Françoise de Rochechouard de Mortemart, called Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente, was born in Lussac-les-Châteaux on 5 October 1640. She was the daughter of Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquis of Mortemart, and Diane de Grandseigne.
She was presented at Court in 1658.
In February 1663, she married Louis-Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin, marquis de Montespan. They had two children:
She met Louis XIV during the autumn of 1666 and became his mistress in May 1667. Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan had seven children, of whom six where legitimized (the documents only mention their father, as their mother was married and her husband, Pardaillan de Gondrin, could have claimed the children as his):
After his affair with Angélique de Fontanges 1678, Louis XIV began to neglect Madame de Montespan. Her reputation was hurt by the Affaire des Poisons (1680) and she slowly fell in disgrace. She finally left Versailles for Paris in 1691.
She died in 1707 while taking the waters in Bourbon-l'Archambault. She was buried in the Cordeliers Chapel, in Poitiers.
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R > Rochechouart | D > de Montespan > Françoise (Rochechouart) de Montespan
Categories: House of Rochechouart | House of Pardaillan de Gondrin | Royal Mistresses