Montespan, Françoise Athénaïs, marquise de
Montespan, Françoise Athénaïs, marquise de
(fräNswäz` ätānäēs` märkēz` də môNtəspäN`), 1641–1707, mistress of King Louis XIV of France. She was maid of honor to Queen Marie Thérèse and replaced (c.1667) Mlle de La VallièreLa Vallière, Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc de, 1644–1710, mistress of King Louis XIV of France. Maid of honor to Louis's sister-in-law, Henrietta of England, she became the king's mistress in 1661.
..... Click the link for more information. as the king's mistress. She bore the king several children. Their education was entrusted to Mme de MaintenonMaintenon, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de
, 1635–1719, second wife of the French king Louis XIV. Her grandfather was Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné, the Huguenot hero.
..... Click the link for more information. , who succeeded her in the king's favor. She later retired to a convent.
Bibliography
See H. N. Williams, Madame de Montespan (1903); F. Mossiker, The Affair of the Poisons (1970).