In 1744, Louis XV ventured to the frontier at Metz with his court. Naturally, once the king went, the entire court followed, including his maitresse-en-titre, Madame de Châteauroux. Born as Marie Anne de Mailly, she had married the Marquis de La Tournelle in 1734 before supplanting her own sister as the king's official mistress.
Unlike her predecessor, Madame de Châteauroux was ruthless in her ambition. Whereas her sister, Julie Louise, had wanted nothing else but the king's company, Marie Anne wanted it all: money, power, status. By 1744, she was at the height of her influence over the king and followed him to his military camp. She was there when the king was suddenly taken ill.
Louis XV was close to death; so close, in fact, that his doctors summoned the priests to give the king his final absolution. Yet, no king could die with an official mistress still in place which was fervently pointed out by the confessor. Knowing that he might not survive his illness, the king - reluctantly - agreed to publicly renounce his mistress.
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| Madame de Châteauroux |
To Madame de Châteauroux, this was a disaster. She was anxiously waiting for word of the king's condition when she was informed that she had been publicly dismissed. With one swift movement, she had lost everything that she had worked for; even worse, she had made fierce enemies throughout her reign. As the queen and royal family was summoned to Metz, both Marie Anne and her sister were sent packing. On their way back, they were subjected to unending taunts and insults by the watching crowds.
To all appearances, those news were expected to be followed by the news of the king's death - but that never happened. Louis XV miraculously recovered and found himself in an unpleasant situation.
Louis XV was nothing if not a creature of habit. He disliked new faces and was most comfortable with people he already knew. Besides, he was still enamored with his commanding mistress. Yet, it was no laughing matter to go against one's own confession - and that of the king had been publicised when his death seemed certain. For months, the king wavered and missed the comfort of Marie Anne. Finally, he decided to recall the mistress whom he had officially dismissed previously that year.
So, the order was given for Maurepas to summon Madame de Châteauroux on 25 November 1744 - in person. The country was shocked at the scandal - never before had the king so brazenly disregarded both churchly doctrine and his own claims of remorse.
Madame de Châteauroux was thrilled - and ready for vengeance. She was well-aware that she could have been brought back much sooner if her enemies had not been actively working against her; she even wrote to her close friend, the Duc de Richelieu, that she knew she would return "more brilliantly than ever" once the king "came to his senses". Chiefly amongst her opponents was the man who had been charged with her recall: Maurepas.
Maurepas was not a nobody at court. Serving as the Minister of the Navy, he had exercised a good deal of power at court. Yet, now he was given a "choice" by his royal master: beg forgiveness of Madame de Châteauroux or go into exile. Maurepas chose the former and in late-November he begrudgingly asked mercy of his enemy.
The scene for this public humiliation was the Rue de Bac in Paris where Marie Anne resided. To complete Maurepas' embarrassment, she had gathered her friends about her - particularly those who were likewise on bad terms with the minister. He was ushered in to where the mistress was lounging on her bed surrounded by her friends - without saying a word, she calmly looked on her adversary. He handed her the official note of summons from the king while protesting that he had had no knowledge of what had happened to her at Metz. Thus, the audience was concluded and Maurepas could return to court.
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| Maurepas |
The farce that Maurepas had subjected himself to was the result of a compromised reached between Louis XV and Madame de Châteauroux. The king knew he needed the capable hand of Maurepas in his government but also recognised that his mistress would never consent to having him at court. Thus, the king got to keep his minister - if the mistress got to choose the manner in which he was humiliated first.
Maurepas was not the only man whose enmity with Madame de Châteauroux could have been disastrous. No less than three dukes were in her firing line: the Duc de La Rochefoucauld, de Châtillon and de Bouillon. The king agreed to exile the three dukes to their private estates but there was a distinct difference in their punishments. Both the Ducs de La Rochefoucauld and de Bouillon were allowed to return to their comfortable country estates and received their notice of exile from a polite, but aloof letter written by the king himself.
The Duc de Châtillon, however, was served with an official lettre-de-cachet and sent to a rather dilapidated estate. The cause for this particular punishment was that Madame de Châteauroux believed he had turned the dauphin against her. Amongst other grievances, he had lectured the future king on morals and had dared to use the example of the king's affair with Madame de Châteauroux as an example of sin. Officially, the origin of his disgrace was stated to be that he had brought the dauphin on an arduous trip to Metz upon hearing of the king's death. That was done without the king's permission and had caused the heir considerable fatigue. Yet, everyone knew who had truly demanded his exile. Thus, both he and his wife were exiled from court; they were given just thirty minutes notice and forbidden to say goodbye to either the queen or the dauphin.
These were not the only ones who had incurred the wrath of Madame de Châteauroux. Balleroi - governor of the Duc de Chartres and the archbishop of Soissons were also pointed out as objects of her displeasure. The latter had been the one to deliver the message of her disgrace at Metz, while the former was accused of having added to the chorus of voices against Madame de Châteauroux on the king's deathbed. Balleroi was exiled in a curt manner but the same could not be done for the archbishop due to his rank and family. Instead, he, too, was given a lettre-de-cachet and asked to return to his diocese. While he was permitted to return for the wedding of the dauphin (after the death of Marie Anne), the king would eventually block his candidature for a cardinal's hat.
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| Louis XV |
Finally, Marie Anne demanded that the king's confessor be sent away as well. His name was Prusseau and it was he who had urged the king to renounce his mistress on his death bed. Despite it being the customary advice in such situations, Madame de Châteauroux saw it as a declaration of war. The king showed his rather unpleasant streak of playing cat-and-mouse with the cleric. Rather than informing Prusseau of his intentions, the king left him in complete ignorance as to what his fate was to be. The king even sent for another confessor which gave the impression that he would indeed be banished - but in the end, Prusseau was allowed to stay.
It is impossible to say what the fates of these men would have been if things had continued in this manner. Yet, that was not to be. Marie Anne was just enjoying her triumphant return to power when she suddenly became seriously ill. She died on 8 December 1744 and with her, the displeasure of the king for the men who had wronged her.
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