Marie Anne Mancini
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Marie Anne Mancini (born 1649 in Rome, Italy, died June 20, 1714 in Paris, France), was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin and the youngest of the five famous Mancini sisters
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[edit] Family
Her parents were Michele Lorenzo Mancini, a Roman baron, necromancer and astrologer, and Geronima or Girolama Mazzarini, sister of Cardinal Mazarin.
Her four famous sisters were:
- Laure Mancini (1636 - 1657), the eldest, who married Louis II de Bourbon-Vendôme, the duc de Vendôme, heir to Henri IV's legitimized natural son and became the mother of the famous general Louis Joseph of Bourbon-Vendôme,
- Olympe Mancini (1638 - 1708), who married Eugène-Maurice of Savoy-Carignano and became the mother of the famous general Prince Eugene of Savoy,
- Marie Mancini (1639 - 1715), the third sister, was considered the least beautiful of the sisters but she snagged the biggest prize of all: Louis XIV. He was so besotted with her that he wanted to marry her. In the end he was made to give her up and she married Prince Lorenzo Colonna who remarked that he was surprised to find her a virgin as one does not expect to find 'innocence among the loves of kings'. (from Antonia Fraser's book Love and Louis XIV)
- Hortense Mancini (1646 - 1699), the beauty of the family, escaped her abusive husband, Armand-Charles de la Porte, duc de La Meilleraye, and went to London, where Charles II was her lover.
The Mancinis were not the only female family members that Cardinal Mazarin brought to the French court. The others were Olympia's first cousins, daughters of Mazarin's eldest sister. The elder, Laura Martinozzi, married Alfonso IV d'Este, duke of Modena and was the mother of Mary of Modena, second wife of James II of England. The younger, Anne Marie Martinozzi, married Armand, Prince de Conti. Altogether, the seven girls were referred to as the Mazarinettes.
The Mancini also had three brothers: Paul, Philippe, and Alphonse.
[edit] Husband and children
In 1662 she married Maurice Godefroy de la Tour d'Auvergne, Duc de Bouillon, who was the nephew of Turenne.
They had ten children, including:
- Louis-Charles de la Tour d'Auvergne (1665-1692), who married Anne Geneviève de Levis, daughter of Charlotte de La Mothe-Houdancourt
- Emmanuel-Théodose de la Tour d'Auvergne (1668 - 1730), Duc de Bouillon
- Frédéric-Jules (1672 - 1733), Chevalier de Bouillon, then Prince d'Auvergne
- Louis Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne (1679 - 1753), Comte d'Évreux, Lieutenant-General of the King's Armies
- Louis-Julie de la Tour d'Auvergne (1679 - 1750), wife of François-Armand de Rohan, Duke de Montbazon
- Mme Bouillon
She also raised the three sons of her older sister Laure, who died in childbirth at the age of 21. The third child, Jules César, died three years later. Marie Anne was only a few years older than her nephews, the surviving sons being Louis Joseph, who became a famous general, and Philippe, the "Grand Prior."
[edit] Later life
Marie Anne is remembered for her literary pursuits and for her patronage of the young La Fontaine.
Compromised in the notorious Affaire des Poisons, she was rehabilitated, unlike her older sister, Olympe, Comtesse de Soissons, who was forced to flee to Spain and never returned to France.
[edit] References
- Pierre Combescot, Les Petites Mazarines, 1999, Grasset/Livre de Poche. ISBN 2-253-14982-9
