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Francoise Athenais de Rochechouart,
Marchioness of Montespan (1641-1707) 
was the
mistress of
Louis XIV
and she bore him 7 children who were legitimized in 1673.

  Francoise, Marquise de Montespan, was born in Tonnay - Charente,
daughter of the Duc de Mortemart.
In 1663 she married the Marquis of Montespan and joined the household of
Queen Maria-Theresa as lady-in-waiting.

She became the King's Mistress c.1667 and after her marriage was annulled in 1674, she was given official recognition for her position as official mistress of the King.

She bore him seven children and her friend,
Mme de Maintenon,
started to teach two of the King's  sons in 1669.

Eventually Mme de Montespan  was supplanted by Mlle de Fontanges
and then by Mme de Maintenon.
After the Queen's death in 1683, Louis XIV secretely married Mme de Maintenon who remained with him until his death in 1715.

In 1687,  Mme de Montespan left the Court and retired to the Convent of St-Joseph in Paris, where she eventually became the Superior.
  She died in 1707.


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"We were there! Quebec, American, Canadian, Amerindian, Acadian and European Roots, a History and Genealogy of People living in the 17th century"
by Danielle Duval LeMyre
@Copyright 2002
Information for this article was taken in part from
Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia by
David Crystal (1994)
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