Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, known as La Grande Mademoiselle, was the only daughter of Gaston d'Orléans with his first wife, Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier. One of the greatest heiresses in history, she died unmarried and childless, leaving her vast fortune to her cousin Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. After a string of proposals from various members of European ruling families, including Charles II of England, Afonso VI of Portugal, and Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy, she eventually fell in love with the courtier Antoine Nompar de Caumont and scandalised the court of France when she asked Louis XIV for permission to marry him, as such a union was viewed as a mésalliance. She is best remembered for her role in the Fronde and her role in bringing the famous composer Jean-Baptiste Lully to the king's court, and her Mémoires.
Portrait by Henri and Charles Beaubrun, 1655
Mademoiselle's father, Gaston d'Orléans after a painting by Anthony van Dyck. Mademoiselle had a tender relationship with her father.
Mademoiselle in 1652 by Gilbert de Seve
A view of Saint-Fargeau where Mademoiselle stayed in her exile
Monsieur Gaston, Duke of Orléans, was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his second wife, Marie de' Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a Fils de France. He later acquired the title Duke of Orléans, by which he was generally known during his adulthood. As the eldest surviving brother of King Louis XIII, he was known at court by the traditional honorific Monsieur.
Portrait of Gaston, Duke of Orléans, 1634
Portrait by Frans Pourbus the Younger, 1611
Portrait c. 1627