Everything about Olympia Mancini totally explained
Olympia Mancini, in France
Olympe Mancini (
July 111638 —
9 October1708) was the second of five famous Mancini sisters, nieces of
Cardinal Mazarin; she was also the mother of the famous general
Prince Eugene of Savoy.
Youth
Olympia Mancini grew up in Rome. Her father was baron Michele Lorenzo Mancini. After his death in 1650, her mother,
Geronima, brought her daughters from Rome to Paris in hopes of using Cardinal Mazarin's influence to gain them advantageous marriages.
The other Mancini sisters were:
- Laura Mancini (1636 - 1657), the eldest, who married Louis II de Bourbon-Vendôme, the duc de Vendôme, heir to Henri IV's legitimized natural son.
- Marie Mancini (1639 - 1715), the third sister, was considered the least beautiful of the sisters but she snagged the biggest prize of all: Louis XIV. He was so besotted with her that he wanted to marry her. In the end he was made to give her up and she married Prince Lorenzo Colonna who remarked that he was surprised to find her a virgin as one doesn't expect to find 'innocence among the loves of kings'. (from Antonia Fraser's book Love and Louis XIV)
- Hortense Mancini (1646 - 1699), the beauty of the family, escaped her abusive husband, Armand-Charles de la Porte, duc de La Meilleraye, and went to London, where Charles II was her lover.
- Marie Anne Mancini (1649 - 1714) married Maurice Godefroy de la Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon, a nephew of Turenne.
The Mancinis were not the only female family members that Cardinal Mazarin brought to the French court. The others were Olympia's first cousins, daughters of Mazarin's eldest sister. The elder,
Laura Martinozzi, married
Alfonso IV d'Este, duke of Modena and was the mother of
Mary of Modena, second wife of
James II of England. The younger,
Anne Marie Martinozzi, married
Armand, Prince de Conti. Altogether, the seven girls were referred to as the
Mazarinettes.
The Mancini also had three brothers:
Paul,
Philippe, and
Alphonse.
Marriage
Olympia was married on
February 21 1657 to Prince
Eugène-Maurice of Savoy-Carignano (1633-1673), by whom she'd eight children, amongst whom was the famous soldier
Prince Eugene of Savoy. At court, the Comte de Soissons was addressed as
Monsieur le Comte. As his wife, Olympia was referred to at court as
Madame la Comtesse.
Intrigues
Olympia was an intriguer of the first order. It is possible that prior to her marriage, she was briefly the mistress of
Louis XIV. After her marriage, she allied herself with Louis' new mistress, his sister-in-law,
Henriette-Anne, duchesse d'Orléans, who was known at court as
Madame. When Henriette and Louis sought to hide their relationship from others, Olympia is said to have introduced one of Henriette's ladies-in-waiting,
Louise de La Vallière, to the King in order that he might claim that his attendance upon Henriette and her ladies was based on his affection for Louise and not Henriette. She turned against Louise, however, after the King fell in love with her at the expense of Henrietta Anne.
The Affaire des Poisons
Olympia was accused in 1679 in the
Affaire des Poisons of having plotted with
La Voisin to poison
Louise de La Vallière. She was even said to have threatened the King himself with the words,
"come back to me, or you'll be sorry". In addition, she was suspected of poisoning her own husband, and
Queen Maria Luisa of Spain, the daughter of Henriette-Anne and niece of Louis XIV.
Later life
On
January 23 1680, she was asked to leave the court; she moved to
Brussels, claiming her innocence. Now and then she traveled to Spain and England with her two sisters
Marie and
Hortense. In Brussels she supported musicians
Pietro Antonio Fiocco and
Henry Desmarest. She died in Brussels
october 9 1708.
Further Information
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