Versailles Century

3 September 1703

Versailles Century — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:02:01 GMT

On this day, Madame writes from Versailles to the Raugravine Louise in Germany. She has not been well:

“Twice I was about to die, and I am told that I narrowly escaped death. It is today 22 days since the fever has not left me even for an instant.”

2 September 1741

Versailles Century — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 14:03:08 GMT

On this day, our diarist describes Louis XV’s solicitude towards his maîtresse-en-titre (see glossary):

“All these past days, the King has had his supper carried to Mme de Vintimille’s rooms. Yesterday, because it was a fast day, he supped in his cabinets and only with gentlemen; after supper, he was at Mme de Vintimille’s, where he stayed until 2 o’clock. Mme de Vintimille was already having birthing pains, but she hid them. This morning at 5 o’clock, the pains having increased, she sent to wake her sister and M de Meuse, and at 9 o’clock she was delivered of a boy, who is doing well. It was La Peyronie who delivered him; everyone thought it would be Bourgeois. She was only in great pain for an hour or an hour and a half.”

Commentary:

This child is the King’s rather than the Comte de Vintimille’s. The latter’s marriage to the royal mistress was only arranged after she had already started sharing the King’s bed. It is a match that was made in an attempt to avoid scandal.

Pictured: A view of the north side of the cour de marbre at Versailles, my own photo taken in January, 2020.

This baby, called the Comte du Luc, a subsidiary title of the baby’s official father, M de Vintimille, will grow up to bear a striking resemblance to Louis XV, so much so that he will be nicknamed ‘the Demi-Louis,’ a pun on the name of the gold coin called the louis. Nonetheless, the King never publicly acknowledges him, nor does he treat him with any particular favour. He will have an unremarkable career in the army, not reaching the rank of brigadier until the reign of Louis XVI.

Buy me a macaron?

Les cabinets is how our diarist refers to Louis XV’s most private rooms at Versailles, which at this date are on the attic floor of the north side of the cour de marbre. He ordinarily has supper in the little dining room of the cabinets on hunt days, which is to say several times per week. The gentlemen invited to hunt with him are usually also invited to supper afterwards. Several ladies are customarily also invited to share the meal in order to leaven the masculine company. In recent years, the royal mistresses, the sisters Mme de Mailly and Mme de Vintimille, have almost always been present, the former grimly hanging on to her place in the inner circle despite the latter’s rise. The King’s cousin, Mademoiselle, is also often invited, or at least she was until recently. As the sponsor of Mme de Mailly, she has faded in favour since Mme de Vintimille’s ascent.

The translation from the French is my own. Images that are not my own are in the public domain; I only explicitly credit them when the uploader has made it a condition of sharing his/her work via Wikimedia Commons. Words in italics in the body of the post or bold italics in verbatim translations and image captions are in the Glossary; the royal family and other Bourbons are in the Who’s Who guides; information about the sources is in the Bibliography; all of these are in the Resources section and freely available to paid subscribers and Grandes Entrées. If you have questions, please ask in the comments.

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1 September 1707

Versailles Century — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 14:01:29 GMT

On this day, Madame (see glossary) writes from Versailles to her half-sister Louise in Germany:

“You will have heard what happened with regard to the siege of Toulon. The weather here is bad and very cold; the Elector of Brunswick will find the roads horrid. I find it jolly right that General Thunge has written to the Emperor. I would like to ramble on, …

31 August 1769

Versailles Century — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 14:03:40 GMT

On this day, Louis XV writes from Compiègne to the Duke of Parma:

“My dear grandson,

Your cousin has already been twice on horseback to the hunts, but the weather was foul and he will have to return next Thursday; I hope that it will be otherwise.

As for me, I shoot as best I can, my arm permitting, but I shoot rather badly and it is not getting any better.

I embrace you with all my heart my dear grandson.

Louis.”

Commentary:

This letter is curiously out of sequence, the previous one having been dated the 28th. The King normally writes to Ferdinand of Parma every 8 days, which is the interval of the mail between Parma and Paris. Perhaps it is because he is about to leave Compiègne and wishes to be sure that the letter gets sent.

Pictured: A view of the terrace at Compiègne, where Louis XV takes his court every summer, my own photo taken in July, 2023.

