste at Houilles and discussed his plans with him in the porcelain pavillon in the magnificent gardens of the estate. After Penthievre went over his battle strategy and other such details, Auguste was convinced and threw his personal support behind the project. Additionally, while in his melancholic state, he had begun to move closer to religion and as such beloved that a Catholic monarchy in Great Britain would assert not only his relationship with God, but demonstrate that Roman Catholicism was not in decline by popular opinion.
To gain more support, Auguste went and gained the backing of Marie Angelique de La Tour d'Auvergne, Mademoiselle d'Auvergne, his father's maitresse-en-titre. As predicted, the Mademoiselle successfully swayed the Emperor to the plan, gaining his backing of the project. Moreover, he convinced Charles Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, to join the plan as well. Louvois operated with several spies and agents and agreed to send several of his associates to Britain as spies. Furthermore, Auguste spent about a million livres from his own pension towards the initial costs of improving and training the army. Although in the grand scheme of things, this was not a large sum, this still put a large dent in his personal finances. 
== Personality and Appearance ==
=== Appearance ===
Louis Auguste was described as a somewhat plain individual. By no means outstanding in his beauty, though he might like to believe so at times, he was not characterised as ugly. His features were relatively soft and feminine, he did have a well-defined jaw with a soft curve towards the back. His nose was a little large on his face but not hideously so, and depending on the viewer was either taken as a Roman nose, implying his noble personage, or an imperfection to match an inward failure. He had a pair of almond coloured eyes which were described as neither alluring nor imperfect, though perhaps a little large on him. His hair matched neither parent as he was, in fact, a brunet, with a deep brown head of hair. Being unable to powder it white due to the colour, he'd wear a white powdered wig, preferring it to grey. To combat his otherwise relatively plain appearance, he would wear a good deal of powders on his face with red blush and a beauty spot on his upper left cheek.
=== Personality ===
In terms of personality, the Dauphin was not easy to pin. Prone to a temperamental attitude, he easily shifted from being in a positive state of mind to a negative one. Lacking a male role model to look up to he was relatively timid around other men to some degree, preferring female company above male, though not so romantically inclined to women. In regard to his romantic opinions, the Dauphin was afflicted with a natural jealousy and a fear of abandonment, as noted in the fact he frequently leaft his own mistresses when he believed that they no longer desired him for anything but position. 
He was religious privately, and although not as devout to the extreme of his grandmother nor his mother, he had a complicated religious belief. He thoroughly believed that only through God could one achieve the right to salvation, and was entirely aware of his moral shortcomings, never having been particularly strong in morality. On the other hand, he found the court dull, and having been brought up with the position as Dauphin he got bored of what he already had. Instead, he sought new excitement in increasingly extreme methods. 
== Issue ==
=== Legitimate Issue ===
With his wife, Marie Anne Sophie de Saxe, he would have several children:
* Marie Sophie Raphaëlle Germaine de Grandelumière (24th November 1746 - 17th March 1758)
* Louis François de Grandelumière (11th September 1747 - 23rd February 1758)
* Louise Geneviève de Grandelumière (27th February 1749 - 19th December 1750)
* Miscarriage (5th December 1749)
* Marie Justine de Grandelumière (29th September 1751 - 13th March 1758)
* Elisabeth Augustine de Grandelumière (5th June 1753 - Présent)
* Charles Edouard François de Grandelumière (10th October 1754 - Présent)
* Miscarriage (8th April 1755)
* Marie Caroline de Grandelumière (13th April 1756 - 18th March 1758)
* Louis Theodose de Grandelumière (2nd November 1757 - 3rd December 1757)
* Miscarriage (7th January 1758)
* Marie Bénédicte Philippine (29th April 1760 - Présent)
=== Illegitimate Issue ===
By his mistress Louise Aglaé de Voyer de Paulmy, Mademoiselle de Troisfontaines, he had 1 child;
* Louis Bertrand de Voyer de Paulmy (2nd March 1741 - 16th October 1746)
By his second mistress, Therese Marie Jeanne de Noailles, Mademoiselle de Nozières, he had 5 children;
* Marie Louise Claudine de Noailles, Mademoiselle de Noailles (31st July 1743 - 14th of August 1743)
* Louise Diane de Noailles, Mademoiselle de Noailles (9th April 1744 - Present)
* Thomas Frederic Louis de Noailles, Seigneur de Carbonnières (23rd January 1745 - Present)
* Madeleine Justine Marie de Noailles, Mademoiselle de Noailles (10th December 1745 - 4th March 1754)
* Francois Clement de Noailles, Seigneur de Montclar (27th November 1746 - 1st March 1754)
By his third mistress, Elisabeth Le Tellier, Mademoiselle de L'Étang, he had 2 children;
* Charles Andre Le Tellier, Seigneur de L'Étang (28th May 1749 - 24th August 1756)
* Marie Le Tellier, Mademoiselle de L'Étang (19th September 1750 - 23rd September 1750)
By his fourth mistress, Anne Valerie de Rohan, Mademoiselle de Gomené, he had 2 children;
* Henri Joseph Auguste de Rohan, Seigneur de Gomené (6th June 1752 - Present)
* Marie Julie Lucienne de Rohan, Mademoiselle de Gomené (21st April 1753 - Present)
By his seventh mistress, Charlotte Julie de La Fare, Comtesse de Montclar, he had 1 child;
* Joseph-Fabien Guillaume de La Fare, Seigneur de Saint-Félix (11th May 1757 - Present)
By his eighth mistress, Marie Eleanor de Blois de Penthievre, Comtesse de Guingamp, he had 1 child;
* Louis-Augustin Philippe de Blois de Penthievre, Comte de Gisors, (8th February 1758 - Present)
== Styles, Titles, and Honours ==
=== Styles and Titles ===
* 17th March 1726 - 29th November 1757 Son Altesse Impériale, Monsieur le Duc de Valois
* 29th November 1757 - Present Son Altesse Impériale, Monseigneur le Grand Dauphin
=== Honours ===
* Knight of the Order of Saint-Benignus
Category:Imperial Court
Category:Births at Argenteuil
Category:18th Century Births
Category:Fils de Grandelumiere
Category:House Blois
Category:Dauphins of Grandelumiere