View source for Jules de Polignac

{{Short description|Prime minister of France from 1829-1830}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Jules de Polignac
| image               = File:Portrait de Jules de Polignac.jpg
| caption = Portrait by [[François Gérard]]
| office              = [[Prime Minister of France]]
| monarch             = [[Charles X of France|Charles X]]
| term_start          = 8 August 1829
| term_end            = 29 July 1830
| predecessor         = [[Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac|Jean-Baptiste de Martignac]]
| successor           = [[Casimir de Rochechouart, 11th Duke of Mortemart|Casimir de Rochechouart]]
| office1             = [[List of Ambassadors of France to the United Kingdom|French Ambassador to the United Kingdom]]
| appointer1          = [[Jean-Baptiste de Villèle]]
| term_start1         = 28 December 1822
| term_end1           = 4 January 1828
| predecessor1        = [[François-René de Chateaubriand]]
| successor1          = [[Anne-Adrien-Pierre de Montmorency-Laval|Pierre de Montmorency-Laval]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1780|5|14|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]], [[Île-de-France]], [[Kingdom of France]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|1847|3|2|1780|5|14}}
| death_place         = [[Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], [[Yvelines]], [[July Monarchy|France]]
| resting_place       = [[Picpus Cemetery]]
| party               = [[Ultra-royalist]]
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Barbara Campbell|1816|1819|end=her d.}}
* {{marriage|Charlotte Parkyns de Choiseul|1824|1832|end=[[Civil death|annulled]]}}
}}
| children            = Armand<br />Seyna-Camille<br />[[Alphonse de Polignac|Alphonse]]<br />[[Ludovic de Polignac|Ludovic]]<br />Yolande<br />[[Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac|Camille]]<br />[[Prince Edmond de Polignac|Edmond]]
| parents             = [[Jules, 1st Duke of Polignac]]<br />[[Yolande de Polastron]]
| signature           = Signatur Jules de Polignac.PNG
}}
'''Jules Auguste Armand Marie de Polignac, Count of Polignac''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒyl də pɔliɲak|lang}}; 14 May 1780{{spaced ndash}}30 March 1847),<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/467353/Jules-Armand-prince-de-Polignac Encyclopædia Britannica]</ref> then '''Prince of Polignac''', and briefly '''3rd Duke of Polignac''' in 1847, was a French statesman and [[ultra-royalist]] politician after [[French Revolution|the Revolution]]. He served as prime minister under [[Charles X of France|Charles X]], just before the [[July Revolution]] in 1830 that overthrew the senior line of the [[House of Bourbon]].

==Early life==
[[File:Jules de Polignac.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Portrait of Jules de Polignac during the First Empire]]
[[File:Arms of the House of Polignac.svg|upright|thumb|left|Coat of arms of the [[House of Polignac]]]]
Born in [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]], Jules was the younger son of [[Jules, 1st Duke of Polignac]], and [[Gabrielle de Polastron]], a confidante and favourite of Queen [[Marie-Antoinette]]. Due to his mother's privileged position, the young Jules was raised in the environment of the court of Versailles, where his family occupied a luxurious suite of thirteen rooms. His sister, [[Aglaé de Polignac|Aglaé]], was married to the duc de Guîche at a young age, helping to cement the Polignac family's position as one of the leaders of high society at Versailles.

With the outbreak of the [[French Revolution]] in 1789, Jules's mother and her circle were forced to flee abroad due to threats against their lives. She had been one of the most consistent supporters of absolutism, and she bequeathed these political sympathies to her son following her death in 1793.

==Marriages and issue==
Jules married twice. He was first married in London, in 1816, to Barbara Campbell (Ardneaves House, Islay 22 Aug. 1788 – Saint-Mandé 23 May 1819), a young Scotswoman. Barbara later returned with him to France, where they had two children:
*Prince Armand (1817–1890), later 4th duc de Polignac;{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} he has male-line descendants to date who bear the principal title.
*Princess Seyna-Camille (1818–1833)

