Marie Mancini, in 1670, heavily pregnant with her 6th child, was no longer the darkly attractive, Italian beauty the King had almost gone to war for in 1660. Now in her 30's, much heavier and no longer the forbidden fruit she had been at the time of their marriage, the Queen of France was a bitter woman with a penchant for loud, nasty arguments with her husband should the time arise. She did not, however, come to mind his mistresses. In fact, in the case of her beloved Athénaïs and the Madame Scarron, who many suspected of being one of the King's conquests, the Queen of France actually encouraged her husband to enjoy other women.
This is not to say that the King did not feel some form of love towards his wife of 10 years. Naturally, the spark between them had worn off, and Marie was growing more and more prone to rudeness, but they shared three beautiful children between them, and a potential fourth, which became their second daughter, the Princess Marie-Francoise de France, Fille de France. It was during this time that a sort of domestic bliss found itself in the court, with the King and Queen ebbing and flowing between affection and anger, and the King's mistresses taking them one at a time to calm them down after the worst roes.
The death of Jean D'Autriche, Duc de Vojours in late 1670 was both highly anticipated and joyously celebrated by those closest to him. His wife of 9 years,
Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, was a 25 year old woman prematurely middle aged by the stress of living with the man she described to a close friend years later as:
It seems that the two did not get along. In fact, after his death, which was caused either by improperly stored meat or poison, Madame de Vojours and her daughter, the 7 year old Anne-Marguerite D'Autriche de Vojours, Mademoiselle de Vojours and heiress to the fortune of her father, burnt 200 of his shirts in a great bonfire, along with a portrait of the Duc de Vojours and his papers. Thus, an independent unit, the Madame and Mademoiselle de Vojours left the court entirely, settling in a country chateau and welcoming none of the Duc's former friends, with exception to the Duc d'Orleans. He visited in late 1671 and left crying, apparently so shaken by the fury of Madame de Vojours, who would blame him until his death for the change in her husband.
Whatever the issues the widow had had with her husband, she now demanded much of the King. He, as by the conditions of the marriage treaty, had agreed to continue to pay the allowance to the Duc de Vojours' heirs, but the lawyers had left it unclear as to whether the title Duc de Vojours was a male-only title, or whether it held the same basic properties as the title of Duc de Montipensier, which the Madame de Vojours sister held. In the end, it was agreed that Madame de Vojours could not hold it in her own right, but the lands and privileges of the title would be retained, and that her children might inherit it. An extraordinary decision, it basically meant that the King recognized the legality of inheritance through the female line in this case, although not the right of females to inherit a title directly. However, at the same time it should be recognized that Louis XIV was angling for Madame de Vojours to marry his second son by Marie Mancini, or by the son of Louise de La Vallière, the King's illegitimate son Louis de Bourbon, Comte de Vermandois.
However, once the Dowager Duchesse de Vojours did not want an illegitimate French match for her daughter, or a second son. Instead, she offered her to the Kingdom across the Channel, to the Prince of Wales. Once permission had been granted via her representative, Marguerite Louise d'Orléans and Anne-Marguerite D'Autriche de Vojours set sail to England, landing shortly and in May of 1672 they were presented to the King and Queen of England. And with this move, Madame de Vojours began her work to have her daughter become a Queen.
The first step was to become part of the royal fold. Usually, the easiest way to the King's side for a foreign noblewoman would be his Queen, but despite her slow change from stuffy Spanish woman to slightly less stuffy English woman, Maria Theresa was not in contact enough with the King for the Madame de Vojours' plans. However, the King's daughters, Margaret and Anne (b.1669) were the right age for a companion, and if the Mademoiselle de Vojours were a few years their elder, she was also a pretty, gentle girl with a talent for making people like her, a great boon to her mother's plan.
And in addition to this plan, the Madame de Vojours also made moves to have the King of England want her daughter as his daughter-in-law. When asked to describe the beauty and talent of the Princess Marie-Francoise as a potential bride for the Prince of Wales privately for the King, and the Mademoiselle d'Orléans as a potential second option, she disparaged the Princess Marie-Francoise's potential beauty, despite having only seen her at age 3 months before leaving the court. It was more difficult to say the Mademoiselle d'Orléans was an ugly girl, but she described her cousin as banal and lifeless, and most likely prone to fat.
