On this day, a Sunday, the Duc de Luynes arrives at Compiègne in the early afternoon from Chantilly, where he went on Thursday. He finds the courtiers gossiping about what happened at mass that morning. The King, the Queen, and the Dauphin attended mass at the church of St. Jacques, a grand mass in honour of the parish’s patron saint. Unlike at Versailles, the royal family did not sit on armchairs placed on the floor, but in the stalls, of which there are only 7. The King and the Dauphin arrived first and took their places, followed by the Duc d’Orléans and the Duc de Chartres, leaving an empty place between them and the Dauphin. The Queen then arrived with Mlle de Clermont and sat down in the stall next to the King. Not daring to sit in the empty stall between the sovereigns and their son, Mlle de Clermont found herself at a loss. As she happened to be standing near the Duc d’Orléans, she said to him that she did not know where to sit. “I know where my seat is,” he replied, “it is here. As for yours, Mademoiselle, I do not know where it is.” At first, she went back down onto the floor, but the King told her to go back up into the stalls. Gesturing to the stalls, she told him that there was no room for her. He repeated his order, so she obeyed and sat down in the empty stall between the Dauphin and the Duc d’Orléans, thus placing herself above him and his son. The King remarked aloud to no one in particular, “None but the Sons and Grandsons of France have the right to be rude to ladies.” At vespers, the same seating arrangement is repeated without fuss.
Commentary:
The château at Compiègne of course has a chapel, but as at Versailles, the royal family worship at their parish church on certain special occasions, which in Versailles is Notre Dame de Versailles. The church of St. Jacques is their parish church in Compiègne.
Pictured: A view of the exterior of the church of St. Jacques in Compiègne, photographed by me in July, 2023.
At Versailles, the royal family worship on the ground of the chapel on high holy days, sitting in armchairs with rugs placed in front of them. There are in any case no stalls. The issue on this day at St. Jacques is that there are only 7 stalls and 2 of them would ordinarily be left empty; one to separate the sovereigns from their son, the Dauphin, and another one to separate their son from the princes of the Blood, in this instance the Duc d’Orléans and his son the Duc de Chartres.
Now who is Mlle de Clermont? She is one of the daughters of the 6th Prince de Condé and the sister of the Duc de Bourbon, who is also the 7th Prince de Condé. In other words, she is a princess of the Blood. Since the King’s little daughters, and her own older sister, Mademoiselle, are absent, Mlle de Clermont is the highest ranking lady present after the Queen. The Duc d’Orléans and his son are also princes of the Blood; in fact, the Duc d’Orléans is the First Prince of the Blood — and touchy about it. He was unwise to be rude and unhelpful to Mlle de Clermont since she is a regular attendee of the post-hunt suppers in the King’s private apartment and is in high favour with the monarch.
Pictured: A view of the interior of the church of St. Jacques in Compiègne, photographed by me in July, 2023. The Baroque elements of the decor date from the reign of Louis XV.
In any case, the King’s reprimand has put the Duc d’Orléans in his place.
If you have questions that I have not addressed in the commentary, please ask in the comments. The translation from the French is my own, as it always is unless I credit someone else.
Proper etiquette is always expected from those in a senior position, even if it is not always given.
Well done, Your Majesty, put that bitchy Duke in his place!