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stocks-mostly-lower t1_izjgqrr wrote

Reply to comment by frenchchevalierblanc in “Being Madame is a miserable job” Liselotte of the Palatinate lived at the court of the French king Louis XIV and wrote countless letters that offer a unique insight into the intrigues and everyday life of the nobility. by swissnationalmuseum

Monsieur was gay and had an active love life, which goes a long way to explain why she thought that being his wife was very difficult. She was a good (non-romantic) friend of his older brother Louis XVI, though, so her husband wasn’t allowed to be too abusive to her.

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Danivelle t1_izjho16 wrote

She was his second wife. He was unkind to Henriette, his first wife and jealous of her relationship with both her brother, King Charles II and his brother, King Louis XIV.

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stocks-mostly-lower t1_izji9an wrote

He was unkind to anyone who wore skirts. He and a prominent lover assaulted one of Louis XIV’s legitimized sons, and had a long-term affair with the kid.

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nyanlol t1_izk6efn wrote

im not gonna lie I was prepared to be like "poor rich lady boo hoo" but God damn that is genuinely awful

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stocks-mostly-lower t1_izkdjm6 wrote

This is the tragic history Louis of Borbon, the young legitimated son of King Louis XIV. He was the nephew of Monsieur (Prince Phillipe) who was the brother of the king. Along with his handsome and utterly corrupt longtime lover the Duc de Lorraine, Philippe seduced the vulnerable boy. The boy’s father, King Louis XIV, and his mother, Madame Louise de Valliere, blamed the kid for the sexual assault/affair, and had nothing more to do with him. Ever.

Louis de Borbon joined the French army, and died in battle at the age of 16. His parents only had callous things to say about his death.

I dearly hope that this poor child was welcomed to heaven after such a tragic life. This is an excellent little documentary about him.

https://youtu.be/-xFklYllrdk

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letssnark t1_izkvzrz wrote

Apparently she really loved children and took an active role in the lives of her step daughters, and not just when they were small, but for the rest of her life. From what I've read, she actually sounds like a decent person, and felt out of place at Versailles with the intrigue and back stabbing. She was an extensive letter writer, so there is quite a lot of information about her life through those.

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EarlGreyTea-Hawt t1_izme7gx wrote

The fact that she thought her letters would be destroyed makes them so personal. She out wrote in correspondence the famously prolific Montesquieu...but she wasn't writing in his highly stylized manner meant for posterity, so it's really revealing about the quotidian life of nobles of the court.

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EarlGreyTea-Hawt t1_izmdavh wrote

He was such an ass to Henriette. But a lot of people were. The French court was just awful, it chewed up some of the best women of the nobility (and men, but I'm deep diving into Catherine Medici, so I'm feeling salty about the Medici women in France).

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passporttohell t1_izjke32 wrote

And yet apparently a damn good warrior on the battlefield, the miniseries 'Versaille' goes into a bit of this. Also this YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqBsysuJp-8

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stocks-mostly-lower t1_izjldg9 wrote

Oh I agree. At one time, he was Louis XVI’s heir apparent. He was multi-faceted.

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passporttohell t1_izjp7rx wrote

Multi faceted and yet a bit of a jerk towards his wives, unfortunately. To say nothing of his lover. . . So much intrigue at he Sun King's court. . . I think that if I were in the middle of all this I would not do well at all. . .

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