Eight years after marrying Marie-Leszczynska, Louis XV was bored. At 23 he was already the father of seven children. Marie knew something was up because Louis was spending more time away from Versailles at various hunting residences, but she didn’t know who he was seeing.
LOUISE JULIE DE MAILLY-NESLE
Louise-Julie de Mailly was one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting. She had a very discreet affair with the King. The Queen was very pious. Her attempts to bring Louis to heel eventually failed. After about five years, the King’s relationship with Mme de Mailly-Nesle was known but Louise tried to remain private and avoid upsetting the Queen as much as possible. She was a permanent fixture at the King’s private dinners. She made the mistake of arranging for her younger sister Pauline to join her at Court.
PAULINE DE MAILLY-NESLE
Pauline was a different proposition. She arrived with the intention of replacing her sister as the King’s mistress. Louis organised her marriage to the Count of Vintimille, nephew of the Archbishop of Paris. She was soon pregnant and it was obviously Louis’ child. She gave birth to a son and died a few days later. The child, named Charles, went to live with Pauline’s husband. No one was fooled and because of his resemblance to the King, his nickname was “Demi Louis”. King Louis XV was filled with guilt and he and Louise-Julie spent time together mourning her sister’s loss.
Before too long, Louis XV and Louise-Julie were together again. He organised a new apartment for her. It was above his private apartment, with easy access via an interior staircase. He spent most of his spare time there and took most of his meals with her. He even worked there, which was a complete change from the royal protocol.
DIANE-ADELAIDE DE MAILLY-NESLE
Diane-Adelaide, the third of the five Mailly-Nesle sisters came to court. It is thought she may have had some passing relationship with the King but she was fairly quickly gone from the court, probably because of the gossip.
HORTENSE-FÉLICITÉ DE MAILLY-NESLE
Louise-Julie brought her fourth sister to court to replace her as a lady-in-waiting to the queen. She had been married for three years and Louise-Julie trusted that, unlike her other sisters, Hortense-Félicité would not try to replace her with the King. She was right. Hortense did not have an affair with the King and she stayed at Versailles for the next 32 years. She was in her seventies when she was imprisoned during the during the French Revolution. She died at 85, outliving her sisters by more than forty years.
MARIE-ANNE DE MAILLY-NESLE
The youngest of the five sisters was the widow of the Marquis de Tournelle. She came to court with her sister who replaced Louise-Julie as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen.
Louis XV was immediately taken with her. Marie-Anne refused to share him with her older sister. Louis XV told Louise-Julie he was in love with her sister. She left Versailles, taking nothing with her and retired to a convent.
After Louise-Julie left the court, Marie-Anne became Louis XV’s official mistress. The following year he made her the Duchess of Châteauroux. He showered her with money, jewels and a magnificent carriage. Officially she was in the service of the Queen and it is not hard to understand that Marie Leszczynska probably wished Louise-Julie was still the King’s mistress. She, at least had been respectful and discreet.
Unlike her eldest sister, the Duchess of Châteauroux was ambitious and became involved in political affairs. Two years later, she and her sister Hortense accompanied the King to battle. He fell ill and was expected to die. He had not been to confession for five years because he was aware that his somewhat messy private life put him at odds with his religious beliefs. The priests saw their opportunity. The mistress was sent away and the Queen sent for. Marie Leszczynska thought she would begin a second honeymoon.
Unfortunately, she did not inspire the same passion in Louis as his mistress. To make matters worse, as Louis recovered he believed he had been manipulated, mainly by the priests. He believed the Queen had been used in this situation and, more than ever the two were estranged.
Louis XV had a military victory the following month and returned to France as a hero. He sent a message to his former mistress asking her to return to the court. The Duchess of Châteauroux’ victory was short-lived. Before she could return to Versailles she fell ill and died. She was 27.
Any hope the Queen had for reconciliation with the King was gone. There was mutual respect but no chance of rekindling their relationship.
Less than three months after the Duchess of Châteauroux’ death, Madame de Pompadour had taken her place.
