In the Princess of Lamballe's earlier years, she was one of the highest-ranking women at the court of France, and there were many people that were jealous of her friendship with the Queen. From 1789 onwards, however, being the favourite of the French Queen was no longer an enviable position. The royal family witnessed many of their friends and relatives flee from Paris in the years that followed, to save themselves, forgetting their loyalties to their monarchs.