Madame de Montespan

Madame de Montespan was witty, charming, and extravagant. She had a demanding nature and expensive tastes, similar to the Palace of Versailles. Her apartments were filled with pets and flowers, she had a private gallery, and received costly jewels that she inspected closely for quality. Known as Quanto due to her spending habits, she gained weight in her late thirties from food love and multiple pregnancies.

Madame de Montespan was a French noblewoman and the most famous royal mistress of King Louis XIV. Born into the House of Rochechouart, she married Marquis de Montespan in 1663 and became a maid-of-honor to Princess Henrietta. Her beauty, wit, and charm led her to become Louis XIV's lover from the late 1660s until the late 1670s. She had seven children with him, six of whom were legitimized but only four survived infancy. Madame de Montespan's alleged involvement in the Affair of Poisons damaged her reputation and resulted in her fall from royal favor. In 1691, she retired to a convent but left after twelve years when she moved to Château d'Oiron where she devoted herself to charity and penance until her death at age 66.