Adrien de Noailles, 8th Duke of Noailles


Adrien Maurice Victurnien Mathieu de Noailles, 8th Duke of Noailles, was a French aristocrat and Olympian.

Early life

He was the eldest son of Jules Charles Victurnien de Noailles, 7th Duke of Noailles, and Clotilde Caroline Antoinette de La Ferté-Meun Molé de Champlâtreux. Among his younger brothers was Count Mathieu Fernand Frédéric Pascal de Noailles, who married the writer Princess Anna Elisabeth Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan.
His paternal grandparents were Paul de Noailles, 6th Duke of Noailles, and Alice de Rochechouart-Mortemart. His maternal grandparents were Count Hubert de La Ferté-Meun and Elisabeth Françoise Molé de Champlâtreux.

Career

Upon on his father's death in 1895, he succeeded to the dukedom of Noailles, and inherited his father's estate, including the Château de Maintenon in the Eure-et-Loir département of France.

Olympic career

A noted equestrian, the Duke competed in the mail coach event at the 1900 Summer Olympics, one of five equestrian competitions held in late May and early June 1900 at the International Horse Show in Paris. The event was part of the Exposition Universelle, and later classified as part of the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

On 5 December 1892, he married Yolande Louise Marie Valentine d'Albert de Luynes, a daughter of Charles Honoré Emmanuel d'Albert de Luynes, 9th Duke of Luynes, and Yolande Françoise Marie Julienne de La Rochefoucauld. Together, they were the parents of three children:
The Duchess died in Cannes on 18 October 1952. The Duke died on 23 October 1953. As his only son predeceased him during World War II, he was succeeded by his nephew, François de Noailles.