Marie-Christine de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon (7 May 1728 – 4 July 1774), known as "Mademoiselle de Ruffec," was the granddaughter of the memoirist Saint-Simon.

In 1749, she became Countess of Valentinois through her marriage to Charles-Maurice Goyon de Matignon, Count of Valentinois. In 1754, she became Countess of Rasse and a Grandee of Spain upon the death of her uncle, Jean-Armand de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon.

Biography

Family Born on May 7, 1728, Marie-Christine was the granddaughter of the memoirist Louis de Rouvroy, Duke of Saint-Simon. She was the daughter of his eldest son, Jacques-Louis de Rouvroy (1698–1746), Duke of Saint-Simon by gift inter vivos, known as the "Duke of Ruffec", and his wife Catherine-Charlotte-Thérèse de Gramont (1707–1755).François-Alexandre Aubert de La Chenaye-Desbois et Jacques Badier, Dictionnaire de la noblesse, t. XVII, Paris, Schlesinger, 1872, col. 855. Jacques-Louis died in 1746. His brother, Jean-Armand (1699–1754), Count of Rasse, Grandee of Spain,Louis de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon, the memoirist, was made a Grandee of Spain of the first class by Philip V on February 6, 1722, “and my second son [Jean-Armand] jointly with me, so that we both might enjoy it together and at the same time.” On the same day, his eldest son, Jacques-Louis, the father of Marie-Christine, received the Order of the Golden Fleece. (Memoirs of Louis de Saint-Simon, vol. III, Paris, Bonnot, 1966-1967, p. 260; vol. XVIII, p. 406) became Duke of Saint-Simon. Since his father was still alive, Jean-Armand was in turn called the "Duke of Ruffec".

Marriage

On December 10, 1749, in the chapel of the Hôtel de Saint-Simon in Paris (with the approval of King Louis XV, dated November 1), Marie-Christine married Charles-Maurice Goyon de Matignon, known as "the Chevalier de Monaco," Count of Valentinois, descended from the Grimaldi family through his mother, and brother of the sovereign Prince Honoré III of Monaco. Jacques, Duke of Valentinois, Marie-Christine's father-in-law, gifted her the Hôtel de Valentinois in Passy.

Grandee of Spain In 1752, her uncle Jean-Armand made Marie-Christine his sole heir. He died in 1754, and Marie-Christine became Countess of Rasse and Grandee of Spain of the first class. In the House of Saint-Simon, in fact, the title of Grandee passed to women, in the absence of men. A few years earlier, in his Memoirs, Marie-Christine's grandfather had mentioned instances of Grandeeships that substituted, "in a few houses or on uncommon occasions, for the paternal uncle to the niece."Memoirs of Louis de Saint-Simon , vol. III, p. 247. — Saint-Simon, Memoirs , “Bibliothèque de la Pléiade”, Paris, Gallimard, 1983, vol. II, p. 75. — The Memoirs were written from 1739 to 1749. Charles-Maurice became Grandee of Spain of the first class, jure uxoris. Since 1701, Grandees of Spain in France had "the rank, honors, treatment, and distinctions of dukes." On June 4, 1754, as a Grandee of Spain, the Countess had the honor of greeting Louis XV and Queen Marie Leszczyńska. She was entitled to the stool. In 1755, upon the death of her grandfather, the memoirist, she inherited the Château de la Ferté-Vidame.

On October 27, 1762, she was appointed lady-in-waiting to Mesdames. In December, she sold her estate in Ruffec to Charles-François de Broglie. On June 21, 1764, she sold her château de La Ferté-Vidame to the financier Jean-Joseph de Laborde.

The Count and Countess of Valentinois had no children and separated in 1766. In 1770, Marie-Christine was appointed dame d'atours (lady of the wardrobe) to the Countess of Provence, and was later promoted to dame d'honneur (lady of honour) in 1772. She died in Paris on 15 July 1774, bequeathing the Hôtel de Valentinois to her cousin, Count Jacques de Stainville.

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