biography
| name: |
Montespan, Françoise Athenaïs de Rochechouart, marquise de (Marchioness of)
|
pronunciation:
[mõtespã]
| sex:
| female
|
| lived:
| (1641–1707)
|
| biography:
| Mistress of Louis XIV, born in Tonnay-Charente, W France, the daughter of the Duc de Mortemart. In 1663 she married the Marquis de Montespan, and joined the household of Queen Maria Theresa as lady-in-waiting. She became the king's mistress in c.1667, and after her marriage was annulled (1674), was given official recognition of her position. She bore the king seven children, who were legitimized (1673). Supplanted first by Mlle de Fontanges and later by Mme de Maintenon, she left court in 1687 and retired to the convent of Saint-Joseph in Paris, eventually becoming the superior. |
|
|
