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.
