The Grande Mademoiselle was a French princess who lived her life on her own terms and tried to choose her own destiny. She got involved in politics and risked her freedom and reputation for glory and for her burning desire to become Queen. Her name was Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier. She was born in 1627 to Gaston de France, Duke of Orléans, and Marie de Bourbon Montpensier. Louis XIII had been the
King of France for 17 years. He was her father’s brother and both of them were the sons of Henry IV and Marie de' Medici. Therefore, King Louis XIII was Anne Marie’s uncle. King Louis XIII and his wife, Anne of Austria, were not successful in having any children. The King’s brother, Gaston, and his
wife, the Duchess of Montpesier, were hopeful that they would have a son and he would inherit the throne of France. One day, they announced the news: they would have a child. The Queen was terribly upset. Louis XIII was not fond of her and he was visibly
unhappy about the situation. The Court started talking
about the Queen’s purpose. The pressure on the royal couple was
huge. No wonder they were downhearted. The significant event for the future of
the French crown was highly anticipated. Everyone was hoping that an heir to the throne would be born. Yet the long-awaited Dauphin turned out to be a girl. Tragically, the girl’s mother
died shortly after she was born. The little girl resembled her mother: beautiful, blonde and with the face of an angel. Gaston was not too affected by his wife’s death and went on to live his depraved life. Upon her mother’s death, Anne Marie Louise became the heiress of immense wealth: duchies, numerous castles, titles and money. She was the richest
little duchess of Europe. Louis XIII was pleased that his
brother’s child was not a boy and enjoyed having the little
Mademoiselle playing at the Louvre. Anne of Austria pretended she liked her little niece and secretly hoped that one day she could marry the King’s brother. The King was not in
a good health anyway. She was just waiting. When Mademoiselle was nine
years old, she was baptised. Her godfather and godmother were the hated Cardinal Richelieu and the Queen. Anne Marie was deeply unhappy. After all, they didn’t like her father whom she adored. Gaston had been sent
away from the Court because of them. Soon the Cardinal expressed his intentions of finding a suitable husband for Anne Marie Louise. In the meantime, Mademoiselle spent her time enjoying party after party. She was also being trained in making a proper curtsy and in maintaining a dignified etiquette. It was considered good education for a girl of high rank like her to study nothing else besides reading and writing. One day, to her displeasure, she was sent to a convent for a few months to be trained and disciplined. Soon the young girl
started to show her rebellious nature. When Anne Marie Louise was 11 years old, the Queen announced exciting news. She was expecting a child. Anne Marie Louise would have a cousin. Incredibly happy, the Queen went so far to say that, one day, Mademoiselle
would be her daughter-in-law. The King was only mildly amused. The innocent happy girl did not realise that her father would actually be placed further away from the order of succession to the throne. Cardinal Richelieu was annoyed at the
idea of Anne Marie Louise becoming one day the wife of the Dauphin, future Louis XIV, so she was sent away from the court. Deeply unhappy, she began to devise her secret plans: one day, she would become Queen. From that moment on, she was motivated
by the desire to become Queen. Apart from that desire, what she was also interested in was solving the enigma of the heart, especially the hearts of princesses and how they should approach love and glory. Whilst growing up, Anne Marie Louise gained the sobriquet “the Grande Mademoiselle” because of her height: she was tall, blonde
and displayed an imposing figure. With her independent and feisty spirit, the young Princess had an aura of a warlike goddess. She was proud and utterly convinced of her important mission. What was her mission then? To marry someone who would be a king or at least a hero. Someone like her cousin, the Dauphin, maybe? Would that please the strong willed
and passionate Princess? The time had come to consider her options. The Grande Mademoiselle strongly believed that a woman like her could not marry someone for love. That weak sentiment was reserved for the lower classes. There was no such thing as love between married people of rank. She could not allow
her heart to reign over reason. She started thinking about her prospect of getting married. After failing to find a perfect suitor, an opportunity presented itself. The Prince of Wales and future Charles II was in France with his mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, who had
fled England that was experiencing a civil war. The Prince of Wales tried
courting the Grande Mademoiselle but she was not keen at all about such
a union, as she considered him just a refugee and with no prospects of giving
her the royal position that she was after. She rejected him and his timid approach. Plus, he was not her type of prince hero. Anne Marie Louise, actually, felt sorry for
the Prince and his precarious situation. A different idea came into her mind. She would marry an emperor. She considered a marriage with the Emperor of Austria. But it did not materialise. When Cardinal Richelieu died in December 1642, his successor, Mazarin, entered
the scene to replace him. King Louis XIII died in May 1643, and the widowed Queen, Anne of Austria, became the Regent, ruling France. To help her achieve supreme rule, she appointed Mazarin as her chief of Council. In 1644, the people of Paris stormed the Palace of Justice and demanded the "Parlements" to present their cause to the Queen: the withdrawal of the
newly imposed taxes. Their demand was rejected. Anne Marie Louise was pleased to see
that people were revolting. The uprising would actually hurt the people she hated the most: the Queen Mother and Cardinal Mazarin. So the Grande Mademoiselle gladly joined the people’s cause for her own interests, of course. The War of the French against the
establishing of absolute monarchy broke in 1648. The Grande Mademoiselle was 21 years old at that time. Her plan was to merge her wealth with the destiny of the King of France who was ten years old. However, the young king, Louis XIV, was more frightened than in love with his tall cousin. Her plan was difficult to achieve. She was able, though, to show her fighting spirit and her bravery during the civil war of the Fronde. She became a warrior Princess and declared she was ready to fight alongside soldiers. When the Prince of Wales, who was
