Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle duchess de Châteauroux

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle duchesse de Châteauroux (October 5, 1717 – December 8, 1744) was a mistress of Louis XV of France, and the youngest of four sisters who served as courtesans in the royal court of France.

[edit] Courtesan to Louis XV, political intrigue

In 1740, upon the death of her husband, the Marquis de la Tournelle, Marie-Anne attracted the attention of Louis XV, and she became his courtesan; and by the aid of the marshal de Richelieu who, dominated by Madame de Tencin, hoped to rule both the king and the state, she supplanted her sister, Madame de Mailly, as titular mistress in 1742. In addition to she and her latter sister, two other sisters served as courtesans in the royal court. They were Pauline-Félicité de Mailly (1712 - 1741), countess of Vintimille, and Diane-Adélaïde de Mailly (1713 - 1760), duchess of Lauraguais.

Directed by Richelieu, Marie-Anne tried to arouse the king, dragging him off to the armies, and negotiated the alliance with Frederick II of Prussia, in 1744. Her political role, however, has been exaggerated, as most of her involvement was behind the scenes. Her triumph after the passing disgrace provoked by the king's illness at Metz did not last long, for she died unexpectedly on the 8th of December 1744.

See Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, La Duchesse de Châteauroux et ses sœurs (Paris, 1879).