| Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans | |
|---|---|
| La Grande Mademoiselle Duchess of Montpensier | |
 Portrait byCharles Beaubrun, 1655 | |
| Born | (1627-05-29)29 May 1627 Palais du Louvre,Paris,France |
| Died | 5 April 1693(1693-04-05) (aged 65) Palais du Luxembourg, Paris, France |
| Burial | 19 April 1693 Royal Basilica,Saint Denis, France |
| House | Bourbon |
| Father | Gaston, Duke of Orléans |
| Mother | Marie, Duchess of Montpensier |
| Signature |  |
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, (French pronunciation:[anmaʁilwizdɔʁleɑ̃], 29 May 1627 – 5 April 1693) known asLa Grande Mademoiselle ([laɡʁɑ̃dmadmwazɛl],lit. 'The GreatMiss'), was the only daughter ofGaston d'Orléans with his first wife,Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier. One of the greatest heiresses in history, she died unmarried and childless, leaving her vast fortune to her cousinPhilippe I, Duke of Orléans.[1] After a string of proposals from various members of European ruling families, includingCharles II of England,[2]Afonso VI of Portugal, andCharles Emmanuel II of Savoy, she eventually fell in love with thecourtierAntoine Nompar de Caumont and scandalised the court of France when she askedLouis XIV for permission to marry him, as such a union was viewed as amésalliance. She is best remembered for her role in theFronde, for bringing the composerJean-Baptiste Lully to the king's court,[3] and for herMémoires.
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans[4] was born at thePalais du Louvre in Paris on 29 May 1627.[5] Her father wasGaston, Duke of Orléans; as the eldest surviving brother of KingLouis XIII, he was known at court by the traditional honorificMonsieur.[6] Her mother, 21-year-oldMarie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier, was the only surviving member of the Montpensier branch of theHouse of Bourbon. When she died five days after giving birth, she left the newborn Anne Marie, the newDuchess of Montpensier, heiress to an immense fortune which included fiveduchies, theDauphinate of Auvergne, and the sovereignPrincipality of Dombes, found in the historical province ofBurgundy.
As the eldest daughter ofMonsieur, Anne Marie Louise was officially known asMademoiselle from the time of her birth, and, because she was the granddaughter of a King of France,Henry IV, her uncle Louis XIII created for her the new title ofPetite-Fille de France ("Granddaughter of France").
Mademoiselle was moved from the Louvre to thePalais des Tuileries and placed under the care ofMadame de Saint Georges, the governess of royal children, who taught her how to read and write.[3] Mademoiselle always had a great sense of self-importance and when asked about her maternal grandmotherHenriette Catherine de Joyeuse she replied that she was not her grandmother, because her grandmother was "not a queen". She grew up in the company ofMademoiselle de Longueville, as well as the sisters of theMaréchal de Gramont.
Mademoiselle was very close to her fatherGaston, Duke of Orléans. Gaston was involved in multiple conspiracies against Louis XIII and his chief advisorCardinal Richelieu, and generally on bad terms with the court. When Gaston fell in love withMarguerite of Lorraine, Louis XIII refused to give his brother permission to marry— France and Lorraine were enemies, and aprince of the blood and heir to the throne was not legally allowed to marry without the king's permission. Nonetheless, Gaston secretly married Marguerite in January 1632.[7] When Louis found out, he had the marriage annulled and the couple exiled from court.
As a child, Mademoiselle lived with her governess at thePalais des Tuileries. Gaston resided atBlois, where Mademoiselle visited him frequently. After his secret marriage, Mademoiselle did not see her father for two years. When she finally did see him again in October 1634, the seven-year-old Mademoiselle "flung herself into his arms".[8] After learning thatCardinal Richelieu, her godfather, was behind her father's exile, Mademoiselle would sing street songs andlampoons in the presence of the cardinal himself, earning her a scolding from the cardinal.[9]
At the birth of the futureLouis XIV in September 1638, the determined Mademoiselle decided that she would marry him,[10] calling him "her little husband" to the amusement ofLouis XIII. Richelieu subsequently reprimanded her for her remarks. Her father on the other hand wanted her to marryLouis, Count of Soissons, a descendant ofCharles, Duke of Vendôme, one of his old co-conspirators. The marriage never materialised.
