Louise Honorine Crozat (1734 – 1801) was the duchess of Choiseul as the wife of Étienne François. She was the heiress of the grand fortune left by her grandfather Antoine Crozat.
Louise Honorine Crozat | |
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Duchess of Choiseul | |
![]() Portrait by
Anna Dorothea Therbusch | |
Full name | Louise Honorine Crozat |
Born | 1734 hôtel du Châtel, Rue de Richelieu, Paris, France |
Died | 1801 (aged 64) Rue Saint-Dominique, Paris |
Buried | Cimetière des Ursulines, Amboise |
Noble family | Choiseul |
Spouse | |
Father | Louis François Crozat, 2nd Marquis of Châtel |
Mother | Marie Thérèse Catherine de Gouffier |
Louise Honorine Crozat was the daughter of Louis François Crozart—the son of proprietary owner Antoine Crozat. At the age of 12, Louise-Honorine was betrothed to Étienne François, [1] and the two married in 1750. [2] [3] The marriage was described as a happy one, despite Étienne's many liaisons. [1]
Louise Honorine was described as being tender-hearted and dignified, [1] and as a devoted wife. Her kind demeanor caused Horace Walpole to claim:
"The most perfect being of either sex. Nothing that I ever saw anywhere was like the Duchess of Choiseul, who has more parts, reason and agreeableness than I ever met in such a delicate little creature. You would take her for the Queen of an Allegory." [1]
During the French Revolution, Louise Honorine was held captive in 1794, awaiting her death by guillotine in the Conciergerie; before her execution, however, the party of Robespierre fell and she was then let free. [1] She would later die in 1801, aged 66–67, outliving her husband, whom had died in 1785, by nearly 16 years.
She was buried in the Cimetière d'Amboise, in France. [4]