Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan, Mistress of King Louis XIV of France

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Madame de Montespan was one of the most notable mistresses of King Louis XIV of France, from 1667 until the early 1680s.

Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan; Credit – Wikipedia

Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart was born on October 5, 1640 in Lussac-les-Châteaux, France, the 3rd of 5 children of Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Duke de Mortemart and Diane de Granseigne. Her father was a prominent member of the court of King Louis XIII of France, serving as First Gentleman of the Chamber, and was also a close confidante of Queen Anne of France (born Anne of Austria). Her mother also served as a lady-in-waiting to The Queen.

Raised at her family’s estates and the French court in Paris, she began her formal education at the Convent of Saint Mary at Saintes and became very religious. At 20 years old, she became a maid of honor to the Duchess of Orléans (born Princess Henrietta of England), and later a lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Therese of France (born Maria Teresa of Spain).

On January 28, 1663, at the Église Saint-Eustache in Paris, she married  Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin, Marquis de Montespan. The couple had two children:

King Louis XIV of France. source: Wikipedia

A prominent figure in the French court, Madame de Montespan soon set out to become the primary mistress of King Louis XIV, replacing his current mistress Louise de La Vallière. Before long, she developed an intimate relationship with the King and slowly pushed Louise out of his life. By 1669, she had become his primary mistress and had given birth to her first child with the King.

Françoise-Athénaïs and King Louis XIV had seven children:

The children were raised by Madame Scarron, the Marquise de Maintenon, who would later become King Louis XIV’s second wife. In 1673, Françoise-Athénaïs’ children were legitimized by the King, although Françoise-Athénaïs’s name was not listed, as she was still married to her husband at the time. In 1674, she and her husband were officially separated but never divorced.

In 1677, Madame de Montespan was involved in the Affaire des Poissons (Affair of the Poisons) which would lead to the end of her influence and power at court and her relationship with the King. Over a period of several years, many prominent members of the court were charged and sentenced on charges of poisoning and witchcraft. Accusations were made that Madame de Montespan was involved, with allegations that she had engaged a midwife, Catherine Deshayes Monvoison, to perform black masses to retain the King’s favor. Françoise-Athénaïs was never charged, but rumors and scandal swirled through the French court.

By 1691, Madame de Montespan was no longer in favor with King Louis XIV and left the French court for a convent in Paris. Louis XIV gave her a generous pension and she spent the remainder of her life supporting numerous hospitals and charities. On May 27, 1707, Madame de Montespan died at Bourbon-l’Archambault, France and was buried in the chapel of the Cordeliers convent in Poitiers, France.

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