Catherine Bellier
Encyclopedia
Catherine-Henriette Bellier, baroness
de Beauvais
(Poitou
1614 - 7 June 1689 in Arrou
), was a French courtier, the first mistress of king Louis XIV of France
.
She was the daughter of Martin Bellier, married baron Pierre de Beauvais and became lady in waiting to the French queen Anne of Austria
. She is described as intelligent, plotting and a trusted companion of the queen dowager regent. Despite being desceibed as uggly, she had several love affairs, such as the one with the arch bishop of Sens
. Bellier was entrusted by the queen dowager with the task to provide the fourteen year old king with sexual education by seducing him and deprive him of his virginity in 1652. Their sexual relationship lasted for two years, after which she was awarded by the queen dowager with an estate and a pension.
She constructed the Hotel de Beauvais
in Marais
in Paris
.
Baroness
Baroness is the female equivalent of the nobility title Baron.Baroness or The Baroness may also refer to:* Baroness , a metal band from Savannah, Georgia* Baroness , a fictional villain in the G.I...
de Beauvais
Beauvais
Beauvais is a city approximately by highway north of central Paris, in the northern French region of Picardie. It currently has a population of over 60,000 inhabitants.- History :...
(Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
1614 - 7 June 1689 in Arrou
Arrou
Arrou is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-Population:-References:*...
), was a French courtier, the first mistress of king Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
.
She was the daughter of Martin Bellier, married baron Pierre de Beauvais and became lady in waiting to the French queen Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
. She is described as intelligent, plotting and a trusted companion of the queen dowager regent. Despite being desceibed as uggly, she had several love affairs, such as the one with the arch bishop of Sens
Sens
Sens is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.Sens is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is crossed by the Yonne and the Vanne, which empties into the Yonne here.-History:...
. Bellier was entrusted by the queen dowager with the task to provide the fourteen year old king with sexual education by seducing him and deprive him of his virginity in 1652. Their sexual relationship lasted for two years, after which she was awarded by the queen dowager with an estate and a pension.
She constructed the Hotel de Beauvais
Hôtel de Beauvais
The Hôtel de Beauvais is a hôtel particulier located in Paris in the 4th arrondissement at 68 rue Francois-Miron . It was built by the royal architect Antoine Le Pautre for Catherine Beauvais in 1657...
in Marais
Le Marais
Le Marais is a historic district in Paris, France. Long the aristocratic district of Paris, it hosts many outstanding buildings of historic and architectural importance...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.