Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle duchess de Châteauroux
Encyclopedia
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
of King Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
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Early life, family and marriage
Marie Anne was born the youngest daughter of Louis de Mailly, marquis de Nesle et de Mailly, Prince d'Orange (1689 - 1767), and his wife, Armande Félice de La Porte Mazarin (1691 - 1729). Her parents had been married in 1709. Her mother was the daughter of Paul Jules de La Porte, duc Mazarin et de La Meilleraye (1666 - 1731), the son of the famous adventuress, Hortense ManciniHortense Mancini
Hortense Mancini, duchesse Mazarin , was the favourite niece of Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister of France, and a mistress of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland...
, the niece of Cardinal Mazarin. Marie Anne had four older full sisters:
- Louise Julie de Mailly, Mademoiselle de Mailly, comtesse de Mailly (1710 - 1751),
- Pauline Félicité de Mailly, Mademoiselle de Nesle, marquise de Vintimille (1712 - 1741),
- Diane Adélaïde de Mailly, Mademoiselle de Montcavrel, duchesse de Lauraguais (1714 - 1769),
- Hortense Félicité de Mailly, Mademoiselle de Chalon, marquise de Flavacourt (1715 - 1763).
The only one of the de Nesle sisters not to become one of Louis XV's mistresses was the marquise de Flavacourt. Louise Julie was the first sister to attract the king followed by Pauline Félicité, but it was Marie Anne who was the most successful in manipulating him and becoming politically powerful.
Marie Anne also had a younger half-sister, Henriette de Bourbon (1725 - 1780), Mademoiselle de Verneuil, from her mother's relationship with the duc de Bourbon, the chief minister of Louis XV from 1723 to 1726.
In her youth, Marie Anne was known as Mademoiselle de Monchy. On 19 June 1734, she married Jean Baptiste Louis, marquis de La Tournelle (b. 1728). Her husband died on 23 November 1740.
Mistress to Louis XV
In 1726, Marie Anne's oldest sister, Louise Julie, wed her cousin, Louis Alexandre de Mailly, comte de Mailly. Shortly thereafter she caught the attention of King Louis XV, and was permitted by her husband to become a royal mistress. Although she became the king's mistress in 1732, Madame de Mailly was not officially recognized as his maîtresse en titre until 1738. Louise Julie did not use her new position at court to enrich herself or to interfere in politics.In 1738, she received a letter from her younger sister Pauline-Félicité requesting to be invited to court. Louise Julie granted her sister's wish, but upon her arrival at court, Pauline-Félicité seduced the king and became his mistress.
While Madame de Mailly remained as the official mistress, the king fell in love with Pauline-Félicité and arranged for her to marry the marquis de Vintimille. He even gave Madame de Vintimille the castle of Choisy-le-Roi
Choisy-le-Roi
Choisy-le-Roi is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Geography:Crossed by the Seine river, it is located from the center of Paris....
as a gift. Madame de Vintimille quickly became pregnant by the king, and she died giving birth to his illegitimate son in 1741. Afterwards, the king's best friend, the manipulative
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
duc de Richelieu
Louis François Armand du Plessis, duc de Richelieu
Armand de Vignerot du Plessis was a French soldier, diplomat and statesman. Joining the army, he participated in three major wars and eventually rose to the rank of Marshal of France....
, began to cast about for another candidate to fulfil his royal friend's desires as he did not want Madame de Mailly to regain the king's affections. He eventually decided upon the younger sister of both Madame de Mailly and Madame de Vintimille, Marie Anne, the widow of the marquis de La Tournelle.
At a masked ball on Shrove Tuesday, 1742, Richelieu led Marie Anne up to the king and introduced them. The beautiful marquise, however, at first rejected the royal advances. She already had a lover, the young duc d'Agénois
Emmanuel-Armand de Richelieu, duc d'Aiguillon
Emmanuel-Armand de Vignerot du Plessis de Richelieu, duc d'Aiguillon was a French soldier and statesman and a nephew of Louis François Armand du Plessis, duc de Richelieu. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Louis XV.-Early life:Before the death of his father, he was known at court...
