thestuartkings:

Marie Mancini

Anna Maria (Marie) Mancini (August 28, 1639 – May 8, 1715) was the third of the five Mancini sisters; nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously. Along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, the Mancini sisters were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes.

The other Mancini sisters were; Laura, Olympe, Hortense  and Marie Anne.

 “Dark, vivacious and beautiful,” Marie captured the biggest prize of the French court: the romantic love of Louis XIV. According to Antonia Fraser’s biography Love and Louis XIV, Marie’s mother, Geronima, was told by a horoscope that Marie would cause trouble and demanded on her deathbed that Cardinal Mazarin should, “shut Marie up in a convent and keep her there.”

Marie did not consummate her relationship with the Sun King. His love for her was a somewhat idealistic one, but he was so besotted that he wanted to marry her. Eventually, Cardinal Mazarin and the young king’s mother, Anne of Austria, separated the couple, banishing Marie into exile and arranging for Louis’ marriage to his cousin, Maria Theresa of Spain.