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I was born in Paris, and later moved to Languedoc. The Polignac family were of ancient lineage and well respected, but encumbered by many debts. I lost my mother, Jeanne Charlotte Hérault, at the age of three and went to live with my aunt, who put me in a convent - a commonplace for the education of young aristocratic girls, thank you auntie. When I was eighteen, my marriage to Jules, Comte de Polignac, who was captain in the French army at the time, was arranged. I would have four children. When Diane de Polignac, my sister-in-law, called me to Court, I came with her husband and was presented at a formal reception in 1775. Queen Marie-Antoinette became instantly attached to me and agreed to settle the family's many outstanding debts, again thank you your highness. I also won the friendship of the king's younger brother the Comte d'Artois and the approval of King Louis XVI himself, who was grateful for my calming influence on his wife, encouraging our friendship. I was, however, resented by other members of the royal entourage, particularly the queen's confessor and her political adviser, the Austrian ambassador, Mercy you backstabber! Charismatic and beautiful, I became the undisputed leader of the queen's exclusive circle, ensuring that few entered without MY approval. The entire Polignac family benefited enormously from the queen's considerable generosity, but their increasing wealth outraged many aristocratic families, who resented their dominance at Court. Ultimately, the queen's favoritism towards my family and I was one of the many causes which fueled Marie-Antoinette's unpopularity with many of her subjects. By the late 1780s, thousands of hostile, pornographic pamphlets alleged that I was the queen's lesbian lover and although there was no truth in the accusations, it did immeasurable damage to the monarchy's prestige. I was eventually appointed Governess to the Royal Children, including the future Louis XVII and Princess Marie-Thérèse. At the time, my appointment generated further outrage at Court, where it was felt I was unsuitable for the post. My husband was later promoted through two rungs of the aristocratic ladder, thus making him a duke and ME a duchesse! This was a further source of irritation to the courtiers at Versailles. Later, my beautiful sister-in-law, Louise, became the life-long mistress of Louis XVI's youngest brother, the Comte d'Artois (later King Charles X). My marriage was cordial, if not successful; in other words, it was typical of aristocratic arranged marriages. For many years, I was passionately in love with the captain of the Royal Guard, the Comte de Vaudreuil; although it was felt by many of my friends, that Vaudreuil was too domineering of me. It was rumored at Versailles that my second child was actually fathered by Vaudreuil. After the fall of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, and with Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette under effective house arrest, several members of the Polignac Set decided to emigrate. The Comte d'Artois left on Louis XVI's orders, as did Breteuil. My family and I escaped to Switzerland, where I kept in contact with the King and Queen through letters. After I had left, the care of the royal children was entrusted to the Marquise de Tourzel. You cannot understand how much I missed them. I begged Marie to send the children to me, so that they would not be put in harms way. I developed cancer while living in Switzerland, although I had been in poor health for several years. I died in October 1793, shortly after hearing of the execution of Marie-Antoinette.