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Chronologie de la vie de Louis XIV, May 1661
3 May, Aubeville, a gentleman who has earned his Majesty’s trust, sets out in secret towards Rome with a letter requesting the Pope to resume the trial of Cardinal de Retz. 4 May, the King decides to disgrace Monsieur Fouquet. He keeps his decision to himself for now. 6 May, his Majesty enjoys Fontainebleau, Madame is often at his side.…
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Marie-Louise d’Orléans, Reine d’Espagne
Marie-Louise was the first-born daughter of Philippe de France and Henriette d’Angleterre. Born on 27 March in 1662 at the Palais-Royal, her mother, disappointed it was not a male heir, apparently welcomed her daughter into the world with the words jeter à la rivière -throw her into the river-. As daughter of the King’s brother and grandchild of a King,…
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Ten things you probably did not know about the château de Versailles…
Versailles, home to Kings, Queens and a whole lot of nobles. Millions of people visit the château every year and are in awe at the sight of its splendour. Here are ten more or less known facts about the château de Versailles. -The Opéra royal de Versailles was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel and inaugurated on 16 May in 1770 as part…
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Alexandre-Louis d’Orléans, Duc de Valois
Born on 2 June in 1673 at Saint-Cloud, Alexandre-Louis was the first-born son of Philippe de France and his second wife Élisabeth-Charlotte du Palatinat aka Liselotte von der Pfalz. In autumn of 1672, as hints of pregnancy became visible, Liselotte was ordered to go a bit easier by the doctors. No more riding, no long strolls, not even carriage rides. She…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode six….
Bonjour. Episode six. Only four to go. I will need vacation after the last episode, because writing the reviews is very exhausting. One usually takes me something between six and nine hours…. and everything behind this sentence will be very full of spoilers. Last Episode, we saw the Queen perish and the now widowed Louis finally found out what is…
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François-Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conti
Born on 30 April in 1664 at the Hôtel de Conti in Paris, François-Louis was the youngest of three sons of Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, and Anne-Marie Martinozzi, a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. François-Louis was baptised at Saint-Sulpice on the day of his birth, with his uncle le Grand Condé and his aunt Anne-Geneviève de Bourbon acting as godparents. François-Louis…
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Philippe-Charles d’Orléans, Duc de Valois
Born on 16 July in 1664, Philippe-Charles was the second child and first-born son of Philippe de France and his first wife Henriette d’Angleterre. The little boy, a grandchild of France, received the title Duc de Valois from his father upon his birth at the Château de Fontainebleau and was emergency baptised in presence of the King and Queen. Upon…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode five….
Are you ready for the next episode? We are at episode five now, which means we are half way through the last season of Versailles…. and everything behind this sentence will be full of spoilers. Last episode, we saw our King being not so kind to the peasants, while Monsieur attempts to trick Bontemps into believing he dropped the Mask…
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La Maison Royale de Saint-Louis
The Maison Royale de Saint-Louis aka Saint-Cyr was created in 1684 by Louis XIV at request of his secret wife Madame de Maintenon and served as school for impoverished noble girls. The creation of such a school was a project very dear to Madame de Maintenon. She came herself from a poor noble family, lost her parents early, and…
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Dangeau’s Diary, May 1687
5th. — The prince d’Isenghien is at the point of death, and has begged the Marshal d’Humieres to forgive his marriage with M. de Surville. The Marshal has received his daughter, whom Monsieur d’Isenghien had caused to come to the little stable where he lies ill. 8th. — Versailles. We are informed that the King has sent counsellors of state…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode four….
Bonjour again. I had a cup of tea and am somewhat ready for the next episode…. and, as usual, everything behind this sentence will contain spoilers. Last episode, we saw Bossuet at the Vatican, which is a bit worried thing could get difficult for Louis soon. Louis has learned about Madame de Maintenon’s past and also that the poor people are…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode three….
I hope you have a cup of tea or any other beverage of your choosing ready, for we are about to jump back to 17th century France… and everything behind this sentence will contain spoilers. Last episode, Monsieur teamed up with Fabien to find Mask Man and was totally uncaring that his son and heir was removed from Versailles by…
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Chronologie de la vie de Louis XIV, April 1661
1 April, Monsieur and Madame receive members of the court, who come to congratulate them on their marriage. 2 April, Fête de Saint François de Paule, the King and his brother travel to the couvent des Minimes de la place Royale for mass and to visit the convent. They are received by Père d’Ormesson (Nicolas Le Fèvre). 3 April, their…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode two….
Here we are again for the next round…. and everything behind this sentence will contain spoilers. In the last episode, we learned that Louis has won the war and he welcomed Emperor Leopold to Versailles. Liselotte is the proud maman of a little boy, for which the Chevalier acts more father than the actual father. Monsieur is now part of…
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Thoughts on Versailles season three, episode one….
Bonjour! Here we go again. It is time for Versailles season 3, which will be, in case you don’t know it already, the last season. On what kind of roller coaster ride will we go this time? Who knows. What we know is that one of this season’s topics will be the mysterious Man in the Iron Mask… ……
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Gaston de France, Duc d’Orléans
Gaston de France was the fifth of six children born to Henri IV and his second wife Marie de Médicis. Henri IV was married to Marguerite de France aka la Reine Margot, but no children were born to them. They settled for separation and Henri married the Italian Marie de Médicis in October 1600. Their first child was born pretty much nine months…
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Le Grand Trianon
After the tiles of the Trianon de porcelaine deteriorated more and more, Louis XIV ordered the small palais to be demolished and replaced with a larger structure of more lasting material. Marble. The planning was entrusted to Jules Hardouin-Mansart, first architect of the King, who designed a palais twice the size as the previous one decorated with red marble from Languedoc.…
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Mouches
Mouches aka fake beauty spots were incredibly popular at the court of Louis XIV and worn by males and females alike. They were usually made of black silk, velvet, muslin or taffeta, but could also be made of leather or paper, and came in all sort of forms. The dot was the most common shape, followed by starts, little hearts,…
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Henri-Jules de Bourbon, Prince de Condé
Henri-Jules was the oldest child of Louis de Bourbon, aka le Grand Condé, and his wife Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé, and born on 29 July in 1643. While his father was a famous man of the military, Henri-Jules was best known for his insanity. From the day of his birth, on which he was also baptised at Saint-Sulpice, Henri-Jules was known…
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Marie de Bourbon, Duchesse de Montpensier et d’Orléans
Marie was the only child of Henri de Bourbon, Duc de Montpensier, and his wife Henriette-Catherine de Joyeuse. Born at the château de Gaillon, in the former province of Normandy, on 15 October in 1605 into the royal house of Bourbon, Marie was a Princesse du Sang. Her mother, one of the richest women in France, was the last member of the…
