Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King
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Liselotte, Duchesse d'Orléans, in later life; she herself mocked her vast figure and weather-beaten face, Duc to hunting for long hours without wearing a mask as was customary for ladies.
Marie-Louise d'Orléans, niece of Louis XIV and the highest-ranking young woman at the French court, since he had no legitimate daughters; she was married off to the grotesque King Carlos II of Spain for reasons of state; her beauty is a darker version of her mother, Henriette-Anne.
Marie-Anne, Princesse de Conti, daughter of Louis XIV by Louise de La Vallière, was generally rated the most beautiful of his daughters and he spoiled her; having been widowed childless very young, she declined to marry again but lived a life of happy dissipation at court.
The two surviving daughters of Louis XIV by Athénaïs de Montespan: Françoise-Marie who married the heir to the Duc d'Orléans and Louise-Françoise who married the Duc de Bourbon and was known as Madame la Duchesse. Both scandalised the court with their wayward and often louche behaviour.
Bénédicte Duchesse du Maine, wife of the King's illegitimate son; tiny, described by Liselotte as ‘the little toad’, Bénédicte was extremely intelligent with a real interest in the arts which she patronised in her salon at Sceaux.
Mary Beatrice d'Este, daughter of the Duke of Modena, the Catholic second wife of James Duke of York, later James II; her combination of virtue, dignity and beauty impressed Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon.
Queen Mary Beatrice.
The English royal family in exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, as guests of Louis XIV in 1694: (left to right) James Edward Prince of Wales, whose birth as a Catholic heir helped to bring about the crisis of 1688 and led to his parents' ejection; Queen Mary Beatrice, Princess Louisa Maria, born in exile, aged two; James II, who was twenty-five years older than his second wife and died in 1701.
A hunting-party at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, given by Louis XIV ‘to alleviate the misfortunes' of James II and Mary Beatrice, depicted on a Sèvres vase.
Letter from Adelaide, Duchesse de Bourgogne to her ‘dear grandmother' Madame Royale of Savoy when she was fifteen. Adelaide apologises for the fact that the entertainments of carnival have prevented her replying sooner; she is happy to hear that her grandmother has had good reports of her, wishing to please her in everything and preserve the friendship her grandmother has always had for her. From the State Archives of Turin.
Adelaide Duchesse de Bourgogne.
Adelaide Duchesse de Bourgogne in hunting-costume (red was a favourite colour) in front of the Grand Canal at Fontainebleau; her slim figure is well displayed.
The marriage of Adelaide of Savoy and Louis Duc de Bourgogne, grandson of Louis XIV, on 7 December 1697, the day after her twelfth birthday, in the Royal Chapel at Versailles. Note the dominating figure of the King compared to the tiny bride and groom. By Antoine Dieu.
Perspective view of the Château de Versailles in 1668 before it had become the King's official seat.
Construction of the Château de Versailles in about 1679; although the King moved there officially in 1682, when he was in his forties, building works continued for most of the reign, causing much discomfort to court ladies with the noise, the dirt and the smell of wet plaster.
The Basin at Versailles containing the mute, agonised figure of the giant Enceladus with water spouting from his mouth. Louis XIV showed the same fortitude during the ordeal of his operation for a fistula.
At a court function at Fontainebleau in September 1714, the Duchesse de Berry (born Marie-Élisabeth d'Orléans) can be seen in her black and white widow's weeds following the death of her husband earlier in the year (fourth from right).
The Orangerie at Versailles which can still be seen; Louis XIV took much pleasure in his orange trees which he acquired from many sources and also gave as presents to his favourites.
Louis XIV adored his sporting dogs: Bonne, Nonne and Ponne are here shown; he fed them himself in the luxurious closet known as the Cabinet des Chiens with biscuits specially made by the royal chef.
Interlaced double L is taken from the wood-carving round the windows of the King's chamber at Versailles.
Appartement was a designated evening when theatricals, card games, billiards and music were enjoyed at Versailles; the orchestra can be seen in the box behind the ladies; the Duc de Chartres (later Duc d'Orléans Regent of France) performs with his sister Marie-Élisabeth (later Duchesse de Berry).
Tobacco was a taste enjoyed by women as well as men, including the illegitimate daughters of Louis XIV, although it scandalised their elders that ladies should smoke pipes ‘like sailors'.
The cascade at Marly, the pleasure-house of Louis XIV, where formalities were minimal and invitations were coveted.
The most famous image of Louis XIV in later years, by Hyacinthe Rigaud in 1701. The heroic beauty of his youth has vanished while leaving an air of impregnable majesty tinged with melancholy.
FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION, NOVEMBER 2007
Copyright© 2006 by Antonia Fraser
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Anchor Books, a division of
Random House, Inc., New York.
Anchor Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Fraser, Antonia, 1932–
Love and Louis XIV : the “women in the life of the Sun King / Antonia Fraser.
p. cm.
1. Louis XIV, King of France, 1638–1715—Relations with “women.
2. France—Kings and rulers—Biography. 3. Favorites, Royal—France.
4. France—Kings and rulers—Paramours.
5. France—History—Louis XIV, 1643–1715.
6. France—Moral conditions—History—17th century. I. Title.
DC129.F73 2006
944'033092—dc22
[B] 2006044674
eISBN: 978-0-307-48775-9
Author photograph © Susan
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