Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan
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Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marchioness of Montespan (5 October 1641 – 27 May 1707), better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of Louis XIV of France.
Born into one of the oldest noble families of France, the House of Rochechouart, Madame de Montespan was called by some the true Queen of France during her romantic relationship with Louis XIV due to the pervasiveness of her influence at court during that time.
Her so-called "reign" lasted from around 1667, when she first danced with Louis XIV at a ball hosted by the king's younger brother, Monsieur, at the Louvre, until her alleged involvement in the notorious Affaire des Poisons in the late 1670s to 1680's. Her immediate contemporary was Barbara Villiers.
She is an ancestress of several royal houses in Europe, including those of Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Portugal.