When Mademoiselle's governess, Madame de Saint Georges, died in 1643, Mademoiselle's father chose Madame de Fiesque as her replacement. Mademoiselle was devastated at the death of her former governess[11] and, not keen on having a new governess, was an awkward student; she later recalled that she once locked Madame de Fiesque in her room and Madame de Fiesque's grandson in another.[12]
On his deathbed in May 1643, Louis XIII finally accepted Gaston's plea for forgiveness and authorized his marriage to Marguerite; the couple were married in July 1643 before the Archbishop of Paris and, as the Duke and Duchess of Orléans, were finally received at court.[7]
Louis XIII's death left Louis XIV (then 4 years old) as King of France, and Louis XIII's widowQueen Anne as regent during her son's minority. When the wife ofHoly Roman Emperor Ferdinand III died in May 1646, Mademoiselle considered marriage to Ferdinand,[13] but the regent,Queen Anne, under the influence of Mazarin, ignored Mademoiselle's pleas. Louis XIV (then 8 years old) and his younger brother,Philippe, Duke of Anjou (then 6 years old) were too young to be married. Queen Anne suggested her brother,Cardinal Ferdinand of Austria, but Mademoiselle declined.[14] The "wealthiest single princess of Europe" was left without suitable marriage prospects.
One of the key areas of the life of Mademoiselle was her involvement in the period of French history known as theFronde, acivil war in France marked by two distinct phases known as theFronde Parlementaire (1648–1649) and theFronde des nobles (1650–1653). The former was precipitated by a tax levied on judicial officers of theParlement of Paris that was met with a refusal to pay and the emergence ofLouis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (futureGrand Condé), as a rebel figure who took the city of Paris by siege.[15] The influence ofCardinal Mazarin was also opposed.
At thePeace of Rueil of 1 April 1649, the Fronde Parlementaire ended, and the court returned to Paris in August amid great celebration. Mademoiselle caughtsmallpox, but survived the illness.[16] Having convalesced, Mademoiselle befriendedClaire Clémence de Brézé,Madame la Princesse, the unwanted wife of theGrand Condé.[17] The pair sojourned inBordeaux, where Mademoiselle was involved in the peace which ended the siege in the city in October 1650. Her role in the matter made her look like afrondeuse in the eyes of Queen Anne.[17]
Even in uncertain times, the possibility of a marriage between Mademoiselle and the Prince of Condé arose when Claire Clémence became critically ill witherysipelas. Mademoiselle considered the proposal, as she would still have maintained her rank as one of the most important women at court, and her father had a good relationship with Condé. These plans failed, however, when Claire Clémence recovered.[18]
In 1652, there was another Fronde, this time involving thePrinces of the Blood. Mazarin was in exile and was not recalled until October 1653. The city ofOrléans, Mademoiselle's namesake and the capital of her father's duchy, wanted to stay neutral in thecivil war; the magistrates of the city had seen what the war had done to the nearby area of Blaisons and wanted to avoid the same fate.[19] The city requested the input of Mademoiselle's father in order to avoid being pillaged. Gaston was undecided and Mademoiselle took it upon herself to go to Orléans to represent her father and put an end to the troubles.[20] Travelling viaArtenay, Mademoiselle was informed that the city would not receive her because she and the king were on different sides, referring to Mademoiselle's dislike for Mazarin.
When Mademoiselle arrived at Orléans, the city gates were locked and the city refused to open them. She shouted that they should open the gates, but was ignored. An approaching boatman offered to row her to the Porte de La Faux, a gate on the river. Mademoiselle got onboard "climbing like a cat" and "jumping over the hedge" in order not to hurt herself and climbed through a gap in the gate.[21] She entered the city and was greeted triumphantly, being carried through the streets of Orléans on a chair for all to see. She later said that she had never been "in so entrancing a situation".[21]
Staying for five weeks, she became attached, calling it "my town", before returning to Paris in May 1652. Paris was once again under a state of panic on the eve of theBattle of the Faubourg St Antoine;[22] Mademoiselle, in order to allow the Prince of Condé into the city, which was controlled byTurenne, fired from theBastille on the army of Turenne on 2 July 1652. Mazarin remarked "with that cannon, Mademoiselle has shot her husband."[23]
Fearing for her life, Mademoiselle fled Paris for the safety of her residence atSaint-Fargeau.[24] She remained in exile until 1657 when she was welcomed to the court once again.[25] She went with Madame de Fiesque and Madame de Frontenac, wife of the futureGovernor General of New France.
Having never been to Saint-Fargeau before, she was unaware of the state of the building and thus stayed at a small residence in Dannery having been received by thebailiff of her estates.[26] Convinced to return to Saint-Fargeau, she settled into her home for the next four years and soon began to improve the building under the direction of François Le Vau, brother of the renowned architectLouis Le Vau.
Le Vau redid the exteriors of Saint-Fargeau at a cost of 200,000livres. They were lost in a fire in 1752 and suffered further damage in 1850, thus all evidence of the appearance of Mademoiselle's residence was lost.[27] Despite being an exile, she still visited her father atBlois. While at Saint-Fargeau, she dabbled in writing and wrote a small biography under the title ofMadame de Fouquerolles[28] despite her bad spelling and grammar. Mademoiselle looked to her financial affairs, which had been under her father's management. Having reached her majority in 1652 it was discovered that her father had not been entirely honest with the management of her finances and that was the reason for her 800,000 livres of debt.[29] At the same time her grandmother, theDowager Duchess of Guise, tricked Mademoiselle into signing away money to her under false pretences. Her father was involved with this, which caused her relationship with Gaston to deteriorate.[30] In 1656, hearing that her father had been excused for his various scandals, Mademoiselle herself said she would forget the bad blood caused by his financial misdemeanours and resumed her close relationship with him.
