The widow Scarron was the no-nonsense governess of Louis XIV’s children with his mistress Madame de Montespan. Louis was grateful for the excellent care she took of his children and he gave her the money she used to buy the Chateau of Maintenon, and gave her the title of Marquise de Maintenon.
The Chateau of Maintenon.
Two months after Queen Marie-Thérèse died, Louis XIV secretly married Madame de Maintenon. Louis was 45 and his new wife was 48. She did not move into the Queen’s apartments in any of the official royal residences (apart from the one stay at Chambord). At Versailles she had her own apartment in the area at the top of the Queen’s staircase. Louis XIV spent a large part of his time there, meeting with officials and ambassadors while she sat unobtrusively knitting. He had a huge respect for her opinion and clearly she was the love of his life.
Her apartment at the Grand Trianon was later used by Napoleon. It was a series of smaller rooms behind the main salons. She made no attempt to present herself as the Queen. Her bedchamber at Fontainebleau is another example. It was part of a discreet three room apartment near to the King.
When Louis XIV died four days before his 77th birthday, Madame de Maintenon moved to Saint Cyr, a girl’s school she had founded for the daughters of poor nobles.
Two years later on a trip to France, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great shocked everyone by making a special trip to Saint-Cyr to meet her. She also could not understand his interest and asked him why he had come. According to one of the nun’s attending her, the Tsar delighted her with his reply:
“I came to see everything of note that France contains”.
Madame de Maintenon died two years later at the age of 83.
