coucher were conducted as carefully as they had been in the days of Louis Quatorze. The Queen would be helped to her bed first, and the King’s coucher would take place in his own bedroom. When he was installed in his bed and those privileged noblemen who had assisted at the coucher had been dismissed, the King would make his way across the Galerie des Glaces to the Queen’s bedroom, accompanied only by his valet de chambre .
His sword would be set beside the Queen’s bed, and the Queen’s lady-in-waiting would draw the curtains about the bed, shutting her in with her husband, before she retired.
In the morning the King must leave the Queen’s bed and return to the great state bed in the Louis Quatorze bedroom for the ceremonial lever . This was an occasion when rivalry ran high for the privilege of handing him his garments which were passed from hand to hand – in order of the status of those present – until they reached the King himself.
It was a delightful existence. The King and Queen were never seen without each other those days. The Queen rode out hunting with him, and sat beside him when they picnicked in the woods all through the summer. The idyll went on into the winter when sledging parties took the place of picnics. The people gathered to see the King and Queen, gliding over the ice in a sledge made to look like a great sea-shell decorated with Cupids, their arms about each other – a charming enough pair of lovers to delight Gallic eyes.
‘Good days are coming,’ the people told each other. ‘Give him a little time to be young and in love, let him prolong his honeymoon a little longer; then it will be for him to cast off his mercenary ministers and govern us himself. He is good and kind, and he will understand our sufferings. Long live our little Louis!’
Louis was not aware of the people; he was only conscious of the charms of his Marie and the delights of requited love.
Marie’s pleasure was complete when her father came to Fontainebleau for, gay as he had outwardly been, she had always before been conscious of the cloud over his happiness. He would constantly yearn for the throne he had lost. But now, he assured her, nothing on Earth could give him greater joy than to see her the beloved wife of the King.
He and her mother stayed with Marie for three days at Fontainebleau. Even Catherine was contented. There need no longer be the depressing business of fighting poverty. Were they not father- and mother-in-law to the greatest King in Europe? The splendour of the French Court dazzled them; and to see Marie in the centre of it – not only Queen of France but so loved by the King – made them feel as though they were dreaming and so much sudden good fortune could not possibly be theirs.
Louis was gracious to them; artlessly he seemed to thank them for having produced one so perfect as his Queen. Instead of the Château de Saint-Germain they were to have the Château de Chambord which he was having refurnished and made ready for them. Meanwhile they would take up their residence at the Château de Bourron.
Before he left for Bourron, Stanislas and Catherine embraced their daughter with great fervour.
‘Do not forget,’ Stanislas said, ‘that it is the Duc de Bourbon who rules France. In no way antagonise him. Remember too all that you owe to Madame de Prie.’
‘I can never forget it,’ murmured Marie.
‘They are your friends; the King loves you. There is only one thing I need to make my contentment complete. That is a Dauphin for France.’
And Marie, as astonished by her sudden good fortune as her parents were, had no doubt that, as so much had been granted her, this would not be denied.
Chapter IV
MADAME DE PRIE
AND THE DUC DE BOURBON
I t was during the winter that Louis first took Marie to Marly, that delightful château which Louis XIV had built between Versailles and Saint Germain.
Marie was delighted with Marly, perhaps because it was so beautiful, set among the
His sword would be set beside the Queen’s bed, and the Queen’s lady-in-waiting would draw the curtains about the bed, shutting her in with her husband, before she retired.
In the morning the King must leave the Queen’s bed and return to the great state bed in the Louis Quatorze bedroom for the ceremonial lever . This was an occasion when rivalry ran high for the privilege of handing him his garments which were passed from hand to hand – in order of the status of those present – until they reached the King himself.
It was a delightful existence. The King and Queen were never seen without each other those days. The Queen rode out hunting with him, and sat beside him when they picnicked in the woods all through the summer. The idyll went on into the winter when sledging parties took the place of picnics. The people gathered to see the King and Queen, gliding over the ice in a sledge made to look like a great sea-shell decorated with Cupids, their arms about each other – a charming enough pair of lovers to delight Gallic eyes.
‘Good days are coming,’ the people told each other. ‘Give him a little time to be young and in love, let him prolong his honeymoon a little longer; then it will be for him to cast off his mercenary ministers and govern us himself. He is good and kind, and he will understand our sufferings. Long live our little Louis!’
Louis was not aware of the people; he was only conscious of the charms of his Marie and the delights of requited love.
Marie’s pleasure was complete when her father came to Fontainebleau for, gay as he had outwardly been, she had always before been conscious of the cloud over his happiness. He would constantly yearn for the throne he had lost. But now, he assured her, nothing on Earth could give him greater joy than to see her the beloved wife of the King.
He and her mother stayed with Marie for three days at Fontainebleau. Even Catherine was contented. There need no longer be the depressing business of fighting poverty. Were they not father- and mother-in-law to the greatest King in Europe? The splendour of the French Court dazzled them; and to see Marie in the centre of it – not only Queen of France but so loved by the King – made them feel as though they were dreaming and so much sudden good fortune could not possibly be theirs.
Louis was gracious to them; artlessly he seemed to thank them for having produced one so perfect as his Queen. Instead of the Château de Saint-Germain they were to have the Château de Chambord which he was having refurnished and made ready for them. Meanwhile they would take up their residence at the Château de Bourron.
Before he left for Bourron, Stanislas and Catherine embraced their daughter with great fervour.
‘Do not forget,’ Stanislas said, ‘that it is the Duc de Bourbon who rules France. In no way antagonise him. Remember too all that you owe to Madame de Prie.’
‘I can never forget it,’ murmured Marie.
‘They are your friends; the King loves you. There is only one thing I need to make my contentment complete. That is a Dauphin for France.’
And Marie, as astonished by her sudden good fortune as her parents were, had no doubt that, as so much had been granted her, this would not be denied.
Chapter IV
MADAME DE PRIE
AND THE DUC DE BOURBON
I t was during the winter that Louis first took Marie to Marly, that delightful château which Louis XIV had built between Versailles and Saint Germain.
Marie was delighted with Marly, perhaps because it was so beautiful, set among the
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