Henrietta Anne Stuart of England, Duchess of Orléans
By Peter Mignard
Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, (29 May 1627 – 5 April 1693) known as La Grande Mademoiselle, was the eldest daughter of Gaston d’Orléans, and his first wife Marie de Bourbon. One of the greatest heiresses in history, she died unmarried and childless, leaving her vast fortune to her cousin, Philippe of France. After a string of proposals from various members of European ruling families, including Charles II of England, Afonso VI of Portugal and Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy, she eventually fell in love with Antoine Nompar de Caumont and scandalised the court of France when she asked Louis XIV for permission to marry him, as such a union was viewed as amésalliance (an inferior match for her). She is best remembered for her role in the Fronde, her role in bringing the famous composer Lully to the king’s court, and her Mémoires.
Henrietta Anne Stuart, Duchess of Orléans
“As an infant, Princess Henrietta was smuggled to France by her governess after the imprisonment of her father, King Charles I. She grew up at the French court with her mother and became a favourite of the French royal family. In 1661, Henriette Anne – as she was now known – married Philippe, Duke of Orleans, but the marriage was not a happy one. Jealous of his elder brother, Louis XIV, who openly flirted with Henriette, Philippe later deprived his wife of any friends, leaving her isolated and lonely. Her health failing, she nevertheless contributed to international diplomacy by facilitating a treaty between the French king and her brother, King Charles II. Her untimely death was first blamed on poison, but subsequent autopsies revealed that she died of a punctured ulcer.”
Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche (1637 – November 29, 1673) was a French nobleman, adventurer, and one of the greatest playboys of the 17th century.
He was the son of Marshal Antoine III de Gramont and Françoise-Marguerite du Plessis de Chivré, Richelieu’s niece. His sister was Catherine Charlotte, (1639–1678), Princess of Monaco and mistress of Louis XIV.
Armand was bisexual. He was part of the entourage of the homosexual Philippe de France, where many reckoned him the handsomest man at court. He was known for being vain, overbearing, and somewhat contemptuous, but many lovers of both genders often overlooked these flaws. It is generally accepted that he became the lover of Henrietta d’Orleans, but for a time he also paid court to Louise de La Vallière.
Guiche was, however, not sufficiently enamored with Louise to challenge King Louis XIV’s affections for her. He was exiled in 1662 for conspiring with the jealous Henrietta d’Orleans to drive a wedge between Louis XIV and Louise.
He then fought against the Turks for Poland, against the English for the Dutch, and eventually returned to France in 1669.
He returned to court in 1671. In 1672, he joined Louis XIV and the Great Condé in the Franco-Dutch war and covered himself in glory when he swam across the Rhine, and the whole army followed his example.
Portrait of Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy 1690c.
By Henri Gascar
The fifteenth Duke of Savoy, and in 1713 became King of Sicily. He then exchanged this kingdom with that of Sardinia in 1718, at the suggestion of the Holy Roman Emperor.
He married Anne Marie d’Orléans the youngest child of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (brother of Louis XIV) and Henrietta of England, youngest child of Charles I of England.
The family of Louis XIV by Jean Nocret
From l to r: Louis’ aunt Henrietta-Maria of France;
Louis’ brother Philippe of France, Monsieur;
Philppe’s daughter Marie Louise;
Philippe’s wife, Henrietta-Maria’s daughter, Henrietta of England;
Queen Mother Anne of Austria;
King Louis XIV;
His legitimate children, Louis (1661), Marie Thérèse, la Petite Madame (1667) and Philippe (1668);
Louis’ wife Queen Maria Theresa of Austria (1638);
Louis’ cousin Anne Marie Louise d’Orleans, la Grande Mademoiselle (1627)
Gaston de France, Duke of Orléans presents his sister widowed Queen Henrietta Maria of England to Anne of Austria, regent of France for Louis XIV. The infant Louis XIV in peach stands in front of his mother and next to his brother Philippe de France, Duke of Anjou. Queen Henrietta Maria stands between Gaston and his daughter la Grand Mademoiselle. Cardinal Mazarin is behind Queen Anne.
by Henri Decaisne
Princess Henrietta Anne Stuart, Duchess of Orléans, known as ‘Madame’ in france where she lived with her husband Phillippe, brother of Louis XIV, and affectionately named ‘Minette’ by her older brother King Charles II of England.
Anne Marie d’Orléans (27 August 1669 – 26 August 1728) was the first Queen consort of Sardinia and the maternal grandmother of Louis XV of France.
She was the daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV, and Princess Henrietta of England, the youngest daughter of Charles I of England. Her mother died at the Château de Saint-Cloud ten months after Anne Marie’s birth. A year later, her father married 21-year-old Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, who became very close to her stepdaughters (her other stepdaughter being Anne’s sister Marie Louise who became queen consort of Spain). Her half-brother Philippe d’Orléans, the future Regent of France, was born of her father’s second marriage.
She married the Duke of Savoy, later King of Sicily and then of Sardinia in 1684 and bore eight children.
Her Stepmother described her as “one of the most amiable and virtuous of women”
She died of heart failure in 1728 aged 59.
Marie Louise of Orléans (26 March 1662 – 12 February 1689) was Queen consort of Spain from 1679 to 1689 as the first wife of King Charles II of Spain. She was Niece of Louis XIV of France and daughter of Philippe of Orléans and Henrietta Anne of England (Charles II beloved little sister “Minette”)
She married Charles II of Spain in 1679. She was unhappy at the Spanish court, but was fond of her husband and he adored her. Unfortunately they never got the children they so desired and Marie died at the age of only 26, possibly of appendicitis.
