by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The de Mailly sisters – Louise, Pauline, Diane and Marie Anne – were all mistresses of King Louis XV of France at various times between 1732 and 1745.

King Louis XV of France. source: Wikipedia

The de Mailly sisters were the daughters of Louis de Mailly, Marquis de Nesle et de Mailly, Prince d’Orange, and Armande Félice de La Porte Mazarin. Closely connected to the French court, their mother was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie (Marie Leszczyńska), the wife of King Louis XV. They also had another sister, Hortense (1715-1799), and a half-sister, Henriette de Bourbon (1725-1780) from their mother’s affair with the Duke de Bourbon.

Because of their family’s close connection to the French court, all of the de Mailly sisters were often in the company of the King. The first to become his mistress was Louise Julie.

Louise Julie de Mailly

Louise Julie de Mailly. source: Wikipedia

Louise Julie was the eldest of the de Mailly sisters, born in 1710. She married her father’s cousin, Louis-Alexandre, Comte de Mailly in 1726. Upon her mother’s death in 1729, she replaced her mother as Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Marie.

Promoted as a mistress by Cardinal Fleury, Louise was presented to the King and she soon fell in love with him. By 1732, she became his mistress. Preferring to keep their relationship a secret, she was not named as his official mistress for another 6 years. During that time, she was known simply as “The Fair Unknown”, visiting the King’s apartments under the cover of darkness and covering her face so as not to be recognized. It wasn’t until 1738 that her identity was discovered, and the King quickly acknowledged her as his chief mistress and established her in apartments next to his own. Soon accepted at court, Louise did not like the attention that her position brought her. She much preferred to remain in the background, devoted to Louis. She would fall out of favor in 1739 when her younger sister Pauline came to court and quickly supplanted Louise as the King’s mistress. Following Pauline’s death in 1741, the King returned to Louise once again. But this would also be short-lived, as a third de Mailly sister – Marie Anne – would soon arrive and capture the King’s attention. Marie Anne quickly worked to have Louise removed from court, and she was soon dismissed. Despite pleas to the King, Louise left Versailles at the end of 1742 and retired to a convent in Paris. Louise de Mailly died there in March 1751, at the age of 41.

Pauline Félicité de Mailly

Pauline Félicité de Mailly, Countess de Vintimille. source: Wikipedia

Pauline Félicité was the second de Mailly daughter, and the second to become the King’s mistress. Intent on seducing the King, she persuaded her elder sister Louise to invite her to court in 1738. She soon caught the King’s attention and he reportedly fell madly in love with her. Although Louise retained her position as maîtresse en titre (chief mistress), it was Pauline who received more of his attention. The King arranged a marriage to Jean Baptiste de Vintimille, Marquis de Vintimille and Count de Luc in 1739, which provided her the status and rank necessary to remain at court.

While Louise was quiet and remained in the background, Pauline sought both attention and recognition of her position. This led to much distrust and hatred both within the court and from the public. She soon became pregnant by the King, and gave birth to a son – Charles de Vintimille – on September 2, 1741. Sadly, she died of convulsions just seven days later, on September 9, 1741. King Louis was devastated and soon returned his affections to Louise… until the arrival of a third de Mailly sister.

Marie Anne de Mailly

Marie Anne de Mailly, Duchess of Châteauroux. source: Wikipedia

Marie Anne was the youngest of the de Mailly sisters, born in 1717. She was married to Jan Baptiste Louis, Marquis de La Tournelle in 1734 and had no children. Following the death of her sister Pauline in 1741, Marie Anne joined their eldest sister Louise and soon established herself within the French court. She also set her eyes on becoming the King’s mistress. She was formally introduced to the King by the Duke de Richelieu at a masked ball in 1742. Richelieu felt he could use Marie Anne to influence the king in political matters, and encouraged the relationship. At first she resisted the King’s advances, but soon found herself working toward replacing her eldest sister. Much more outspoken and ambitious than Louise, Marie Anne – with the help of Richelieu and Cardinal Fleury – quickly pushed her way ahead of her sister, becoming the King’s primary mistress.

By December 1742, Marie Anne had managed to have her sister Louise removed from court and formally became his new mistress. Much more demanding than any of his previous mistresses, Marie Anne provided him a list of conditions and demands, to which he quickly acquiesced. These included her demand that Louise be banished from Court, her own elevation to the rank of Duchess (she was created Duchess de Châteauroux in October 1743), and arranging a marriage for her sister Diane to the Duke of Lauraguais so she could be present at court. Marie Anne, unlike her sisters, sought to influence the King in political matters, often with the disagreement of his advisors.

Soon rumors spread that Marie Anne and her sister Diane would often “entertain” the King together, leading to great scandal and loathing for the two de Mailly sisters. Following a grave illness in 1744, the King renounced his mistresses and sought the forgiveness of his wife, vowing to pursue no other woman. But that didn’t last long – within several months, he secretly visited Marie Anne and had her brought back to Versailles and restored to his position as his chief mistress. However, just weeks later, she fell ill and died on December 8, 1744, convinced that she had been poisoned.

Diane Adélaïde de Mailly

Diane Adélaïde de Mailly, Duchess de Lauraguais. source: Wikipedia

Diane Adélaïde was the third born of the de Mailly sisters, born in 1714, but the last one to become the King’s mistress. As seemed to be the tradition with the sisters, Diane came to court at the invitation of her younger sister, Marie Anne, who had established herself as the King’s primary mistress. Marie Anne arranged a marriage for Diane to Louise de Brancas, Duke de Lauraguais, in January 1743. This allowed Diane to be present at court, and before long she caught the attention of the King himself. Diane often accompanied her sister to visit the King while he was traveling with his forces. Rumors soon spread that the sisters would “entertain” the king together, which caused quite a scandal throughout the country.

In 1744, Diane and Marie Anne were visiting the King in Metz when he fell gravely ill. The King, fearing he was going to die, renounced his mistresses and asked the Queen’s forgiveness for his adulterous ways. The sisters were quickly dispatched back to Paris. The King recovered and eventually returned to Paris as well. Once there, he returned to his old ways, visiting Marie Anne and restoring her to her position as his official royal mistress. However, she soon died – in December 1744 – and the King turned to Diane for comfort and affection. The relationship would not last very long though. Within a few months, the King turned his attention to a new mistress – Madame de Pompadour.

Diane left court and remained quietly in Paris until her death in November 1769 at the age of 55.

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