From mistress to wife

The fact that French kings have mistresses in addition to their official wife, the queen, is widely known and accepted. More mistresses than the queen are brought to the Court. The latter's only responsibilities at the Court of Versailles were philanthropy and ensuring the king had offspring.

The royal mistress took on the role for everything else, such as the daily activities of the Court and the king's amusement. Among the numerous, Louise de Lavallière, the Marquis of Montespan, and Madame de Maintenon controlled Louis XIV's lengthy reign. She was always meant to be his companion, thus the mistress could never replace the queen. But among the three, Madame de Maintenon, the second, will have knowledge that no one else does.

Initially, Louis XIV planned for Madame de Maintenon to look after the kids he had with his previous mistress, Madame de Montespan. Louis XIV gradually turned to Madame de Maintenon, who eventually became his trusted mistress, as he grew older and grew weary of Madame de Montespan's demeanor. A turning point in the mistress' life occurred with the passing of Queen Marie-Thérèse.

Less than three months after the passing of his wife, the monarch decided wed Madame de Maintenon despite all custom and the fact that she did not come from a higher aristocracy. She only became the king's wife, not the queen, because the marriage was conducted in extreme secrecy. Thus, until the end of the king's reign, Madame de Maintenon profited from a particularly special place in the Court as well as in the life and heart of the monarch. The marriage of a king and one of his mistresses was unprecedented in French history.