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Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche
Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche was born on September 10 in 1638, five days after her future husband, which made many believe they were meant for each other. As daughter of the reining King of Spain Philip IV and his Queen Élisabeth de France, sister of Louis XIII, Marie-Thérèse was Infanta of Spain – meaning as much as Princess – from the day she…
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Louise de La Vallière, Duchesse de La Vallière et de Vaujours
Françoise-Louise de La Baume Le Blanc was born on August 6 in 1644 to Françoise Le Provost and the officer Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc. Her father Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc was a member of the poorer branch of the House of La Baume and Seigneur de la Vallière as well as Govenour of the château d’Amboise.…
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In bed with the Sun King….
Looking at what is searched for on my blog, this one topic seems to be the one with the most appeal. Not a week passes without countless searches involving the words sex and Louis XIV. The Sun King is famous for having an army of long and short-time mistresses, but this shan’t be our focus here. All of them will,…
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Claude de Vin des Œillets
Claude de Vin des Œillets, dite Mademoiselle des Œillets, was born in the Provence in 1637, as daughter of Nicholas de Vin and Alix de Faviot, better known by their stage name des Œillets, both being actors and country comedians, leading a nomadic life. This lifestyle full of privations came to an end as Nicolas fell ill and died,…
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Catherine Monvoisin, fortune teller, sorceress and poisoner
France was shaken by a scandal of enormous proportions in the late 1670’s, l’affaire des poisons, in its center the King, various women of the best noble families of France and a woman called La Voisin. Catherine Deshayes was born around 1640 and married Antoine Monvoisin, sometimes spelled Montvoison. He was a jeweller with a shop at Pont-Marie, in…
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Dangeau’s Diary, February 1685
4th. – Madame de Montespan has this day returned from Paris, where she had passed two or three days during her absence, the King went every evening after supper to Madame de Maintenon’s. I learn that the Dauphine named, at the commencement of the ball, those who were to lead off the dance with the Princesses of the blood; this…
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Dangeau’s Diary, December 1684
1st — This evening, Madame de Grignan came to thank his Majesty for the four thousand crowns which he had given Monsieur de Grignan, for the extraordinary expenses he had on the coast, in Provence. The Comtet told us that the Duke of Savoy had ordered the Prince de Carignan to quit his states, and was endeavouring to find means…
