Children
at Last
It was not until
September 1638 that Anne finally gave birth to a Dauphin. Louis, later to be
the fourteenth king of France of that name, was born on 5th
September 1638. Anne & her husband had not had marital relations since her
miscarriage in 1630, but allegedly due to inclement weather in December 1637
the king found himself at the Louvre, where only the Queen’s apartments were
ready for habitation. Louis had planned to spend the night at St Maur, eight
miles away, where his bed & furnishings awaited him. Louis was persuaded to
spend the night with Anne & nine months later the longed-for heir was born.
Anne was
passionately devoted to Louis Dieudonné (as he was Christened), she would play with him, wheel him in
his carriage and spent most of her time with him. And at the age of 39 Anne was
finally free of the fear of being returned to Spain for failing to provide an
heir to the throne. Gaston d’Orleans, on the other hand, was stunned to realise
that his position as heir to the throne had been taken by another.
Anne poured all
her pent-up love into her first-born. Philippe, born on the 21st
September 1640, always took second place in her heart. She often dressed
Philippe as a girl, attempting to subvert the potential threat to Louis’
position, as Gaston had threatened his fathers. Even when Philippe was sick
Anne failed to visit him.
The
Cinq-Mars Conspiracy
By summer 1639 Louis had a new
favourite, introduced into his entourage by Cardinal Richelieu. The Marquis de
Cinq-Mars was a beautiful young man, who quickly learnt that easiest way to get
what he wanted was to deny the king his companionship. Louis made him Grand
Ecuyer de France, paying off the current holder of this grand position at
court. Eventually Cinq-Mars became so puffed up in his own conceit that he
became embroiled in plots against Richelieu. To the king’s dismay he also had a
mistress, Marion de Lorme.
In June 1640 France attacked Arras in
the Spanish Netherlands & a siege of the town commenced. In turn the
besiegers were surrounded by a Spanish army. Cinq Mars persuaded Louis to allow
him to lead a contingent of 1200 nobly born soldiers to the relief of the besieged
French army. The relieving force arrived in the middle of a battle, which the
French won. Arras surrendered to the French on 9th August.
While the celebrations over the fall of
Arras were in full force, Louis visited his son & wife at the palace at St
Germain en Laye, in the company of Cinq-Mars. The Dauphin screamed at the sight
of his father. Angered Louis wrote to Richelieu suggesting that the child be
removed from his mother. However a few days later the king’s wrath was assuaged
by the sight of his heir kneeling before him & begging forgiveness.
Cinq-Mars was by now working towards the
downfall of Richelieu, his first patron. He joined the revolt of the Comte de
Soissons in 1641, but was forgiven by Louis. Cinq-Mars began voicing the often heard
view that Richelieu was keeping France involved in what became known as the
Thirty Years War solely to retain power. He suggested to Louis that he should
seek terms with the Spanish, through one of Cinq-Mars friends & may even
have proposed Richelieu’s assassination.
By 1642 Cinq-Mars was again involved in
a rebellion, even making an agreement with the king of Spain & Gaston, who
was back at his old tricks. Anne apparently was shown the agreement. The
agreement was signed by Philip IV on 13th March, as Louis decided to
join his army besieging Perpignan, near the French-Spanish border. Cinq-Mars
intended to kill Richelieu, as he travelled in the king’s wake, at Lyons. He
failed to do so as his co-conspirator
Bouillon the Duke of Sedan, was not there, as he was in charge of the
French army in Italy. Richelieu received a copy of the agreement, between Gaston
& Philip IV, in mid-June. He may have been sent a copy by Anne, who was
again being threatened with the loss of her children. She had been desperately
bombarding Richelieu with letters on the subject since April.
On receipt of the agreement Louis immediately ordered Bouillon’s
arrest & later in the day that of Cinq-Mars. As ever Gaston sold out his
co-conspirators, informing his brother of all he knew of the plot. Gaston was
pardoned but condemned to live as a private citizen, while Cinq-Mars & de
Thou (another member of the conspiracy) were tried in September. Both were
executed. Bouillon was freed in return for the cession of Sedan to France.
The
Regency
Richelieu died on
the 4th December 1642 & his royal master lived a bare six months
longer, dying on 14th May 1643, thirty years to the day after his
ascension to the throne. The last years of both men had been plagued with
illness. Louis was only 42 when he died; worn out by the travails of his reign
& the numerous illnesses he had suffered.
