Unruly Facts About Marguerite d’Orléans, The Minx Of France
Marguerite d’Orléans was a pot stirrer like no other. Her risqué rebellions shocked her friends and family—which is saying something, considering she was married to a bona fide Medici.
But when you tally up all Marguerite’s uber petty vengeances, brash escape plans, and constant need for attention, this little-known femme fatale makes other historical bad girls look like innocent saints.
1. She Was A Spoiled Child
From the moment she was born in July 1645, there wasn’t much Marguerite Louise d’Orléans didn’t have. Her father, Gaston, the Duke of Orléans, was the brother of the King of France, and her whole childhood was full of luxury unlike anything we could ever imagine. But there was a twist. For all that Marguerite’s young life should have been a dream, scandal already stained her every move.
2. She Was A Disgrace
Marguerite’s father Gaston was one of the most scandalous figures in the realm. Indeed, he had insisted on marrying her mother, Marguerite of Lorraine, despite two big reasons not to: Namely, France and Lorraine were sworn enemies at the time, and his brother King Louis XIII banned him from doing it. Surprise! Gaston tied the knot anyway, and got himself exiled from court.
So when our little Marguerite came along, she wasn’t so much a bundle of joy as hard evidence of her father’s sins. And that wasn’t all.
3. Her Father Was A Villain
For all the infamy of her birth, Marguerite d’Orléans had much worse problems. Her father didn’t just rebel in the romance department—he had also tried to depose his brother twice before she was even born. After all this, Marguerite’s family name was utter mud in the French court while she was growing up, and no amount of her ancestral lands or money were going to help matters. Luckily, Marguerite had a secret weapon.
4. She Had A Scandalous BFF
Marguerite’s elder half-sister was none other than the formidable “La Grande Mademoiselle” Anne Marie, whose massive wealth and exploits at court were legendary.
Marguerite and Anne Marie got along famously, with the older girl carting the young ingenue around with her to all manner of court functions and giving her advice on how to get in with the “in” crowd—which she very much needed.
Unfortunately for poor Marguerite, this advice didn’t help her avoid a complete court disaster.