waiting to reclaim his kingdom, started courting her again, the Grande Mademoiselle rejected him once more. Anne Marie Louise was actually more
interested in fighting the Wars of the Fronde like she did in the Battle of the Faubourg Saint Antoine in July 1652 against the King’s soldiers. During the minority of Louis XIV, there was a series of civil wars
in France from 1648 until 1653, in which the nobles rose in rebellion
against Mazarin and the Court. Because of the political uncertainty, Mazarin, the Queen
and Louis XIV left Paris. Cardinal Mazarin was eventually victorious in the Fronde and in 1653 he secured the King’s return to Paris. When Anne Marie Louise realised that Mazarin would not keep his word to allow her to marry the King, she was furious. The King sent her a letter, informing her that she would be safe wherever she chose to live outside Paris. She was instructed to leave Paris and was sent into exile. Her refuge for the next five years would be a château at Saint Fargeau. Anne Marie Louise suffered immensely, being away from the royal court, but she was determined not to be
overwhelmed by her misfortune. She renovated her castle and
started writing her memoirs. Years passed and, eventually, she was able to return to Paris, to a different world of politics. In 1660, her dreams of becoming
queen were shattered when Louis XIV married Maria Theresa, the daughter of Philip IV of Spain. Two years later, when she was still unmarried, it was arranged for her to marry Alfonso VI of Portugal. Not happy with that prospect, she chose to be sent away from the Court rather than agreeing to the marriage. In 1664, she was able to return to Court again. By that time, she was 37 years old. Would she ever find a husband? In the spring of 1669, she met the Count of Lauzun. At first, she was unsure what to make of him. He was a courtier, a short man and a friend of the King. Some weeks passed before she realised what was happening to her. The Princess who rejected love before had actually fallen in love with the Count. Lauzun was not really a handsome man, but he was charming and she found him irresistible. What was even more shocking was that the little Count was a man of low rank. It was not a problem for the Grande Mademoiselle anymore. She would do anything to marry him. She was even prepared to have the wedding away from Paris and the gossiping court. Louis XIV was astonished when he read her letter, asking for his permission to marry Lauzun. Anne Marie Louise had fallen in love with Lauzun. The King was unsure how to respond; the Court would disapprove of such a union between a princess and a man of low rank. Anne Marie Louise was in tears when
the King broke the news to her: he would not acknowledge such a marriage. Unfortunately for the Princess, less than a year later, Lauzun would be arrested. By the time she found out of his arrest, Lauzun was on his was to Pignerol prison. The Grande Mademoiselle was overwhelmed by misery. What she did next was actually
worthy of praise. Anne Marie Louise fought for the Count’s release for ten years. All that time she was only thinking about him and how to get him out of prison. The feisty Princess had the quality of being loyal to her lover. She realised that the King and
his mistress, Madame de Montespan, were those who may actually help her get Lauzun out of prison. If they could only hear her pleas. Louis XIV and Madame de
Montespan were plotting though. They would sell to Mademoiselle the
freedom of the man she loved so deeply. Mademoiselle was eager to
find out the price for that: the Duke of Maine, who was the son of the King and Madame de Montespan, to be made the heir of the Grande Mademoiselle in exchange for the Count’s freedom. Mademoiselle attached a condition to the agreement: she wanted the King’s
permission to allow her to marry Lauzun. The King was artful enough and he only expressed
his gratitude to his cousin. When the Grande Mademoiselle wanted to know when Lauzun would be freed, all she got was - she needed to be patient. The King and his mistress asked Anne Marie Louise to sign the donation deed and, also, include in it the possessions she had already
donated to Lauzun years before. Realising she had no choice, the Duchess signed the deed of gift
for the Duke of Maine. When, some weeks later, Lauzun was still nowhere to be seen, Mademoiselle wanted answers. She received the news from Madame de Montespan that Lauzun had been released from prison; but the King would actually never
agree to her marriage to Lauzun. It only took a moment for Mademoiselle to realise that she had been duped. The affair was to still be concluded. Madame de Montespan
went to meet Lauzun to ask him to sign a document to donate his gifts which he had received from Mademoiselle. He protested and was sent to prison again. Eventually, he gave in and signed the document in exchange for his freedom or so he thought. Upon his release, he was forbidden to even show up at the King’s court and he was exiled to Amboise. The Count had also been tricked. The Grande Mademoiselle insisted and the King allowed
Lauzun to live wherever he pleased. In 1782, when Mademoiselle was 52 years old, the two lovers were finally able
to meet again, after 11 years. Anne Marie Louise showered the Count with new donations to compensate for his losses, but the Count only showed gratitude to her. He was not in love her and he proved to be unfaithful. How disappointed she must have been! She sacrificed her wealth, reputation and years of her life for him. They quarrelled over his infidelity, his constant asking for money and his habit of making her jealous. He was mean and ungrateful. One more quarrel and the separated for ever. At the age of 66, when the Grande Mademoiselle became ill, Lauzun wanted to see her; but she refused. Mademoiselle had lost many
things in life but not her pride. She died within a month after his request. Shortly after her funeral, Lauzun
started thinking about marriage. And he managed to find himself a young wife. He had a long life and his unlucky wife was destined to endure living with him for 30 more years. As for the Grande Mademoiselle, one may say that
her life resembled a comedy, but she also had her share of
betrayal, suffering and failure. She did not achieve glory like she
always wanted; but throughout her life she had the quality of remaining firm and unwavering in the face of adversity.
