On July 11, 1789, the king, very destabilized by the death of his eldest son, the first Dauphin, and the agitation of the States General dismissed Necker and appointed Baron de Breteuil Principal Minister. He hopes to regain some authority and knows the loyalty of his former minister. The deputies of the States General and the street are worried, on July 14 the Parisian people take the Bastille where they find only one unfortunate prisoner. Monsieur de Launay, the Governor of the Bastille is massacred. Under pressure, the king dismissed Breteuil and recalled Necker. Breteuil goes on an emigration. He settled in Switzerland in Solothurn, then in Hamburg where in October 1791 he received a letter from the King entrusting him with full powers to help him restore his authority for “the happiness of his people”.
When the Revolution broke out, the castle was owned by two children, Charles 5th Marquis de Breteuil (1781-1864) and Laure (future Duchess of Praslin). They remain in France as well as their mother. The castle is placed under sequestration but the children keep the property. The difficulties are endless.
The children Charles and Laure are entrusted to a locksmith in order to ensure their proper education. For this purpose, they were taken to Place de la Révolution, now Place de la Concorde, on January 21, 1793, to witness the beheading of the king. Their mother Geneviève is imprisoned under the Terror, “suspected of being a suspect”. Their uncle, Anne François Victor de Breteuil, bishop of Montauban and deputy of the clergy to the States General, died in prison in Rouen.
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