Yvonne de Gaulle, along with her husband, set up a charity, La fondation Anne-de-Gaulle , to help children with disabilities. Yvonne and Charles were married on 6 April Yvonne was reputed to be very discreet; as such, despite numerous appearances, she never gave any radio or televised interviews, and the broader public never learned the sound of her voice.
Yvonne Vendroux came from a family of Calais industrialists with Burgundian roots. William had decided to flood the fields during the 17th century to push back against the advance of troops from King Louis XIV. Yvonne's ancestor then married a Calaisienne during the French Revolution.
Her eldest brother, Jacques Vendroux, born became deputy and mayor of Calais. Her younger brother, Jean born , married Madeleine Schallier , fathered seven children and died in an auto accident in Yvonne's parents provided her with a strict education in keeping with their elevated social status and the customs of the era.
The children were expected to vousvoyer i. They later settled in Wissant , a seaside community in Calais on the English Channel. Yvonne met Charles de Gaulle in , then a military captain returning from a mission in Poland. The meeting was secretly arranged by the Vendroux family. At a tea shortly after, Charles spilled his cup on young Yvonne's dress. Nonplussed, she laughed, and they continued courting. Two days later, Yvonne declared to her parents, "It will be him, or no one.
They were engaged on 11 November, before the end of Captain de Gaulle's leave, and married on 7 April in the church of Notre-Dame de Calais. De Gaulle played on Yvonne's family business when he expressed his joy on the occasion, writing to a friend, "I am marrying the biscuits of Vendroux.