(afterwards the duc d'Aiguillon), and was not inclined to give him up even for the king's sake. As a result, Louis conspired with Richelieu, who was d'Agénois's uncle, to rid himself of the young suitor. Richelieu was quite anxious to do anything to bring about a liaison between the king and Madame de La Tournelle because he knew Madame de Mailly did not view him in a kindly light. The end result of their deliberations was that Louis, in imitation of the biblical David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
, sent his rival to fight the Austrians in Italy. Here, more fortunate than the husband of Bathsheba
Bathsheba
According to the Hebrew Bible, Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. She is most known for the Bible story in which King David seduced her....
, the duc d'Agénois was only wounded, and returned to the court in glory.
Louis was in despair, but Richelieu, who was a resourceful man, was not one to lightly accept defeat. He sent his nephew to Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
, where a beautiful young lady had been instructed to seduce him. This she did most effectively; letters of a very passionate nature were exchanged; the lady despatched those which she received to Richelieu, and in due course they were brought to the notice of Madame de La Tournelle, who, furious at her young duke's deceitfullness, turned her attentions to the king.
But Madame de La Tournelle, who was by far the ablest as well as the most attractive of the de Nesle sisters, unlike Madame de Vintimille and Madame de Lauraguais, was by no means disposed to rest content with a divided empire and secret favours. She insisted that her older sister Madame de Mailly should be dismissed and she herself acknowledged in her place. Louis, who was already wearying of the tears and reproaches of the elder sister, consented; and the countess's post of dame du palais
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
to Queen Marie Leszczyńska was taken away from her, and she was ordered to leave the court. Finding refuge in a convent, Madame de Mailly later became quite religious.
Cardinal Fleury, the king's chief minister at the time, tried to intervene with the king because he preferred Madame de Mailly as a royal mistress to her more ambitious sister. He did not want Madame de La Tournelle interfering in his administration of France. Louis, however, curtly informed him that while he had given the prelate control over the kingdom's political affairs, he had not given him control over his personal life.
Far from being satisfied with the dismissal of her sister and her own recognition, Madame de La Tournelle next demanded an official position at court, and the title of duchess, together with a settled income sufficient to enable her to maintain that dignity and safeguard herself against any reversal of fortune. All these demands were promptly granted by the infatuated monarch. Madame de La Tournelle was appointed dame du palais to the queen; letters patent were issued creating her duchesse de Chateauroux, and an income of 80,000 livres was given to her.
It was rumoured at the time, that one way that the new duchesse de Châteauroux kept the interest of the king was to periodically offer him a ménage à trois
Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
with her sister, Madame de Lauraguais. That Madame de Lauraguais actually began sleeping with the king at this point, however, is debatable.
Directed by Richelieu, himself dominated by Madame de Tencin
Claudine Guérin de Tencin
Claudine Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin was a French salonist and author. She was the mother of Jean le Rond d'Alembert, philosophe and contributor to the Encyclopédie.- Early life :...
, Madame de Châteauroux tried to arouse in the king a greater sense of leadership, dragging him off to the battlefield and encouraging him to form an alliance with Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
, in 1744. Her political role was great, despite the fact that it was exerted from behind the scenes. During Madame de Châteauroux's frequent journeys to and from the king as he warred, she was accompanied by Madame de Lauraguais. Besides being an amiable companion, Madame de Châteauroux did not consider her simple sister much of a rival.
After successfully surviving a disgrace provoked by the king's illness at Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, Madame de Châteauroux's victory did not last long, for she died unexpectedly on 8 December 1744. After her death, the king for a short time consoled himself with her sister, Madame de Lauraguais. A few months later, however, the king already had a new mistress, Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
.
Madame de Châteauroux was a friend of Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans, granddaughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan.
See Edmond
Edmond de Goncourt
Edmond de Goncourt , born Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt, was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt.-Biography:...
and Jules de Goncourt
Jules de Goncourt
Jules de Goncourt , born Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt, was a French writer, who published books together with his brother Edmond.- Works :With Edmond de Goncourt:* Sœur Philomène...
, La Duchesse de Châteauroux et ses sœurs (Paris, 1879).
See also
- French royal mistresses
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