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In 1678 Madame de Montespan gave birth to her seventh child by Louis XIV. Françoise-Athénaïs had reached her 38th birthday and had been the king’s maitresse en titre for no less than thirteen years. Her reign had been long – longer than most women could manage – and for the time being all seemed quite normal. Yet, the year marked not just the birth of her final child but also the beginning of the…
Madeleine de Souvré was quite an odd character at the court of Louis XIV. She had the distinction of being born in the previous century - in 1599, to be exact. Thus, she was already 44 years old when the five-year old Louis XIV ascended to the throne. By this point, she sported the title of Marquise de Sablé through her marriage to Philippe Emmanuel de Laval-Bois Dauphin. She had been married at…
Marie Thérèse de Choiseul was the niece of Louis XV's famous minister Étienne François de Choiseul who played a key role in arranging the marriage between Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Her parents - the duc and duchesse de Stainville - welcomed her into the world on 8 December 1766. Unbeknownst to everyone her life would be both short and unjust. Considering her elevated birth, a prestigious…
One of the great mysteries surrounding Marie Antoinette was – and is – the nature of her relationship with Count Axel Fersen. Throughout her life, the queen was continuously accused of various types of affairs including lesbian affairs, an affair with her brother-in-law (the Comte d’Artois) and a whole array of other candidates. The accusation of adultery was a tried-and-tested way of diminishing…
When Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy was brought to France in 1767, she was married to Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon-Penthièvre. As such, she assumed the title of Princesse de Lamballe and became a Princess of the Blood (by marriage). On paper, the match was certainly good - her new status put her at the zenith of the French aristocracy and her father-in-law was one of the wealthiest men in France.…
The timeless classic of setting a table with both salt and pepper originated with none other than Louis XIV. Salt had always been somewhat easily accessible - to all classes of society - but pepper was far more exotic and therefore more expensive. Thus, it quickly became a status symbol - but how did the Sun King and his court treat the now so commonplace spice? French cuisine was already ahead of…
Whereas chocolate and coffee would become symbols of sensuality and the exotic, tea had a slightly different entry into the court of France. Allegedly introduced by Cardinal Mazarin, it was imported for its medicinal properties. The cardinal himself used tea to ease his gout which it was said to be an efficient remedy against. Louis XIV would later replicate Cardinal Mazarin's cure by also…
During the 18th century, the court of Versailles was known as la cour parfumée - the perfumed court - and Madame de Pompadour certainly did her part for that reputation. The royal favourite's patronage of the porcelain factory at Sèvres ensured that her perfume burners were always exquisite. The factory delivered intricate burners which ensured that her apartment at Versailles always had a strong…
Charles Juste de Beauvau was born in the capital of Lorraine, Luneville, on 10 September 1720, into the second-most powerful family in the region. His parents were a remarkably fertile couple - having 20 children, Charles Juste was the thirteenth. Little is recorded of his upbringing which was largely undertaken by a governess before he would be handed over to a male governor. It was not until a…
Charles de Rohan, Prince de Soubise, was primarily noted for his renown on the battlefield but deserves some attention for his rather turbulent private life. A man of his standing was a prime target for the noble families of the court and he certainly did not lack for potential wives. In 1733, he was betrothed to Anne Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne - an 11-year old girl from an equally ancient…