With this in mind, the King of England declined an offer for the Mademoiselle d'Orléans to be betrothed to the Prince of Wales, and instead thought for an Austrian match, with the Archduchess Maria Antonia, the only surviving child of his sister-in-law and the Holy Roman Emperor. However, this was instead shot down by the Queen herself. In a second rare display of political strength, Maria Theresa was said to have yelled at her husband:
And thus, thoughts circled back to France. However, in 1673, the Mademoiselle d'Orléans was betrothed to François Louis, Prince of Conti and thus unavailable to the Prince of Wales. And the King's second choice, Marie-Francoise de France, was increasingly obvious as a non-candidate. sickly and small, the child that had been quite a pretty infant, was growing into a thin child, with very dark hair and a noticeable limp. And, at the age of three, she only now was beginning to talk. It was in these dire moments that Madame de Vojours began to note to the King how close her daughter was to his children.
For in these years, Mademoiselle de Vojours had comfortable sat at the table of the Princess Margaret, Anne, later lost and replaced by a sister named Elizabeth in 1672, and thus had crossed paths with the Prince of Wales and his brother, the Duke of Kintyre. The Prince of Wales, who the Mademoiselle de Vojours shared a birth year and birth month with, was a handsome lad, quickly growing and maturing into the image of his father. And the young French girl he had been made acquainted with for the past three years was also maturing, into a tall, willowy beauty. At this point, however, they were merely two children who were close, and who were being watched closely by governesses and tutors.
However, a slight issue came into the plans of the Madame de Vojours. Pretty and still quite young, she remained a viable option for marriage, and in late 1673 a very serious offer was put forward. It came from the widower James Stuart, Duke of York. Brother to Charles II of England, he hoped to marry the widowed Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, who was rich, beautiful, free and well-connected. However, this would make the Mademoiselle de Vojours a cousin by marriage to the Prince of Wales, and the Madame de Vojours feared that this would mean she would be unable to marry the Prince. As a woman who wanted more for her daughter than herself, she decided to be honest to the King, and put forward the problem to him. His answer was simple. Marry his brother, and there would be no impediment to a marriage between the Mademoiselle de Vojours and the Prince of Wales. It could not be promised that the match as she wanted would happen, but the Duke of York needed a wife and the King of England wasn't going to deny his brother or his friend their desires.
Thus, on the 8th of January, 1674, Marguerite Louise d'Orléans married for the second time to James Stuart, Duke of York, and continued her scheming to have her daughter become the Queen of England. Meanwhile, in France, the Duc de Berry was born and died in 5 months, and in England Maria Theresa gave birth to a third son, James Stuart, Duke of Gloucester.
This is not to say that the King did not feel some form of love towards his wife of 10 years. Naturally, the spark between them had worn off, and Marie was growing more and more prone to rudeness, but they shared three beautiful children between them, and a potential fourth, which became their second daughter, the Princess Marie-Francoise de France, Fille de France. It was during this time that a sort of domestic bliss found itself in the court, with the King and Queen ebbing and flowing between affection and anger, and the King's mistresses taking them one at a time to calm them down after the worst roes.
The death of Jean D'Autriche, Duc de Vojours in late 1670 was both highly anticipated and joyously celebrated by those closest to him. His wife of 9 years,
Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, was a 25 year old woman prematurely middle aged by the stress of living with the man she described to a close friend years later as:
That hateful creature, worse than the Devil himself. Weak and cruel, loud and vulgar. He'd strike me with one hand and drink with another. Utterly worthless.
It seems that the two did not get along. In fact, after his death, which was caused either by improperly stored meat or poison, Madame de Vojours and her daughter, the 7 year old Anne-Marguerite D'Autriche de Vojours, Mademoiselle de Vojours and heiress to the fortune of her father, burnt 200 of his shirts in a great bonfire, along with a portrait of the Duc de Vojours and his papers. Thus, an independent unit, the Madame and Mademoiselle de Vojours left the court entirely, settling in a country chateau and welcoming none of the Duc's former friends, with exception to the Duc d'Orleans. He visited in late 1671 and left crying, apparently so shaken by the fury of Madame de Vojours, who would blame him until his death for the change in her husband.
Whatever the issues the widow had had with her husband, she now demanded much of the King. He, as by the conditions of the marriage treaty, had agreed to continue to pay the allowance to the Duc de Vojours' heirs, but the lawyers had left it unclear as to whether the title Duc de Vojours was a male-only title, or whether it held the same basic properties as the title of Duc de Montipensier, which the Madame de Vojours sister held. In the end, it was agreed that Madame de Vojours could not hold it in her own right, but the lands and privileges of the title would be retained, and that her children might inherit it. An extraordinary decision, it basically meant that the King recognized the legality of inheritance through the female line in this case, although not the right of females to inherit a title directly. However, at the same time it should be recognized that Louis XIV was angling for Madame de Vojours to marry his second son by Marie Mancini, or by the son of Louise de La Vallière, the King's illegitimate son Louis de Bourbon, Comte de Vermandois.