The cousin is the Dauphin, the future Louis XVI, who is the eldest son of Ferdinand’s late uncle, who was the King’s only son to live to adulthood. Ferdinand’s late mother was the King’s eldest daughter (and favourite child). The Dauphin is the only one of the King’s French grandsons who is currently old enough to go out with the King’s hunt; the King himself is still prevented from doing so by his slow-healing arm, which he injured in the hunting field early in the year.

Buy me a pain au chocolat?

The court is about to leave Compiègne, too. The King leaves first and the other members of the royal family follow in the course of the following week. It is an enormous, expensive, and time-consuming operation to move the entire court between Versailles and Compiègne in summer, and then Versailles and Fontainebleau in autumn.

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30 August 1689

Versailles Century — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 14:01:51 GMT

On this day, colourful clothing reappears at Versailles:

“The King and the whole court left off wearing mourning for the Queen of Spain. They had worn it for 6 entire months.”

The Chevalier de Ravanne

Versailles Century — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 22:38:38 GMT

In 1740, a book called The Memoirs of the Chevalier de Ravanne was published. Its antihero, the eponymous chevalier, a musketeer and page to the Duc d’Orléans, recounts his supposed life story, detailing the high life and low life of Regency-era France. It is in fact not a memoir but a novel. Authorship is attributed to the Abbé de Varenne, who was a ro…

29 August 1741

Versailles Century — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 14:02:57 GMT

On this day, news of an imperial death in Brussels reaches Versailles. Writing on 30 August, our diarist says:

“We learned yesterday of the death of the Archduchess-Governor of the Netherlands. She was called Marie-Élisabeth. She was in her 61st year and was a daughter of the Emperor Leopold.”

28 August 1769

Versailles Century — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:05:01 GMT

On this day, a Monday, Louis XV writes from Compiègne to the Duke of Parma:

“My dear grandson,

What is this pain in the breast that your wife has? Does she have large breasts? It is said that she is thin. Do you find her pretty? It seems to me that this small complaint should not prevent the rest. A similar thing happened to me as to you, far too much, which annoyed me rather. I am annoyed that Antoinette is plump for her age. We have one of those here who is very much so, but I hope that with age it will diminish. I am enchanted by your confidence, my dear grandson. I embrace you very tenderly and love you the same way.

Louis.

PS My next letter will be dated from Versailles; I am leaving here on Thursday. Whose fault is it if the consummation has not quite been achieved? Might you not have need of a small operation such as the one your cousin might also need and which is quite common?”

Commentary:

It seems that Ferdinand of Parma has not fully consummated his marriage with the former Archduchess Maria Amalia, who appears to be making excuses not to sleep with him. The postscript is eye-opening. The cousin referred to is presumably the Dauphin, the future Louis XVI. It is implied that the King is already aware that it might be difficult for him to consummate his forthcoming union with Maria Amalia’s younger sister, Marie-Antoinette.

Pictured: A view of one wing of the entrance court of the château at Compiègne, where Louis XV takes his court every summer, my own photo taken in July, 2023.

The King does not say exactly whom he considers to be too plump “here,” but it is only too likely that he means his grand daughter Madame Clothilde, the future Queen of Sardinia, whose portraits do indeed show her to be on the fleshy side.

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27 August 1689

Versailles Century — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 14:03:39 GMT

On this day, several courtiers are on their way to the bedside of a wounded officer:

“M de Chevreuse left by post-chaise to go to the Chevalier Colbert, whose wound is believed to be fatal. Mme de Chevreuse and Mme de Mortemart, for their part, are also going to Maubeuge, where he has been taken.”

26 August 1689

Versailles Century — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 14:01:35 GMT

On this day, Madame unburdens herself in a letter to her aunt. Monsieur wants to make the Marquis d’Effiat the governor of their son. Madame is horrified, for she and all France know that M d’Effiat is “the most despicable and most debauched” individual in the land. She records the following conversation with her husband:

“It seems to me that it would not be an honour for my son if people thought him d’Effiat’s mistress, for it is certain that there is no greater sodomite in all of France. It would, in my opinion, be a bad beginning for a young prince like my son to start out in life with one of the most awful debauched men there is.”

“I have to admit that d’Effiat was debauched and did like young men, but it has been many years since he corrected this vice.”

