Not quite at the same volume as his grandfather Henri IV, Louis XIV is credited with having at least fifteen mistresses and favourites. However in terms of children, Louis XIV appears to have outdone his grandfather with at least sixteen illegitimate children*, half of whom he legitimised. At sixteen Louis started to notice the opposite sex. Tradition has it that his mother then organised for one of her room maids, Catherine Bellier to be the first to seduce him. **
Olympe and Marie Mancini
Louis XIV was ten years old Cardinal Mazarin started to bring his nieces and nephews from Italy to the French court. When he was sixteen, Louis, who loved to dance, started to hover around Olympe, who was the same age.
Olympe was married off. She was pregnant at the time and some claim Louis was the father but there is no evidence they were actually lovers. Louis’ first love was was Olympe’s sister Marie who was considered “ugly” because she was slim and did not have blonde hair. Louis was 19 and Marie was 18.
Unfortunately for both of them, Mazarin was busy negotiating a far more politically important marriage for Louis to the daughter of the Spanish King. Louis initially tried to fight to marry Marie but gave in. Although she was his first love, it appears she was still a virgin when the romance ended.
Henriette
Louis’ cousin Henriette arrived in France at the age of two. After her father Charles I of England was beheaded she and her mother moved to a convent in Paris where Henriette received an excellent education. Louis had little time for his young cousin whom he regarded as a “little girl”. All that changed when Henriette’s brother became Charles II of England. The following year at seventeen she married Louis XIV’s notoriously gay brother Philippe. Louis was surprised to find how the “little girl” had grown up. He invited his brother and new sister-in-law to Fontainebleau for the summer. The new Queen Marie-Thérèse was pregnant and eclipsed by the vivacious Henriette whose dancing and horse riding skills were a magnet for Louis XIV. As with Marie previously, there is no evidence Henriette and Louis had a sexual relationship, which would have been considered incest by the church. However to divert attention, it was decided to pretend Louis was involved with one of her maids of honour. The sweet and timid Louise de la Vallière would be the perfect smokescreen.
Louise de la Vallière
Louise was an innocent seventeen year old and had no idea she was being used as a front. Very quickly she and Louis fell in love. To avoid scandal at the court, which was then at the Louvre, Louis set up his mistress at the hunting lodge at Versailles. Two years later Louise secretly gave birth to son, followed by another the following year. Both were given false identities and died within two years. Louis had been conscious of not offending his mother by openly parading his relationship, even though everyone knew what was going on. After Anne of Austria died, Louise gave birth to a daughter. This time Louis officially recognised the child and legitimised her when she was six months old. At the same time Louis made Louise a Duchess. She was already pregnant again. A son was born the following year and he too was legitimised. The problem was that during the latest pregnancy, Louis had become involved with the beautiful and witty Athénais de Montespan. Louise endured a humiliating seven year period during which she was forced to share Louis with the new mistress. Louise finally retired to a convent after making a public apology to the Queen for her relationship with the King.
Madame de Montespan
Françoise de Montespan, or “Athenaïs” as she preferred to be called, did not arrive at Versailles with the goal of becoming the King’s mistress. Her family were part of the establishment, serving both Louis XIV’s parents. Her mother, a pious woman, was one of Queen Anne of Austria’s ladies in waiting. Her father had been a childhood companion and later Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King Louis XIII. His sense of humour was a major feature at the court. Their five children were obviously going to have a future with the royal family.
Athenaïs, their second daughter, was well educated, intelligent and witty. She was a welcome guest at the salons of the Marais. A married woman with two children, she was above reproach. When she started to become a fixture at Versailles, neither the Queen Marie-Thérèse, nor Louise de la Vallière felt she posed a threat. Her reputation preceded her. Louis initially had no interest in her, but her interesting conversation and wicked sense of humour began to make his ritual visits to the Queen and Louise far more interesting.
Initially Athenaïs refused Louis’ advances and even asked her husband to take her away from the court – he would later regret his decision to ignore her plea. When Louise was pregnant for the fifth time, Louis’ pursuit of Athenaïs finally paid off. She gave in and they became lovers. The problem was that they were both married. His long term affair with Louise was adultery, but with Athenaïs, Madame de Montespan, it was double adultery. Louise had to be kept around as a cover.
Athenaïs gave birth to their first child who died at the age of two. In the following eight years she gave birth to six more children, all of whom survived. Her pregnancies were concealed by her introduction of a new dress style, a loose flowing robe which was the predecessor to the “robe à la Française”. The children were brought up in Paris by Madame de Maintenon and Athenaïs stayed with the King at Versailles. When their third (surviving) child was born, Louis decided to legitimise all three. He was the legal father. No mother was named as this could provoke, Athenaïs’ estranged husband the Marquis de Montespan to claim custody.
The pregnancies took their toll on Athenaïs. She was conscious of gaining weight and desperate to keep Louis’ interest. She was aware that Louis had a number of affairs but they did not threaten her position as “official mistress”. The one woman who posed a threat was Madame de Maintenon, the childrens’ governess, who was beginning to look like a major rival for the King’s affection. Athenaïs decided to distract him.
Mademoiselle de Fontanges
Marie-Angélique de Scorailles, a beautiful young girl, the same age as Louis’ son, had arrived at the court and was in the service of Louis’ sister-in-law. Athenaïs thought she would be the perfect distraction for the King as a temporary measure. She believed Marie Angélique would pose no long term threat because she was “as stupid as a basket”. Louis was completely charmed by the teenager. He felt he was rediscovering his own youth. Initially the affair was secret but Louis was so enchanted, he began to publicly shower her with gifts and money.
Needless to say, Athenaïs was furious and was not going to leave the scene quietly. She was not the sweet, self effacing person that Louise had been. To the amusement of the court, Athenaïs had her two pet bears, a gift from Louis, taken to Marie-Angélique’s apartment and let them loose to wreck it.
She needn’t have bothered. Louis was already growing bored with the pretty young thing who was indeed “as stupid as a basket”. The problem was that she was pregnant.
Marie-Angélique gave birth to a premature child, a son, who did not survive. Initially she seemed fine but within a few months she had ongoing health problems which also took a toll on her looks. As he had done before with Louise when he was looking to move on, Louis made Marie-Angélique the Duchess of Fontanges. She went to live at the Abbey where her sister was Abbess. She was already unwell and during that time it appears there was an attempt to poison her. When she died the following year at nineteen, the “Affair of the Poisons”* was in full swing and rumours abounded that she had been poisoned at the demand of Athenaïs de Montespan.
Embarrassing revelations about Athenaïs which were coming out as part of the “Affair of the Poisons” were the final straw. The ever reliable Madame de Maintenon helped cover everything up as Louis wished, but Athenaïs’ days as the official King’s favourite were well and truly over. She had to move out of her lavish apartment in Versailles, which was given to her son. She remained at the court for the next ten years and watched with pride as Louis organised brilliant marriages for their children.
Any hope she had for rekindling her romance with Louis was dashed. Less than two years after the dramas, Louis’ wife Queen Marie-Thérèse died at the age of 44. Ten weeks later Louis secretly married Madame de Maintenon and remained faithful to her for the rest of his life.
*Eleven of the illegitimate children were born to the two main mistresses, official “Favorites” – La Vallière and Montespan.
** Louis was between fourteen and sixteen (depending who is telling the story) and Catherine Bellier was about forty. She was supposedly chosen because she was ugly and Louis would not fall in love with her. While maids were probably Louis’ first adventures, it is more likely his accomplice was his chief minister Mazarin.
