Louise-Élisabeth de Croÿ de Tourzel (Louise Élisabeth Félicité Françoise Armande Anne Marie Jeanne Joséphine de Croÿ de Tourzel; 11 June 1749 – 15 May 1832) was a French noblewoman and courtier, as the Marquise of Tourzel. She was the Governess of the Children of France from 1789 until 1792. Decades after the French Revolution, Louise-Élisabeth published her memoirs, which presented a unique perspective on the royal family during the French Revolution. She later acquired the title of duchess. Life Louise Élisabeth was born in Paris, into the illustrious House of Croÿ during the reign of King Louis XV. Louise’s father was the duke of Havré, Louis Ferdinand Joseph, and her mother was the princess of Montmorency-Luxembourg, Marie Louise. Louise Élisabeth was married in 1766, at the age of seventeen, to the Marquis de Tourzel. They enjoyed a happy marriage for twenty years, in which Louise Élisabeth bore six children; her husband was, however, killed in a hunting accident in 1786. She was a staunch supporter of the House of Bourbon, and had this motto engraved on a ring she refused to part with: Lord, save the King, the Dauphin, and his sister!. French Revolution After the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, many members of Queen Marie Antoinette’s intimate circle were forced to flee abroad. The duchesse de Polignac, the queen's favourite and the governess to the royal children, was forced to emigrate to Switzerland. Marie Antoinette appointed Louise Élisabeth to the newly vacant post, with particular attention to be paid to the dauphin, Louis-Charles. The marquise was advised to curb the dauphin's fear of loud noises, particularly the barking of the many dogs at Versailles. After an angry mob of women incited by revolutionaries stormed the Palace of Versailles on 5 October 1789, the marquise accompanied the royal family to live in the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Tourzel's loyalty was strong, and she refused to abandon the royal children as political strife in the nation dramatically increased. She even accompanied the king and his family on the flight to Varennes, for a royalist stronghold in Montmédy. This attempt failed, and the entire party was brought back to Paris. After the abolition of the monarchy in 1792, Louise Élisabeth was separated from the royal family and imprisoned in the La Force Prison, and soon the Prison Port-Libre. Also imprisoned at the same time was her daughter, Pauline de Tourzel, and