“Yet it was only a few years ago that a handsome young German who used to be here apologized for not coming to see me as often as he would have liked because d’Effiat tormented him too much when he came to the Palais-Royal. D’Effiat is therefore not so long reformed as his friends say. But supposing that he has resisted this vice for a few years, I do not see why I have to put him to the test with my only son!”

Commentary:

This dialogue goes on for 2 more pages, but you get the flavour.

Pictured: Philippe de France (1640-1701), the younger son of Louis XIII and Anne d’Autriche, 1st Duc d’Orléans, portrayed in his youth. Credit — Par Peintre non identifié — http://portraitsofkings.com/gallery/france-duchy-of-burgundy-duchy-of-lorraine-kingdom-of-belgium/philippe-i-1640-1701/, Domaine public, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73976125

The Marquis d’Effiat is one of Monsieur’s cronies. They had probably once been lovers. He is the best known of Monsieur’s favourites after the Chevalier de Lorraine, who preserves his primacy in Monsieur’s heart if not in his bed.

Buy me a café crème?

Monsieur is the court’s appellation for the King’s brother if he has only one, or his next younger brother if he has more than one. The Monsieur mentioned here is Louis XIV’s only brother. The next Monsieur will be the first of Louis XVI’s 2 younger brothers.

The translation from the French is my own. Images that are not my own are in the public domain; I only explicitly credit them when the uploader has made it a condition of sharing his/her work via Wikimedia Commons. Words in italics in the body of the post or bold italics in verbatim translations and image captions are in the Glossary; the royal family and other Bourbons are in the Who’s Who; information about the sources is in the Bibliography; all of these are in the Resources section and freely available to paid subscribers and Grandes Entrées. If you have questions, please ask in the comments.

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25 August 1741

Versailles Century — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:03:48 GMT

On this day, the court comes out of mourning:

“We came out of mourning today. The Queen had believed that it would be worn for 12 days so that the ladies would have 6 days in black and 6 in white. The King left off wearing mourning this morning.”

24 August 1707

Versailles Century — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:03:57 GMT

On this day, Mme de Maintenon writes again from Saint-Cyr to Mme des Ursins in Spain. Please see 21 August for an excerpt from her previous letter. It is unusual for her to write twice in such short order. It is probably because she is still preoccupied by the possibility of losing France’s main naval port on the Mediterranean to the invading Savoyards:

“If, against all expectations, the Duke of Savoy takes Toulon, our princes will go into Provence with all the reinforcements that the King will have sent from all directions. They are delighted at the prospect; nonetheless, it is better that they should stay here and that our troops should return whence they came.”

Commentary:

The Duke of Savoy has invaded Provence, which is adjacent to Savoy. He does not have far to go. Nice, which is just up the coast, still belongs to Savoy at this date.

Pictured: A portrait by Rigaud of Louis de France (1682-1712), Duc de Bourgogne, in the Salon de l’Abondance at Versailles, my own photo taken in January, 2020. The obscured portrait at right is of his son, Louis XV.

“Our princes” are Louis XIV’s grandsons, the Duc de Bourgogne, who, ironically, is the Duke of Savoy’s son-in-law, and his youngest brother, the Duc de Berry. They are 25 and 20 years of age at this date, keen to serve but as yet untested in war. Their other brother, the middle child, né Duc d’Anjou, is now reigning in Madrid as Philip V.

Buy me a coffee?

The translation from the French is my own. Images that are not my own are in the public domain; I only explicitly credit them when the uploader has made it a condition of sharing his/her work via Wikimedia Commons. Words in italics in the body of the post or bold italics in verbatim translations and image captions are in the Glossary; the royal family and other Bourbons are in the Who’s Who; information about the sources is in the Bibliography; all of these are in the Resources section and freely available to paid subscribers and Grandes Entrées. If you have questions, please ask in the comments.

