Marie-Élisabeth "Isabelle" de Ludres, Marquess of Ludres (1647 – 28 January 1726) was a French noblewoman and

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

, known for being the mistress of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, King of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

between 1675 and 1676.

Early life

Marie-Élisabeth de Ludres was born in 1647 in Ludres,

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

as the daughter of Jean de Ludres and his wife, born Claude des Salles. She was sent to the '' Chapitre des dames nobles de Poussay'' ( Chapter of the Noble Ladies of Poussay), where she was raised as a secular canoness among other daughters of the local

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

Relationship with Charles IV of Lorraine

In 1662, Charles IV, the 58-year-old Duke of Lorraine and Bar (1604–1675) visited the chapter and met the 15-year-old Ludres, promptly deciding to marry her because of her great beauty. He had abandoned his wife, Duchess Nicole (1608–1657), marrying bigamously his mistress, Béatrix de Cusance,

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

ess of Belvoir and Saint-Julien (1614–1663), and was excommunicated for this. By 1662, however, he had also abandoned the baroness and the children they had together, then returned to them when his legal wife died in 1657, only to leave them again for Ludres. Their engagement lasted a year before the duke decided to marry the baroness instead on 20 May 1663. When the new duchess died a few weeks after the marriage on 5 June, Ludres expected the duke to return to her. Instead, he chose Marie-Louise d'Aspremont (1651/1652–1692), a 14-year-old noble girl. Ludres actively opposed their marriage, having the support of the Lorraine

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. Charles threatened to prosecute her for lèse-majesté and married Aspremont.

In the French court

In 1664, Ludres left Poussay for the French

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

, retaining her title of canoness. She was presented to the King

on 6 May of that year in the presence of her parents, her brother, and her ex-fiancé. She was appointed

to the Duchess Henrietta of Orléans (1644–1670), the king's sister-in-law, known at the court as "Madame". Upon Madame's death in 1670, Ludres was sent to serve Queen (consort)

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

(1638–1683). When Duke Philippe I of Orléans remarried to

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Elizabeth Charlotte "Liselotte" of the Palatinate in 1673, known as "Madame Palatine", Ludres was re-appointed to her court. Louis XIV by Robert Nanteuil 1670

Relationship with Louis XIV

Ludres' beauty and her Lorraince accent attracted many

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

s, whom she all resisted. Around

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

1675, during a conflict with her '' maîtresse-en-titre'' (official mistress) Madame de Montespan (1640–1707), the king himself,

(1638–1715) took an interest in her. They started a discreet

affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term Monogamy, monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or ...

, but Montespan became jealous. She started a rumour that Ludres suffered of

scabies Scabies (; also sometimes known as the seven-year itch) is a contagious human skin infestation by the tiny (0.2–0.45 mm) mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei'', variety ''hominis''. The word is from . The most common symptoms are severe itchiness a ...

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

, and all imaginable diseases. The king falsified the allegations by keeping Ludres with him. However, when the king and Montespan made peace, he was forced to at least pretend to break up with Ludres. Montespan continued to mock and criticise Ludres in front of Louis, calling her an ''haillon'' (rag), and imitating her Lorraine accent and her naivety. Still, when she had to leave the court in 1676 to give birth to the king's sixth

illegitimate child Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

, she could not prevent Louis and Ludres from reuniting.

Fall from grace

While the king was away fighting against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, Ludres spread the word about their affair, even saying that she was pregnant by him. The ladies who had the privilege of sitting on a stool in the queen's presence stood up when Ludres arrived. She boasted that she had beaten Madame de Montespan and already saw herself as the new royal

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

. She even wrote a letter to the king, which irritated him as he wanted their relationship to remain secret. He broke off all relations with her. After the king and Madame de Montespan had both returned, one day the court was hearing

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

. The king greeted Ludres, for which Montespan reproached both of them, signaling her rival's final fall.

Later life

In early 1678, Ludres left the service of the

Duchess of Orléans Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and retired to the ''couvent de la Visitation de Sainte-Marie'' in Paris (

Convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

of the Visitation of Holy Mary), which belonged to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. The king was indifferent to her departure, but offered her a generous sum of money, which she refused. She lived for several years in the convent, but had to ask for a

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

from the king to repay her

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

s. She then returned to Lorraine and lived in the Castle of Vaucouleurs. Here, her cook was Fabien Bécu (de Cantigny), who met his second wife, Anne Husson, a chambermaid, there. Their granddaughter, Jeanne Bécu, born in Vaucouleurs in 1743, would go on to become Madame du Barry, mistress of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

, the great-grandson and successor of Ludres' former lover. In 1720, Ludres was created

Marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...

of Ludres by Louis XV. She died in Nancy, Lorraine on 28 January 1726, aged almost 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isabelle De Ludres 1647 births 1726 deaths 1680 crimes French noblewomen French ladies-in-waiting Mistresses of Louis XIV Household of Maria Theresa of Spain