I Am Louis XIV

Princess Anna of the Medici was of course delighted to see Madame Aubigne among the teachers in charge of lower-grade girls. She even couldn't help but wave her hand gently to her lady-in-waiting, and Madame Aubigne winked at her. eyes, and continued to sit upright - the Duchess of Orleans knew that the king valued this girls' school, or example, so she imitated some girls' schools (there were already some small girls' schools at that time, mainly convents and a certain poor lady) (run in one's own residence, usually with only a few students), a unified clothing style is prescribed for students and teachers, and it is also to prevent outsiders from sneaking into the school and causing accidents.

Lower grade students wear white linen or cotton dresses, upper grade students wear blue dresses, and teachers all wear black dresses. Some upper grade students are not used to it, but this is the first time they see it. With so many people of the same age, and similar identities - even if they were not so similar, each other's father and brother must be future ministers whose names and family situations could be remembered by the king - so within a few days, they became familiar and intimate.

Of course, the most popular ones are the eldest princess and the eldest princess. Unexpectedly, the one who has the most friends is not the eldest princess, but the eldest princess. This is normal. The eldest princess has already decided on Sweden. With King Carl XI as her husband, the princess's owners had always said that she would become the Queen of Spain. However, as Carlos II signed a marriage contract with the eldest daughter of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the princess could not help but be coveted again.

Although in most cases, the princess is most likely to conclude a marriage contract with a well-matched family, that is, a political marriage, but if it is the French nobles - it is not impossible. The Duke of Orleans and the king's brother Philip are highly valued by the king. and trust, if you can start from the inexperienced princess, and then sway the Duke of Orleans, and finally obtain the king's approval, then the dowry from the princess alone will be a coveted income.

The eldest son of Prince Conti is the last possible candidate. He is twelve years old this year, about the same age as the princess, and he has inherited his mother's beauty. His father and Louis XIV can also be considered half-brothers-in-law, and he is also the king of Poland. The younger brother of King Derwig I has great hope of success. Prince Conti's second daughter is also eleven years old. This time she was sent to St. Louis Girls' School by her father, which also means to add fuel to the flames.

In fact, whether they are the eldest princess or the eldest princess - they are here not so much to study, but to give their father and uncle, the French King Louis XIV, a place to let the nobles put aside their unhappiness. Due scruples also allow the entire society to view female educators and educated persons more tolerantly.

After all, in this era, there are still men who believe that women, like children, are born with brains that are not sufficiently developed. When it comes to children, their opinions are severe punishments. When it comes to women, they think they should be under the protection of men. Spend your life calmly and comfortably, without spending any energy on anything except taking care of your family. Even for a smart lady like Madame Lafayette, the gentlemen in the court still think that her wisdom is charming. Add-ons, to put it simply, exist to gain men's favor rather than their respect.

Louis couldn't say anything about this, lest anyone think he was crazy. He could only make more plans for his children, and open a less narrow door for future women. In the future, could this door be opened enough for The extent to which they go in and out with their heads held high depends on their own determination and courage.

Therefore, the princess, who has been taught by important ministers like Colbert, can almost see through these peers at a glance. Even if they are trying to cheat, how can these children compete with the queen mother and the noble daughter beside the queen? Compared to them? ! So the princess complained a few words to the Duke of Orleans. If she was going to reach a marriage contract without any emotion at all, why didn't she marry an archduke or a king? At least the latter would bring her a crown.

"This is what I want to complain about." The Duke of Orleans murmured: "Brother, how can you let Colbert or the Marquis of Lois teach you? Damn it, you are not a prince, look at what they turned you into What's it like?"