When her father was welcomed back to court, it paved the way for Mademoiselle. She left forSedan, Ardennes, where the court was established in July 1657. Having not seen any of her family for some five years, she was greeted with forgiveness and the added compliment that her "looks had improved", according to Queen Anne.[31]
In a pen portrait of herself executed later the same year, she noted how she was neither "fat nor thin" and "looked healthy; my bosom is fairly well formed; my hands and arms not beautiful, but the skin is good...".[32] The same year, she metChristina of Sweden, who had arrived in France in July 1656. The two ladies met at Essonne where they watched a ballet together. Mademoiselle later exclaimed that Christina "surprised me very much. [...] She was in all respects a most extraordinary creature".[33]
| "Greatness of birth and the advantages bestowed by wealth [...] should provide all the elements of a happy life...yet there are many people who have had all these things and are not happy. The events of my own past would give me enough proof of this without looking for examples everywhere" |
| Mademoiselle on the subject of her wealth[34] |
At court, her cousins Louis XIV andPhilippe, Duke of Anjou were nineteen and seventeen, respectively. Mademoiselle's part in the Fronde had ruined her dream of becoming Louis's consort, but the Duke of Anjou briefly courted her.[35] Despite toying with the idea, Mademoiselle was put off by the Duke's immaturity,[36][37] saying that he always stayed near his mother as if he was "like a child".[38]
Mademoiselle fell ill in Paris during September 1657, when she bought theChâteau d'Eu fromMademoiselle de Guise (her maternal aunt) at the end of her illness[39] before returning to her beloved Saint-Fargeau forChristmas.
In February 1660, Gaston died of astroke at Blois. As his eldest daughter Mademoiselle was his principal heiress, and Gaston left her a considerable fortune that added to her already vast personal wealth.[40] As a result of her mourning her father, Mademoiselle was only allowed to go to the formal marriage between Louis and his new spouseMaria Theresa of Austria; however, Mademoiselle did go to the proxy ceremonyincognito, fooling no one.[41] The next marriage at court was betweenPhilippe, theDuke of Orléans, known as Monsieur, andPrincess Henrietta of England (youngest child of Queen Henrietta Maria and the deadCharles I of England) on 31 March 1661.[42] Mademoiselle was in attendance with various other members of the court.
Philippe and Henrietta formed a stormy couple. Philippe was an overtbisexual and openly lived with his male lovers at thePalais Royal, much to the dislike of Henrietta. In retaliation, she openly flirted with Louis XIV as well as seduced Philippe's own lover thecomte de Guiche.[43] Mademoiselle was the godmother of Philippe and Henrietta's youngest child, theMademoiselle de Valois, born in 1670.[44] Once again at Henrietta's death in 1670, Louis XIV asked if Mademoiselle wanted to fill "the vacant place" that had been left by Henrietta, a suggestion she declined.[45]
Mademoiselle and her younger half-sisterMarguerite Louise enjoyed a close relationship. The two would go to the theatre and attend Mademoiselle'ssalon.[46]
Marguerite Louise later asked her to sort out arrangements when theGrand Prince of Tuscany proposed an alliance in 1658. Mademoiselle was asked to ensure its fulfilment,[47] a previous proposal from theDuke of Savoy having failed.[46][47]
Initially overjoyed at the prospect of marrying, Marguerite Louise's ebullience faded to dismay when she discovered Mademoiselle no longer favoured the Tuscan match.[47] After this, Marguerite Louise's behaviour became erratic: she shocked the court by going out unaccompanied with her cousinPrince Charles of Lorraine, who soon became her lover.[48] Her proxy marriage did nothing to change her attitude and she attempted to abscond and go hunting, only to be stopped by Mademoiselle herself.[49]
In 1663, Louis XIV again approached Mademoiselle with a possible match for her. The intended bridegroom wasAlfonso VI of Portugal, who acceded to the Portuguese throne in 1656.[50] The proud Mademoiselle ignored the idea, saying she would rather stay in France with her vast income and estates and that she did not want a husband who was rumoured to be alcoholic, impotent and paralytic. Alfonso instead marriedMarie Françoise of Savoy.[51]
An angry Louis thus ordered her to return to Saint-Fargeau for having disobeyed him. This "exile" lasted roughly a year and during it she began to make repairs to theChâteau d'Eu, and started writing her memoirs. Appealing to Louis regarding her health, she was allowed to return to court, whereupon Louis proposed that she marryCharles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy, who had previously married Mademoiselle's younger half-sisterFrançoise Madeleine. Mademoiselle seemed very keen on the match, but Charles Emmanuel II was not, and he made various excuses to avoid it.[2] This proposal was to be the last forla Grande Mademoiselle.