Louis had
arranged for Anne to be regent in name only. But with the help of Cardinal
Mazarin, formerly in the Papal service & latterly working for France under
Richelieu, the king’s will was overturned. Anne now ruled, with the
support & advice of Mazarin, in the name of her son Louis XIV.
The
Fronde
 |
| Cardinal Mazarin |
Like Richelieu,
Mazarin was not liked by the French. The continual need to raise money, to pay
for the war against the Hapsburg encirclement of France, raised grievances to
dangerous levels. In1648 the discontent in Paris erupted into open violence.
The magistrates were affronted when Mazarin levied a tax against them in May
1648; while Parlement was outraged by Mazarin’s attempts to undermine its
authority. In August Mazarin, strengthened by French victories abroad, had the
leaders of the Paris Parlement arrested. Parisians barricaded the streets,
while the nobles called for a meeting of the États Generals. With no troops to
put down the insurrection Mazarin, Anne & the court left Paris.
On 24th
October 1648 the Treaty of Westphalia was signed, ending the Thirty Years War.
The return of the French armies, from their victories abroad, meant that
Mazarin was able to have Paris besieged. The peace of Rueil was signed in March
1649, the Parisians having refused to ask for aid from Spain, as suggested by
disaffected members of the nobility.
Since the Peace
of Rueil the troublemakers of the previous reign - Prince de Condé, Gaston d’Orleans,
the Duke de Bouillon & Madame de Chevreuse amongst others - had been
intriguing against Mazarin, now Anne’s closest adviser. The second stage of the
Fronde erupted in January 1650 when Mazarin, having come to terms with several
of the plotters including Madame de Chevreuse, had Condé & two other
leaders of the opposition arrested. The leader of the Fronde of the
Nobles was led by the great French commander Turenne.
Turenne planned
to rescue Condé using a Spanish army, but the countryside rose up against the
invaders & there were sufficient other capable generals in the Royal forces
to see off the attack. The Spanish then withdrew & Turenne was left with a
motley crew. There were minor clashes throughout 1650 & 1651, until in
December Turenne knelt before the king and was pardoned.
Mazarin had
retired into exile in April 1651 but returned to France in December 1651 at the
head of an army. The Fronde nobles again called on the might of Spain and now
Turenne & Condé were pitted against each other. After various minor
engagements throughout the first half of 1652 a battle was engaged outside the
gates of Paris in July. The royal forces were winning the battle but Gaston’s
daughter persuaded the guards to open the gates of the city and the Fronde army
took control of the city, proclaiming Gaston Lieutenant General of France. Once
again Mazarin went into exile.
The Parisians
allowed Louis XIV to return to his capital on 21st October 1652.
Mazarin returned from exile without opposition in 1653. However Condé was now
fighting for the Spanish and it took until 6th November 1659 before
peace was finally signed between the two countries. Mazarin’s
death in March 1661 meant that Louis was finally able to govern France himself. His experiences as a child convinced him of the need for power to be held only by the king - himself.
Louis & Anne
had always been close & Louis would visit his mother at least once a day or
write to her if he were on campaign. During the Regency Anne had relied heavily
on Mazarin’s advice & there were rumours that the pair were lovers. Indeed
Anne’s daughter-in-law Elizabeth-Charlotte, Philippe’s second wife, claimed
that Anne had secretly married Mazarin. Anne died in retirement on 20th
January 1666, after a two year battle with breast cancer, at the convent of Val
de Grâce.
Bibliography
Richelieu and His Age –
Power Politics and the Cardinal’s Death – Carl J Burckhardt, 1971 George Allen
& Unwin
Louis XIV – Vincent
Cronin, 1965 The Reprint Society Ltd
Cardinal Richelieu and
the Making of France – Anthony Levi, 2000 Constable
France in the Age of
Louis XIII & Richelieu – Victor L Tapié, 1988 Cambridge University Press
Richelieu and the
French Monarchy – CV Wedgewood, 1949 Hodder & Stoughton
Louis XIV – John B
Wolf, 1970 Panther
http://en.wikipedia.org
I learn such a lot from this blog, thank you
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