Personal Life
Having been married in 1660, Louis and Maria Theresa of Spain had six children. However, only one child, the eldest, survived to adulthood: Louis, le Grand Dauphin, known as Monseigneur. Maria Theresa died in 1683, whereupon Louis remarked that she had caused him unease on no other occasion.
Despite evidence of affection early on in their marriage, Louis did not remain faithful to Maria Theresa for long. He took a series of mistresses, both official and unofficial, among them Mademoiselle de La Vallière, Madame de Montespan, and Mademoiselle de Fontanges. Through these liaisons, he produced numerous illegitimate children, most of whom he married to members of cadet branches of the royal family.
Louis proved more faithful to his second wife, Madame de Maintenon. It is believed that they were married secretly on or around 10 October 1683 at Versailles. This marriage, though never announced or publicly discussed, was an open secret and lasted until his death.
Read more about this topic: Louis XIV Of France
Famous quotes containing the words personal and/or life:
“Oh, what a catastrophe for man when he cut himself off from the rhythm of the year, from his unison with the sun and the earth. Oh, what a catastrophe, what a maiming of love when it was a personal, merely personal feeling, taken away from the rising and the setting of the sun, and cut off from the magic connection of the solstice and the equinox!”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“In time, after a dozen years of centering their lives around the games boys play with one another, the boys’ bodies change and that changes everything else. But the memories are not erased of that safest time in the lives of men, when their prime concern was playing games with guys who just wanted to be their friendly competitors. Life never again gets so simple.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)