Anne was born in the Chateau La Force, the daughter of the Marquis de Caumont de la Force, an official at the court of King Louis XV and First Gentleman of the Bedchamber for the Count of Provence, and Adelaide-Luce-Madeleine Galard Brassac, governess of the children of the Count of Artois. She was married to the Count de Balbi, with whom she had four daughters.
Mistress of the Count of Provence
Anne was described as a witty and humorous beauty, but also attracted enemies with her relentlessness. In 1779, she became the lady-in-waiting of the Countess of Provence, allegedly because she wanted to become the Count's lover. It is alleged that the Count made Anne his mistress because of his anger over his wife's love for Marguerite de Gourbillon. Anne's husband, who protested against their relationship, was declared insane and imprisoned in a mental asylum by the Count. Provence created a garden at Versailles in 1785, named Balbi after her.
Anne de Balbi was, together the other favorite of the count of Provence, Duke d'Avaray, a main actor in the flight of the count and countess of Provence from France, which took place in parallel with the Flight to Varennes in June 1791. Anne de Balbi participated in the planning of the escape and left for the Austrian Netherlands on June 2, where she welcomed Provence after his successful escape on 21 June. Anne de Balbi played a leading role in the French emigree court of Koblenz as one of the women termed as the 'Queens of the Emigration' alongside the Princess of Monaco and Louise de Polastron, and was courted for her influence over Louis Stanislaus, who was proclaimed French regent in exile. She gave regular receptions in the house she was provided near the residence of Louis, and because it was well known that he confided in her and that she acted as his political advisor, she was courted by foreign diplomats, and reportedly had particularly closed connections with the Russian envoy. The Comte de Neuilly described her in this period: Reportedly, she had a fierce temperament and resented rivals over her influence with the count of Provence, and her rivalry with his other favorite, Duke d'Avaray, was well known and caused scenes on some occasions. In April 1792, she was forced to follow the countess of Provence to Savoy, since she was officially her lady-in-waiting. She eventually left Savoy and settled in Brussels, where she kept in contact with the count of Provence. During the separation, she gave birth to twins, which was reported to the count of Provence by his other favorite, d'Avaray, when she stated her plans to join the Provence party in Verona. Because of the time chronology, they could not have been the children of the Count of Provence, which made him end the relationship. The father of the twins was reportedly a Comte Archambaud de Périgord. She lived in England until 1802, when her name was removed from the list of émigrées. She returned to France, where she laid claims on the fortune of her spouse, and lived with her brother in the countryside until her death. She died in Paris in 1842, three years before her husband.
