Athénaïs

by Lisa Hilton

The Life of Louis XIV's Mistress, the Real Queen Of France : Athenais de Montespan in fact ruled the court of France on the 20 some years the she was mistress to the King. she was more Queen that the Queen herself, Marie-Thérese, that kept herself quiet, in her chamber surrounded by her Spanish entourage. The Sun King's long-term mistress, notorious for her adulterous affair with the married king and for her alleged involvement in the Affairs of the Poisons, is a fascinating and mysterious figure. She is probably the most important of Louis's mistresses and she had the nerve, style, and influence to see her children advance to the highest possible echelons in court life where status and position were everything.