"[2] She and her husband narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on 22 August 1962, when their Citroën DS was targeted by machine gun fire arranged by Jean Bastien-Thiry at the Petit-Clamart.

[citation needed] 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.

Her father, Jacques, was the chairman of the board of directors of a biscuit company, and her mother, Marguerite (née Forest), came from a family in the Ardennes, and became the fourth (some say sixth) woman in France to obtain a driving licence.

She learned to read at home and studied with the Dominican Order of Asnières-sur-Seine (later moving to Périgueux), and was encouraged, as many girls were at the time, to become proficient in needlework.

The children were expected to vousvoyer (i.e. use the formal "vous" with) their elders, and during World War I went with their governesses to Canterbury, England, not returning to their parents in France until the end of the year.

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."

They honeymooned in Northern Italy and went on to have three children, a boy and two girls: Anne de Gaulle was born with Down’s syndrome, and unlike common practice of the time she was kept in the family her whole life, since she died only twenty years old.

After arriving in Falmouth, the family rejoined her husband in London, where Philippe then joined the Free French Naval Forces (FNFL).

Paris having been liberated on 25 August 1944, Yvonne and her two daughters returned to France, first living in rented quarters while the Boisserie was repaired (because of a fire) and somewhat extended (the most visible sign being a tower where the General wanted his private office to be).

On a typical day, she would enjoy three meals with her husband, reading Le Figaro at breakfast, evening television sessions, and Sunday masses at the palace chapel.

Her Catholic faith influenced the conservative view of her husband on moral matters; after her arrival at the palace, one of the first things she asked was for a pietà to be supplied to the residence; the Musée du Louvre obliged by lending one.

Uncharacteristically, she went on to intervene in favour of the authorization of birth control pills at a time prior to the issuance of Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI.

The de Gaulles were the target of an assassination attempt in Clamart, organized by French Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Bastien-Thiry.

Upon Charles' resignation from the presidency in 1969, Yvonne accompanied him on a retirement trip to Ireland, famous for the photos of the couple and the aide-de-camp, General François Flohic, taken on the beach.

Madame de Gaulle was widowed in 1970, but remained at the Boisserie until failing health induced her to enter a retirement home of the sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Paris in 1978.