Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay permanently stationed in Paris except in time of war. In 1776 de Launay succeeded M. de Jumilhac as Governor of the Bastille. As was the custom with many senior positions under the Ancien Régime, the marquis purchased the office of governor from his predecessor as a form of investment. The thirteen years that he spent in this position were uneventful, though on 19 December 1778 he reportedly made the mistake of failing to fire the cannon of the Bastille as a salute on the birth of a daughter (Madame Royale) to King Louis XVI. In August 1785 he was given
Chateau and Seigneurie de Launay repeated in 1654. The oath was taken up by Catherine le Balleur in 1666 and again in 1671, having inherited from her husband, Robert. Catherine's son, Henri, signed the oath in 1683. In 1694 Henri le Balleur, in the presence of Le Mans notaries, Victor Siger and Guillaume Foin, sold to Monsieur and Madame André Guyonneau, king's councillor and lieutenant, Seneschal of Le Mans, The sale was transacted at a price of 150,479 livres. The new Seigneur de Launay, André Guyonneau, was king's lieutenant, magistrate of Le Mans and advisor to the king. In 1692 he married the very wealthy