After his first wife's death in 1819, he married in London, on 3 June 1824, Charlotte, comtesse de Choiseul, widow of comte Cesar de Choiseul (d. 1821), ''née'' the [[Honourable]] (Maria) Charlotte Parkyns (St. Marylebone, 6 Jan. 1792 – 1/2 Sep. 1864).  She was the youngest child (of six children) of [[Thomas Parkyns, 1st Baron Rancliffe]] (created 1795)<ref>He was son of Sir Thomas Parkyns, 4th Bt, and was created Baron Rancliffe in the [[Peerage of Ireland]]. He predeceased his father Sir Thomas Parkyns, 3rd Bt (1728–1806) and was succeeded in the barony of Rancliffe 1800 by his son George Augustus Anne, who became 4th Bt in 1806.  The second Baron Rancliffe died 1850 without issue.</ref> and his wife Elizabeth Anne James, and sister of [[Parkyns baronets|George Augustus Anne Parkyns, Lord Rancliffe]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genealogy.links.org/links-cgi/readged?/home/ben/camilla-genealogy/current+c-parkyns18514+2-2-0-1-0 |title=George Augustus Henry Anne PARKYNS |website=genealogy.links.org |access-date=25 December 2012}}</ref> and [[Rumbold baronets|Henrietta, Lady Rumbold]] (1789–1833), wife of [[Rumbold baronets|Sir William Rumbold, 3rd Bt.]]<ref>[http://genealogy.links.org/links-cgi/readged?/home/ben/camilla-genealogy/current+c-parkins81641+2-2-0-1-0 "Maria Charlotte  Parkyns   (Parkins) 1792 – post 1824"] Genealogy of Charlotte de Polignac, nee Parkyns, retrieved 24 December 2012.</ref> He had met her while she was renewing her passport at the London embassy, where he was the Ambassador (1823–1829).<ref>Sylvia Kahan. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jYBSZZdmpt8C&dq=%22Maria+Charlotte+Parkyns%22&pg=PA10 ''In Search of New Scales: Prince Edmond De Polignac, Octatonic Explorer'' University of Rochester Press, 2009]</ref> They had five children, two of whom were born while their father was in prison:
*[[Alphonse de Polignac|Prince Alphonse]] (1826–1863), born during his father's ambassadorship in London. He entered [[École Polytechnique|Polytechnique]] in 1849 and formulated [[Polignac's conjecture]] the same year. He married Jeanne Emilie Mirès (called Amelie by Kahan) and had one daughter. He died some time after a very public trial exonerated his father-in-law [[:fr:Jules Mirès|Jules Mirès]] of embezzlement.<ref>Kahan, p 26</ref>
*[[Ludovic de Polignac|Prince Ludovic]] or "Louis" (1827–1904), born during his father's ambassadorship in London. He entered [[École Polytechnique|Polytechnique]] in 1851 and pursued a military career. He married in 1874 Gabriele, Princess von Croy, with no issue.
*Princess Yolande (1830–1855), named after her grandmother [[Yolande de Polastron|Gabrielle de Polastron, Duchess of Polignac]].  She was born shortly before her father's incarceration as an Ultra.<ref>See Kahan p.11 According to Kahan, Jules was allowed conjugal visits from his wife, and thus his last two sons were conceived in prison.</ref> In 1848, she married [[Sosthène II de La Rochefoucauld]], [[Duke of Doudeauville]].
*[[Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac|Prince Camille]] (1832–1913), a major-general in the [[Confederate Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. He married twice: by his first marriage, he had one daughter; by his second marriage, he had two daughters and one son, Prince Victor de Polignac (1899–1998). He has issue and descendants through his eldest daughter.<ref>[http://www.rootsandleaves.com/family/Knight/ModernLines/DePolignacLine/DePolignacLine.html "Modern Day Line from Charles Allanson Knight and Jessie Anne Ramsey"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019090141/http://rootsandleaves.com/family/Knight/ModernLines/DePolignacLine/DePolignacLine.html |date=19 October 2013 }}. Retrieved 25 December 2012</ref>
*[[Prince Edmond de Polignac|Prince Edmond]] (1834–1901), later a noted musician and composer, who married [[Winnaretta Singer]] in a famous [[mariage blanc]].

The couple's marriage was annulled by the French Chamber of Peers, but Jules and Charlotte went to England after his release in 1836, and they renewed their vows before the French consul in 1837.<ref>See Kahan p.13</ref>

==Career==
{{Conservatism in France|Politicians}}
Returning to France, which was then ruled by [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], Jules continued in his zealous loyalty to the exiled Royal Family. In 1804, a year after his sister's death, Jules was implicated in the conspiracy of [[Georges Cadoudal|Cadoudal]] and [[Charles Pichegru|Pichegru]] to assassinate Bonaparte, and was imprisoned until 1813. After the restoration of the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]]s, he was rewarded with various honours and positions. He held various offices, received from the Pope his title of "Prince," in 1820, and in 1823, King [[Louis XVIII]] made him ambassador to Great Britain. A year later, his mother's former friend ascended the throne as King [[Charles X of France|Charles X]]. Polignac's political sympathies did not alter, and he was one of the most conspicuous [[ultra-royalist]]s during the Restoration era.

At the time, it was rumoured that Polignac supported ultra-royalist policies because he thought he was receiving inspiration from the [[Virgin Mary]]. There is little historical evidence for this story, however. There is no mention of such motivation in Polignac's personal memoirs or in the memoirs of the Restoration court.

On 8 August 1829, [[Charles X of France|Charles X]] appointed him to the ministry of foreign affairs and in the following November, Polignac became president of the council, effectively the most powerful politician in France. His appointment was considered a step towards overthrowing the constitution and Polignac, with other ministers, was held responsible for the decision to issue the [[July Ordinances|Four Ordinances]], which were the immediate cause of the [[July Revolution|revolution of July 1830]].