"I think this is very good," the princess thought of some of her classmates. Some fruits were ripe prematurely, and some fruits were still very green. What they expected was as described by the poets, as long as they had beauty and chastity, She could welcome a noble love. She leaned on the Duke of Orleans' knees, just like any daughter who deeply loves her father, full of trust: "Honor, status and power are rarer than love. Maybe I will Looking forward to love, but that will be a long time later. Moreover," she raised her head and looked at her father: "The eldest princess's marriage is also more happy than people imagine. Father, as the eldest princess said to me, the more precious it is. The more you get, the harder you have to strive for it. Even if it is very difficult, standing there and feeling sorry for yourself will only attract the ridicule and contempt of others."

The Duke of Orleans reached out and touched his daughter's long, thick hair. His hair was curly when he was a child, but it became straight when he grew up. The prince's hair was always in small curls, and the princess's hair was not inherited. Seeing that he and Henrietta were exactly the same as the king, it was no wonder that some people questioned the identity of the eldest princess - but the Duke of Orleans knew that the prince brother and Henrietta would never do such a thing.

Henrietta knew very early that the king would not allow anyone to ruin the relationship between him and his brother. As for the king, he had more concerns to deal with every day than women. As a royal secret agent, The leader, the Duke of Orleans, knows this all too well.

"I have seen that boy," the Duke of Orleans said suddenly. The eldest princess had to pause for a moment before he could guess that the boy his father was talking about was the eldest son of Prince Conti and one of her husband candidates: "Based on his appearance alone. Well, he's not too bad, after all, he's a Bourbon and her mother is a Mancini, but he," he said with a wandering eye, "is hardly praiseworthy personally."

"That one is only thirteen years old... or fourteen years old?" The princess was a little surprised when she heard what the Duke of Orleans meant.

"In his own words," replied the Duke of Orleans, "he is gifted."

"Uh." The princess said, "So let's forget it."

"But I really don't want you to leave France." said the Duke of Orleans in frustration.

"Then I have no choice but to enter the monastery. Father, I have a special status, and you will give me a large dowry. No matter who I marry, it will be a problem." The princess said coldly.

"You are a cruel man." said the Duke of Orleans. "The king wants to keep the eldest princess until she is twenty..."

"Don't," the eldest princess continued to ruthlessly finish the attack: "The eldest princess mentioned this matter to me. She asked me to tell you, please advise your majesty, don't do such stupid things." She took a deep breath. She stood up and held her father's face: "The king has done a good job before, and I hope you can do the same. Instead of thinking about the problem eight years later, you should try to solve my current problem." She said seriously : "Find me a husband, a good husband, a husband who is good for France and good for me, so that those turbulent hearts can calm down."

She looked at the face of the Duke of Orleans: "What do you want to say?"

"There is one," said the Duke of Orleans slowly.

"one?"

"The candidate for your husband." said the Duke of Orleans. "But the problem is that the portrait their envoys brought is not a prince, but a princess."

——————

The first thing to explain is that the kings of this era were not so arrogant as to ignore ethics. Their messengers brought the portrait of the princess, not to discuss marriage with the princess. Their prey was still a year away. The adult young Louis, Dauphin of France.

Speaking of which, the marriage of the crown prince Louis has long been mentioned in the memos of kings of various countries, especially after France's successive great victories in Flanders and the Netherlands. Of course, Louis is a country that is likely to become an enemy like Denmark. He won't consider it. After all, his eldest princess will be the Queen of Sweden in the future, and Sweden and Denmark will definitely go to war over Norway and even more places in the future. Louis is not cold enough to ignore his daughter's position, and if he marries Denmark, then Karl XI and the Swedish nobles will definitely doubt France's sincerity in forming an alliance with him, and France will lose such an important ally.

Besides, what can Denmark give France? If the Netherlands were still there, Louis would have to consider relying on Denmark to contain the development of the Netherlands, but now the Netherlands is only a large province of France, and France wants nothing from Denmark.

Not to mention, the marriage of the crown prince Louis may be the most important bargaining chip for the French when it comes to marriage.

