Born into bougie-ness via one of the oldest noble families in France, Francois-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart (say that three times fast) felt right at home at court. Known for having a great sense of humor and voluptuous curves to boot, it’s no surprise she caught the eye of one of the biggest f-boys in history.  

But Franny didn’t always have her eyes set on Louis XIV and was actually married with a kid before she stole the role of his official mistress. Learn what led her to Louis’ bed, besides the not-so-secret entrance from the apartment he gave her, and mix up a French Martini to help set the scene. Combine an ounce and a half of raspberry vodka, half an ounce of Shaul, two ounces of cranberry juice, and then half an ounce of blackberry liqueur. A votre sante!  

In this episode, you’ll also hear:

Must-listen moments: 

[00:06:21] Her dad was a Duke and her mom was a lady in waiting to the current Queen Anne of Austria, so our girl knew life at court from a pretty young age.

[00:32:28] His brother-in-law Charles the Second of England…they both had a shitload of mistresses and Louis the 14th was called the Sun King during his reign, so he was fairly popular. And the same with Charles II, he brought Christmas back to England, so he was popular. 

[00:54:06] It was over the top of the palace…this was a huge passion project for Louis and subsequently a passion project for Madame de Montespan. They both wanted to expand Versailles and she actually even designed one of the fountains up there. 

Find out more about Madame de Montespan in Part 2!

Some sources we used:

https://partylike1660.com/francoise-athenais-de-rochechouart-de-mortemart-marquise-de-montespan/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgdmDURB--0&t=185s

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