Upon the outbreak of revolt, he fled, wandering for some time among the wilds of [[Normandy]] before he was arrested at [[Granville, Manche|Granville]]. At his trial before the Chamber of Peers, he was condemned and sentenced to 'perpetual' imprisonment at the château in [[Ham, Somme|Ham]]. But he benefited by the amnesty of 1836, when his sentence was commuted to exile. During his captivity, he wrote ''Considerations politiques'' (1832). Afterwards, he spent several years in exile in England before being permitted to re-enter France, on condition that he never again take up his abode in Paris.

According to the ''[[Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership|Legacies of British Slave-Ownership]]'' at the [[University College London]], de Polignac was awarded a payment as a slave trader in the aftermath of the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]] with the [[Slave Compensation Act 1837]]. The British Government took out a £15 million loan (worth £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|15,000,000|1833}}}} in {{inflation/year|UK}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}) with interest from [[Nathan Mayer Rothschild]] and [[Moses Montefiore]], paid from the public budget (formally ending in 2015). de Polignac was associated with three different claims, he owned 628 slaves in [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]] and received a £15,765 payment at the time (worth £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|15,765|1833}}}} in {{inflation/year|UK}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=Prince Auguste Jules Armand Marie de Polignac|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/1332941975|publisher=[[University College London]]}} Retrieved on 20 March 2019.</ref> Although a French subject, de Polignac had connections in the British Empire due to his Scottish wife, Barbara Campbell (1788–1819), daughter of Duncan Campbell of Ardnave.

From his second marriage to Maria-Charlotte Parkyns, daughter of Lord Rancliffe, Jules de Polignac had fathered seven children, including Prince Ludovic de Polignac (1827–1904), a lieutenant-colonel in the French Army who participated in the colonization of [[Algeria]]; Prince [[Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac|Camille Armand Jules Marie de Polignac]] (1832–1913), a major-general in the [[Confederate Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]; and [[Prince Edmond de Polignac]] (1834–1901), a composer, musical theorist and proponent of the [[octatonic scale]].

Jules died at St. Germain in 1847 from the effects of his imprisonment.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Jules-Armand, prince de Polignac {{!}} French statesman|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jules-Armand-prince-de-Polignac|access-date=2021-06-25|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> About one month prior, he had assumed the title of duc de Polignac upon the death of his older brother, Armand, who had died without children.

[[Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois|Comte Pierre de Polignac]], later Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois (father of [[Rainier III of Monaco]] and therefore an ancestor of the entire current princely family) is descended from a different and [[cadet branch]] of the Polignac family, which has the comital rank only. Pierre was the youngest son, descended from the youngest son of the first Duke of Polignac.<ref name=":0" />

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Jules de Polignac (1780–1847), Prince of Polignac'''
|2= 2. [[Jules de Poliganc (1745–1817)|Jules de Polastron]], Count then Duke of Polignac
|3= 3. [[Yolande de Polastron]]
|4= 4. Louis Héracle Armand (XXI) de Polastron, Viscount of Polignac
|5= 5. [[Diane Adélaide Zéphirine Mancini]]
|6= 6. Count Jean François Gabriel de Polastron
|7= 7. Jeanne Charlotte Herault
|8= 8. Scipion Sidoine Apolinaire Gaspard Armand (XX) de Polignac, Viscount Polignac, Marquis of Chalencon
|9= 9. Françoise de Mailly
|10= 10. Jacques Hippolyte Mancini, Marquis Mancini
|11= 11. Anne Louise de Noailles
|12= 12. Count Jean Baptiste de Polastron
|13= 13. Françoise de Mirmand, Countess Plaissan
|14= 14. René Herault, Seigneur of Fontaine
|15= 15. Marie Marguerite Vieuxcourt Durey
}}

== See also ==
* [[List of Ambassadors of France to the United Kingdom]]

==Literature==
* W. Schlésinger, ''Les femmes du XVIIIe siècle:  La duchesse de Polignac et son temps'' (Paris, 1889)
* Michael St. John Packe, refers to Polignac as "rascally" in his "Life of John Stuart Mill".
<ref>The Life of John Stuart Mill, Michael St. John Packe, Capricorn Books Edition 1970, page 100</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

{{EB1911|wstitle=Polignac}}

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{{Succession box| before=[[Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac|The Viscount of Martignac]]|title=[[Prime Minister of France]]|years=1829–1830|after=[[Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie|The Duke of Broglie]]}}
{{S-reg|fr}}
{{S-bef|before=Armand de Polignac}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Duke of Polignac]]|years=1 March 1847{{spaced ndash}}30 March 1847}}
{{S-aft|after=Jules de Polignac}}
{{S-end}}
{{Heads of government of France}}
{{Ministry of Jules de Polignac}}
{{Foreign Ministers of France}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polignac, Jules, Prince De}}
[[Category:1780 births]]
[[Category:1847 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Versailles]]
[[Category:Politicians from Île-de-France]]
[[Category:French Ultra-royalists]]
[[Category:Legitimists]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of France]]
[[Category:Government ministers of France]]
[[Category:Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration]]
[[Category:Dukes of Polignac|Jules]]
[[Category:Princes of Polignac|Jules]]
[[Category:Polignac family|Jules]]
[[Category:French slave owners]]
[[Category:Recipients of payments from the Slavery Abolition Act 1833]]