Away from court in 1666, Mademoiselle regretted not being present at the entertainments organised at theChâteau de Fontainebleau in honour ofQueen Marie Thérèse that summer. At the entertainments was a man calledAntoine Nompar de Caumont, laterDuke of Lauzun, an impoverished nobleman fromGuyenne.[52] Close to the king, he was renowned for his wit as well as his evident "sex appeal", despite being "the smallest man God ever made".[53] He was also a distinguished soldier and was part of the marriage negotiations between Louis XIV and Queen Marie Thérèse.[54] Very opinionated andlouche, Lauzun once saw Mademoiselle wearing a red ribbon in her hair and declared it too "youthful" for her, to which the proud Mademoiselle replied "people of my rank are always young".[53]
Before long, Mademoiselle fell hopelessly in love with Lauzun. In December 1670, the most senior female at the court (behindMadame Royale, the only legitimate daughter of Louis XIV) she asked Louis XIV's permission to marry Lauzun. Louis consented, to the astonishment of his court[53] and much to the dislike of Queen Marie Thérèse,Monsieur and various members of the court.[55] The Queen and Monsieur refused to sign the marriage contract.[56] The date for the ceremony was set to occur at the Louvre on Sunday, 21 December 1670. Lauzun even asked Louis's mistressMadame de Montespan to help convince the king to submit to the match. Mademoiselle was in high spirits later, stating that the days from 15 to 18 December 1670 were the happiest days of her life. She referred to Lauzun as "Monsieur le duc de Montpensier" to her friends.[57]
The joy was not to last; under pressure from a disapproving court, Louis XIV reversed his decision, and the engagement was called off on 18 December stating that it would damage his reputation. Mademoiselle was asked to have an interview with the king andMadame de Montespan. The former informed her of his decision, to which she responded, "what cruelty..!"[58] Louis replied that "kings must please the public" and ruined Mademoiselle's hopes of marriage on that "unhappy Thursday", as she later called it.[59]
Mademoiselle secluded herself in her apartments and did not reappear until the beginning of 1671, when she was informed of the arrest of Lauzun without an official reason released. He was taken to theBastille and then thePignerol fortress, where he remained until 1681[60] despite making several attempts to escape.
Determined to get Lauzun freed, Mademoiselle devoted herself to his interests and approached Madame de Montespan to try to encourage the king to release him. The release came at a cost; she would have to sell two of her most profitable lands: the principality of Dombes and theCounty of Eu.[61] These titles would be given toLouis Auguste de Bourbon,Légitimé de France, Duke of Maine, eldest and favourite son of Louis and Montespan.[62] Capitulating on 2 February 1681, Mademoiselle sold the lands, both of which had a great personal attachment to her. Unknown to Mademoiselle, she was only buying Lauzun's release and the right for him to live on her estates as an exile.[63]
Lauzun was freed on 22 April 1681[64] and obliged to live quietly atBourbon before returning to Paris, but not the court, rather at theHôtel de Lauzun, in March 1682. Prior to the death of Queen Marie Thérèse in July 1683, the couple had been on bad terms when they again came together temporarily in their grief.[65] Soon after the two had an interview, the last time they would ever see each other before Mademoiselle retired to her Parisian residence, thePalais du Luxembourg.
Mademoiselle fell ill on 15 March 1693 with what appears to have been stoppage of the bladder. Lauzun asked to see her, but due to her pride, Mademoiselle refused to admit him. She died at thePalais du Luxembourg in Paris on Sunday, 5 April 1693.[34] As a "Granddaughter of France", the title she treasured so much, she was buried at theRoyal Basilica of Saint Denis outside Paris on 19 April. At her funeral, according toSaint-Simon, she was noted as being "the wealthiest single princess of Europe".Lying in state, the urn containing her entrails exploded mid-ceremony, which caused chaos as people fled to avoid the smell.[66] Eventually, the ceremony continued with the conclusion of it being "[...] another jest at the expense of Mademoiselle".[66]
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{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier Cadet branch of theHouse of Capet Born: 27 May 1627 Died: 5 April 1693 | ||
| French nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Dauphine of Auvergne 4 June 1627 – 5 April 1693 | Succeeded by |
| Princess of Dombes 4 June 1627 – 5 April 1693 | Succeeded by | |
| Duchess of Montpensier 4 June 1627 – 5 April 1693 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Princess of Joinville 3 March 1688 – 5 April 1693 | |
