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Thoughts on Versailles: the season three and series summary….
Three seasons of Versailles. Thirty episodes. Thirty reviews. If you read them all, you read something like 250000 words. That is a lot…. and to be honest, I never thought it would be that much. I did a little summary at the end of every season and that is what this is about, along with a bit of a series…
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Ninon de Lenclos, courtisane and femme d’esprit
Louis XIV’s court was full with witty and smart ladies. Ninon de Lenclos is one of the most famous. She was praised for her beauty, her style, her mind, her spirit, her council… the list goes on. She was legendary already during her lifetime. Ninon was born around 10 November 1620 as Anne de l’Enclos, also spelled de Lenclos or de Lanclos, and…
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A Party At Vaux-le-Vicomte…
“On 17 August, at six in the evening Fouquet was the King of France: at two in the morning he was nobody.” This quote by Voltaire sums the evening of 17 August in 1661 perfectly up. In the early evening hours of that warm summer day, Nicolas Fouquet’s star shone bright on the firmament over Vaux-le-Vicomte. Only a few hours later, he…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode ten….
Episode ten. They very last one of this season and of Versailles. Are you eager to know what will happen? I haven’t seen the episode before, same goes for the last three, so I have no clue what to expect… but I know some details as to what will happen to one character…. and everything behind this sentence will be very…
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Chronologie de la vie de Louis XIV, July 1661
1 July, the price for a bag of wheat of the best quality reaches new heights. In Paris one has to pay 25 livres now, one year ago it were only 15 livres. 1 July, his Majesty gives the bishopric d’Evreux to the Bishop du Puy, the bishopric du Puy to the Bishop de Saint-Fleur, the bishopric de Saint-Fleur to…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode nine….
Here we go with episode nine, which means Versailles season 3 is almost over… and everything behind this sentence will be very full of spoilers. Last episode, we had Jeanne engaging in criminal acts, the Chevalier having some sexy-time, Philippe being a doting son, Liselotte plotting with Colbert… and the King jumped off a cliff. His Majesty is under water,…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode eight….
Salut and vive le roi. Episode eight. Are you ready for this? Lots of things happened last episode. Sophie and Eléonore are on the way to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, after Fabien let them go. The Church, or rather Cardinal Leto, is not happy with Louis and the other way around. The Chevalier engaged in forgery. Bontemps spilled the…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode seven….
Bonjour! Here we go again. I apologise for the silence/delay. My doing other things, took longer than I thought it would take. I did those other things and I was quite flattered so many of you could not wait for me to continue with the reviews. The day has finally come, so lets ramble on…. but before we start, let…
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Thoughts on Versailles: The Queen’s mysterious ear bug…
Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche, Louis XIV’s wife, is killed off with the help of some mysterious bug in Versailles. If you read my season three reviews, you know that I had no clue what kind of bug that was and I said I will update you if I find out what it is. It is called Triatoma infestans and very ugly. I…
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The château de Marly and the “les Marlys”
In 1676, before the court moved to Versailles and while Versailles was a big construction side, Louis XIV bought two estates not too far away for another large building project… which would become a château of which many said it outshone Versailles. The Sun King bought two ancient seigneuries -fiefs- called Marly-le-Chastel and Marly-le-Bourg, located between Versailles and Saint-Germain-en-Laye in a…
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Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie, Duchesse de Bourgogne et Dauphine de France
Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie was certainly on of the most sparkling gems of Louis XIV’s Versailles and the mother of Louis XV. She was born in Turin on 6 December in 1685 to Victor-Amédée II, Duc de Savoie, and Anne-Marie d’Orléans. Anne-Marie d’Orléans was a daughter of Monsieur, brother to Louis XIV, and his first wife Henriette d’Angleterre, sister of Charles II. She married Victor-Amédée…
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Chronologie de la vie de Louis XIV, June 1661
1 June, the King receives the Comte de Fuensaldagne, ambassador extraordinary of Spain, for an audience. 3 June, her Majesty invites to a ball, which is opened by the King and Madame. 5 June, Pentecost, the King receives communion in the lower chapel, before, wearing the grand collier de l’ordre, he meets a great number of sick persons to cure…
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Giveaway: Louis XIV, the real Sun King
As you might know, the lovely Jules Harper and I wrote a book and it happens to be about Louis XIV. It’s a small biography, not too long and too to. We talk about all sort of things, from Louis’ birth and youth, his education, coronation, love-life, fashion, daily routine, customs of Versailles and Versailles in general, we talk…
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Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Duchesse d’Orléans
Françoise-Marie was the youngest illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. She was born 4 May 1677 at the château de Maintenon, but not given into care of Madame de Maintenon, because the Marquise was not happy the King and la Montespan were still sharing beds. She grew up in the care of the Mesdames de Monchevreuil,…
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Roger de Bussy-Rabutin, Comte de Bussy
If you read about 17th century France, you will often encounter quotes from a certain Monsieur de Bussy-Rabutin. The most famous quote is probably “Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it inflames the great.” Roger was born on 13 April in 1618 as third son of Léonor de Rabutin and Diane de…
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Marthe-Marguerite Le Valois de Villette, Marquise de Caylus
Madame de Caylus was one of the grand dames of Versailles and famous for her writings. She was born on 17 April 1671 or 1673 to Philippe Le Valois de Villette de Mursay and Marie-Anne de Chateauneuf at the château de Mursay, a estate that once belonged to Agrippa d’Aubigné. This Agrippa d’Aubigné, a famous companion of Henri IV, was…
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Anne-Marie d’Orléans, Reine de Sardaigne
Anne-Marie d’Orléans was the last born child of Philippe de France and his first wife Henriette d’Angleterre. The couple married in 1661 and their first child was born in 1662. After a miscarriage in 1663, a son was born to them in 1664, who died two years later. Another 3 miscarriages, in 1665, 1667 and 1668, followed, before Anne-Marie was…
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La ménagerie royale de Versailles
Not much is left of it today, but back in the days the ménagerie royale was one of the major attractions of Versailles. The court loved animals, which can already be seen when looking at the vast amount of pets that lived at the palace. Louis XIV and his court were especially fond of dogs. The Sun King loved Great Pyrenees,…
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Louis de France, Duc de Bourgogne et Dauphin de France
Louis de France was born on 6 August in 1682 at Versailles as the first child and son of Louis, le Grand Dauphin, and his wife Marie-Anne de Bavière. As son of the Dauphin, and thus after him next in line of succession to the throne, Louis was a fils de France and received the title Duc de Bourgogne upon…
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Dangeau’s Diary, June 1687
14th. — Versailles. The president Brion came to speak to the King, respecting his son’s marriage, which he considers as void. The King replied that he would not interrupt the course of justice, but that it was cruel to nullify a marriage, contracted with a lady of such quality as Mademoiselle de la Force. Note: Monsieur Dangeau did not…
