François de Rohan, 1st Prince of Soubise (1630 – 24 August 1712) was a member of the House of Rohan and founder of the House of Soubise. His wife Anne Julie de Rohan was the one-time mistress of Louis XIV and mother of François's own eleven children. Prince of Soubise jure uxoris, he was also the Lord of Frontenay and of Ponghes.
François was born to Hercule de Rohan and his wife Marie de Bretagne d'Avaugour[fr]. His father had been married twice, and François was the only son born from the second marriage. His older sister was Marie de Rohan, wife of the Duke of Chevreuse, Duke of Luynes and a key figure of the Fronde, the great civil war which threatened the power of the monarchy. His older brother was Louis de Rohan, Prince of Guéméné.
He was married twice.
Firstly to Cathérine Lyonne (1633–1660). The couple had no issue before she died in 1660 aged roughly twenty seven.
Secondly he married Anne Julie de Rohan, who was the mother of his eleven children. The couple were married in Paris on 17 April 1663.
Hôtel de Soubise, Paris, 2009
On 27 March 1700, at the insistence of his wife Anne, François bought of the Hôtel de Guise, in Paris, renaming it the Hôtel de Soubise. It was purchased from the trustees of the late Duchess of Guise.
The church of Soubise, Charente-Maritime the Église Saint-Pierre, had been severely damaged during the European wars of religion. Originally built in the 12th century, the nave and choir had been largely destroyed. Between 1700 and 1712, the church was rebuilt and restored to its original grand proportions at the cost of the prince.[2]