For this reason, no noble ladies below the duke level were available. The number of wives for young Louis was greatly reduced. There were not many princesses of his age. Some kings had not even given birth to daughters yet. Even if they had some in the future, After having a daughter, let alone the age difference between husband and wife being more than ten years, does he want little Louis to wait until he is thirty to get married? At that time, some people will definitely suspect that little Louis has problems with his male ability, and may cause a lot of unnecessary troubles. For example, the son of the Duke of Orleans will be of marriageable age more than ten years later. Louis will not doubt Philip, but he is afraid Someone with good intentions will make trouble out of it.

After this, there were only two candidates who could be chosen. One was the youngest daughter of Grand Duke Frederick of Brandenburg-Prussia, and the other was the eldest daughter of King Pedro II of Portugal.

Both have shortcomings. In the war between France and the Netherlands, Frederick, the Archduke of Brandenburg, clearly stood on the side of Habsburg. At the same time, he was also the former Prince of Orange and now William III. William III, the uncle of the Archduke of Utrecht in name only, was released from the Tower of London and returned to the Netherlands after the dust settled. You can imagine how embarrassed he was at that time. Most Dutch people believed that he would bring the Dutch to the throne. Betrayed to the British in exchange for Utrecht, the honor of his ancestors was covered in the dust of shame, but William III was worthy of being a descendant of Orange. He persevered tenaciously and brought Utrecht to the throne. While Lechi managed things in an orderly manner, he also did not forget to recruit those who were willing to believe and help him. Frederick, the Grand Duke of Brandenburg, gave him a lot of help in this regard.

Such behavior inevitably brought some trouble to the French Governor of the Netherlands, Viscount Turenne, but after all, he was also the nephew of Maurice Orange, and also had the blood of the Orange family. He had great military exploits and also obtained a part of the Netherlands. People support.

Louis did not think about getting rid of William III. He also needed William III to be a buffer between Britain and France in the Netherlands, but this did not mean that he did not care about the behavior of the Grand Duke of Brandenburg at all.

Moreover, Hohenzollern was once a vassal of Habsburg, and Prussia was a vassal of Poland. It was on an equal footing with Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire. Ludwig I of Poland even once served as a vassal of his subordinates. Louis XIV was not willing to choose such a queen for the future King of France.

As for King Pedro II of Portugal, there are also problems.

The Portuguese royal family began in Burgundy. The son of Henry of Burgundy married the illegitimate daughter of the king of Castile (part of Spain before it was incorporated) as his wife. He obtained Portugal as an earldom and became independent in 1139. But later, the Habsburgs obtained Portugal through marriage in 1580, but it was recaptured by Joao IV in 1640. Who was this Joao IV? He was the illegitimate son of the last Portuguese king of the Burgundian dynasty.

Regardless of this, the current Pedro II is similar to the former British King Henry VIII, and is even more feared than Henry VIII, because Henry VIII's brother did encounter misfortune, but Pedro II His brother Shi was indeed under house arrest - he was just a regent now. Although he couldn't wait to marry his former sister-in-law, the princess Isabella who was born in 1969 was really...an embarrassing status.

Even though the current Queen of Portugal, the daughter of the Duke of Savoy, has broken off her engagement due to her ex-husband Alfonso VI's incompetence, the princess is still deliberately ignored. It is said that she was born in a remote monastery instead of the royal palace. The queen is very fond of her. She was very indifferent, and the regent ignored her. Louis really doubted whether this was a Portuguese conspiracy? But judging from the portrait sent by the envoy, the regent is very sincere - Louis means that the portrait is extremely beautified and does not even look like a four-year-old girl - at least the one in the portrait The children should be about the same age as the princess.

In addition to this, the Duke of Savoy even came to Paris in person to speak for his granddaughter. The territory of Savoy respectively occupies part of France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Apennine Peninsula. Although it is small, it is very important. Although this Savoy territory The title of the Duke of Voy comes from the Holy Roman Empire, but from his posture and words, the Duke is almost willing to promise to sign a secret contract with France.

In this way, the king's balance had to tilt towards Princess Isabella.