However, once the Dowager Duchesse de Vojours did not want an illegitimate French match for her daughter, or a second son. Instead, she offered her to the Kingdom across the Channel, to the Prince of Wales. Once permission had been granted via her representative, Marguerite Louise d'Orléans and Anne-Marguerite D'Autriche de Vojours set sail to England, landing shortly and in May of 1672 they were presented to the King and Queen of England. And with this move, Madame de Vojours began her work to have her daughter become a Queen.
The first step was to become part of the royal fold. Usually, the easiest way to the King's side for a foreign noblewoman would be his Queen, but despite her slow change from stuffy Spanish woman to slightly less stuffy English woman, Maria Theresa was not in contact enough with the King for the Madame de Vojours' plans. However, the King's daughters, Margaret and Anne (b.1669) were the right age for a companion, and if the Mademoiselle de Vojours were a few years their elder, she was also a pretty, gentle girl with a talent for making people like her, a great boon to her mother's plan.
And in addition to this plan, the Madame de Vojours also made moves to have the King of England want her daughter as his daughter-in-law. When asked to describe the beauty and talent of the Princess Marie-Francoise as a potential bride for the Prince of Wales privately for the King, and the Mademoiselle d'Orléans as a potential second option, she disparaged the Princess Marie-Francoise's potential beauty, despite having only seen her at age 3 months before leaving the court. It was more difficult to say the Mademoiselle d'Orléans was an ugly girl, but she described her cousin as banal and lifeless, and most likely prone to fat.
With this in mind, the King of England declined an offer for the Mademoiselle d'Orléans to be betrothed to the Prince of Wales, and instead thought for an Austrian match, with the Archduchess Maria Antonia, the only surviving child of his sister-in-law and the Holy Roman Emperor. However, this was instead shot down by the Queen herself. In a second rare display of political strength, Maria Theresa was said to have yelled at her husband:
No cousins! Our son should not wed a cousin.
And thus, thoughts circled back to France. However, in 1673, the Mademoiselle d'Orléans was betrothed to François Louis, Prince of Conti and thus unavailable to the Prince of Wales. And the King's second choice, Marie-Francoise de France, was increasingly obvious as a non-candidate. sickly and small, the child that had been quite a pretty infant, was growing into a thin child, with very dark hair and a noticeable limp. And, at the age of three, she only now was beginning to talk. It was in these dire moments that Madame de Vojours began to note to the King how close her daughter was to his children.
For in these years, Mademoiselle de Vojours had comfortable sat at the table of the Princess Margaret, Anne, later lost and replaced by a sister named Elizabeth in 1672, and thus had crossed paths with the Prince of Wales and his brother, the Duke of Kintyre. The Prince of Wales, who the Mademoiselle de Vojours shared a birth year and birth month with, was a handsome lad, quickly growing and maturing into the image of his father. And the young French girl he had been made acquainted with for the past three years was also maturing, into a tall, willowy beauty. At this point, however, they were merely two children who were close, and who were being watched closely by governesses and tutors.
However, a slight issue came into the plans of the Madame de Vojours. Pretty and still quite young, she remained a viable option for marriage, and in late 1673 a very serious offer was put forward. It came from the widower James Stuart, Duke of York. Brother to Charles II of England, he hoped to marry the widowed Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, who was rich, beautiful, free and well-connected. However, this would make the Mademoiselle de Vojours a cousin by marriage to the Prince of Wales, and the Madame de Vojours feared that this would mean she would be unable to marry the Prince. As a woman who wanted more for her daughter than herself, she decided to be honest to the King, and put forward the problem to him. His answer was simple. Marry his brother, and there would be no impediment to a marriage between the Mademoiselle de Vojours and the Prince of Wales. It could not be promised that the match as she wanted would happen, but the Duke of York needed a wife and the King of England wasn't going to deny his brother or his friend their desires.
Thus, on the 8th of January, 1674, Marguerite Louise d'Orléans married for the second time to James Stuart, Duke of York, and continued her scheming to have her daughter become the Queen of England. Meanwhile, in France, the Duc de Berry was born and died in 5 months, and in England Maria Theresa gave birth to a third son, James Stuart, Duke of Gloucester.