Marquise of Montespan
Marquise of Montespan Her life Françoise de Rochechouart, Marquise of Montespan (5 October 1640 – 27 May 1707), better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated mistress of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children. She came to public notice having spent several years in fashionable Parisian salons where it quickly became clear she was an intelligent, witty and very attractive woman. She eventually gave herself the nickname Athénaïs in honour of the ancient Greek goddess Athena. As a result of this she is also referred to as "Athénaïs de Montespan". She lived at the same time as Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland, the mistress of Charles II of England. Due to the marriages of her descendants she is an ancestress of several royal houses in Europe, including those of Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Portugal. She was also responsible for the creation of the now destroyed "Trianon de Porcelaine" as well as the larger and gr
