Louis XIV child, by Philippe de Champaigne (copy after). • CC0 PARIS MUSEUMS / CARNAVALET MUSEUM For the people of France, the birth in 1638 of the Dauphin is a miracle. The wait for an heir has been so long:23 years. The parents were over 36, the king's health remained fragile, and Anne had suffered several miscarriages. But the child, Dieudonné, was born, and this birth was for his mother the guarantee against any repudiation. The birth of the future Louis XIV transforms Anne. She seemed frivolous; she is completely occupied with her son. She had recklessly lent her name to soon discovered plots; she thinks only of defending the interests of the future king of France. Anne is an extremely caring and loving mother. She does not move from the Dauphin's apartments, plays with him, brings up her sons – Louis and Philippe – with an uncommon tenderness in a sovereign. Adored by her children, she lives in fear of being separated from them, a threat raised by the king, who claims to want to take charge of their education. A happy mother at last During the turmoil of the Fronde, she redoubled her attention. To escape the hostile crowd, she fled Paris with her sons for Saint-Germain during the night of January 5 to 6, 1649. To guard against acts of rebellion, she allowed the crowd to file past Louis XIV's bed, pretending to sleep, in February 1651. His courage and his coolness are put at the service of the defense of his children. Louis having come of age, the regency ended in September 1651, but Anne, at the request of the king, remained head of the Council. She will be keen to continue to guide her steps, but without being in the front line. In 1659, fearing that the amorous passion of Louis for a niece of Mazarin, Marie Mancini, would cause the negotiations for the peace of the Pyrenees to fail, she succeeded, not without difficulty, in dismissing the young girl after a harsh and frank interview with her son on June 21, 1659. Anne defends against her adored child the reason of State, the glory of the king and the kingdom. Marrying her son was the mission of the regent. On June 9, 1660, Louis XIV married the Infanta Maria Theresa of Austria, who was none other than Anne's niece. “We must hurry to marry this man properly,” recommends a lady of the court. Anne tries to channel the king's repeated amorous impulses for other "Mazarinettes" such as for his sister-in-law Henrietta of England. Louis gives his mother plenty to worry about. He did not marry less on June 9, 1660 with the Infanta Maria Theresa of Austria, niece of Anne. Now queen mother, she is happy. Marrying her son was her mission. She was able to impose on him the renunciation of love and the primacy of reason of state, monarchical duty more than personal happiness. The escapades of a young king However, Louis does not listen to his advice with the same docility as before. While he seeks his entertainment, she would like to see him live as a good Christian, concerned about his salvation. Anne embodies the "old court", rather devout, defender of good manners, while the cohort of young and rambunctious courtiers forms a restless and often impertinent procession behind the sovereign. The amorous escapades of Louis pain his mother, the court of gallantry and his contempt for propriety irritate him. After the performance of the first three acts of Tartuffe , during the sumptuous country party in Versailles called The Pleasures of the Enchanted Island in May 1664, a play by Molière that Louis had found entertaining, she worked, in support of the Compagnie Catholique du Saint-Sacrement, to have it abolished. Also read:The poisons affair:psychosis at the court of Louis XIV Mazarin died on March 9, 1661, watched over by Anne. The same day and the next day, Louis XIV announced that he now intended to govern by himself and not to replace the cardinal. No prime minister, no more ministry. Anne, like the members of the royal family, is excluded from the Council. There is no place for her. She saw it badly, but she had to content herself with swallowing her annoyance. At Easter 1663, the first symptoms of the evil appear which will prevail on January 20, 1666. Louis mourns his mother, then court life resumes its rights. Everyone can then meditate on the fine homage paid to him by Louis XIV. “She was not only a great queen, but she deserved to be put among the greatest kings. » Find out more For my son, for my king. Queen Anne, mother of Louis XIV, P. Alexandre, B. de L'Aulnoît, Pocket, 2010. Priority to Louis, future sovereign The birth, on September 21, 1640, of Philippe, her second and last child, delighted Anne of Austria. Barring the chain death of the little princes, the succession to the throne is now doubly assured. Anne raises Philippe d'Orléans with the same tenderness as Louis, but encourages him to respect his eldest and to give way to him. The queen, who has kept the memory of the humiliations imposed by Marie de Médicis and by Gaston d'Orléans, brother of Louis XIII, intends that Philippe never become a threat to the authority of his brother. Known for his homosexual preferences, Monsieur was nevertheless married, on March 31, 1661 in first marriage, to Henrietta of England who, despite the couple's disunity, gave him five children, only two of whom survived. The king's wish finally granted Between 1632 and 1638, Louis XIII, animated by an ardent faith, multiplied acts of devotion by committing himself, from Toulouse, Abbeville and the sanctuary of Notre-Dame-de-Grâces, in the small Provençal town of Cotignac, to consecrate the kingdom of France to the Virgin Mary if she granted him the grace of having a male heir. For more than 20 years, the royal couple has been waiting for a dolphin. Frequentation of water towns likely to overcome the queen's supposed sterility, such as visits to Marian shrines, prayers and novenas had had no effect. At the beginning of 1638, the long-awaited pregnancy of Anne of Austria was interpreted as the divine response to this wish, which was officially made public by an edict on February 10, 1638. A ceremony in honor of the Virgin was fixed August 15 of each year, feast of the Assumption, and all the bishops of France are asked to commemorate the king's wish. Wish granted with the birth of the future Louis XIV, the following September 5. The act of devotion of Louis XIII adds, at the request of an heir, thanks to the Virgin for having, on November 14, 1636, recaptured the Picardy stronghold of Corbie from the enemy, having consequently stopped the progress of the Spaniards towards Paris and thus having saved France. The most famous artists of the time, from Simon Vouet to Philippe de Champaigne, devoted canvases to the "vow of Louis XIII" which, in the 19 th century again, inspired Ingres.