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23 August 1689

Versailles Century — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 14:02:50 GMT

On this day, Louis XIV goes to Marly, where he receives news from Rome:

“After his dinner, the King went to Marly with Monseigneur, where they amused themselves having trees transplanted for the new allées. M de Croissy came to find the King at Marly to inform him that the Pope had died on 12 August…He leaves much money in the treasury and 11 birettas un…

The Chevalier de Ravanne

Versailles Century — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 22:42:23 GMT

22 August 1709

Versailles Century — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 14:01:22 GMT

On this day, Madame reports alarming news in Paris to her aunt. Rolling into the capital in her carriage, Madame is puzzled to see people running about with frightened faces. Alighting at the Palais-Royal, she is accosted by a lady of the bourgeoisie and the following dialogue ensues:

“Do you know, Madame, that there is a revolt in Paris, which has been …

21 August 1707

Versailles Century — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 14:03:28 GMT

On this day, Mme de Maintenon writes from Saint-Cyr to Mme des Ursins in Spain. Much of the letter is about the Duke of Savoy’s invasion of France:

“It is said that His Royal Highness’s troops are perpetrating terrible disorders and frightful cruelties in Provence. It would take no less merit than that of our princesses to excuse that of such a father; ours is very sad, and I wish with all my heart that yours should not be.”

Commentary:

The ongoing War of the Spanish Succession is not going well for France at this juncture. After decades of starting wars and seizing pieces of his neighbours’ territories, Louis XIV has finally bitten off more than he chew. Not only have the Savoyards (with Austrian help) beaten the French army that was besieging their capital, they have turned the tables. For the first time since the Thirty Years War, an enemy army has crossed the French frontier. The Duke of Savoy is personally leading an invasion force towards Toulon, then as now France’s main naval port on the Mediterranean.

Pictured: A bust of Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie (1685-1712), Princess of Savoy by birth and Duchesse de Bourgogne by marriage, later briefly Dauphine de France; my own photo taken at Versailles in August, 2023.

In this situation, 2 things deepen the sting of betrayal felt in Versailles and Madrid. First, the Duke of Savoy started on the Franco-Spanish side of the war and later switched. Second, his daughters are the first ladies of the countries he is now fighting against. His elder daughter, Marie-Adélaïde, is married to the Duc de Bourgogne, Louis XIV’s eldest grandson. Since her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law are both dead, she is the first lady of the land. The Duke’s younger daughter, Marie-Louise-Gabrielle, is the Queen of Spain as the consort of Louis XIV’s second eldest grandson, Philip V of Spain, né Duc d’Anjou at Versailles.

Buy me a croissant?

Why is the Duke of Savoy called His Royal Highness when he is not a member of a king’s family? The short answer is that he claims royal dignity based on his descent from a princess of the crusader kingdom of Cyprus, at this date long lost to the Ottomans. The chief reward for His Royal Highness’s perfidy in this war is that at the end of it he will add a real royal crown to his phantom one, that of Sicily, later exchanged for that of Sardinia.

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How Do You Make a Place Part of Your Life?

Versailles Century — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:53:50 GMT

Today I chatted for nearly an hour and a half with Keith Christiansen of We Live Here Now on his live stream. We discussed the Versailles Century (1682-1789), living in France and other countries, and many matters besides. My side of the conversation was audio-only because I’m camera shy. Please do watch/listen if you’re interested in Keith’s work or mine.

Available for iOS and Android

20 August 1741

Versailles Century — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:02:41 GMT

On this day, Louis XV re-assigns some lodgings at Versailles in the wake of the recent death of his cousin Mademoiselle de Clermont:

“…the apartment of Mlle de Clermont in the Surintendance, which is very fine and very big, and which includes that of Mme de Rubérac, her dame d’honneur, has been given to the Maréchal de Noailles for himself and Mme d’Ayen…

19 August 1741

Versailles Century — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:03:25 GMT

On this day, a Saturday, our diarist outlines Louis XV’s plans for the coming week:

“The King went out this afternoon to go shooting on the Désert side of the petit parc, and in less than 2 hours he brought down 55 birds. He will sup tonight at the grand couvert, and go tomorrow to sleep at La Meutte. The day after tomorrow, Monday, he will go to Roule t…

18 August 1689

Versailles Century — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:04:23 GMT

On this day, Louis XIV’s sickly daughter-in-law is enjoying a spell of good health and good spirits:

“Madame la Dauphine continues to feel better. There was a concert this evening in her rooms, which diverted her exceedingly. Mlle de Menetou, who is only 9 years old, played on the harpsichord. The King enjoyed himself very much and found the music delici…