Anne of Austria

Also known as: Anne / queen-mother / the queen / the queen-mother / your majesty · Family: French royal court · Role: queen-mother · First appears: Chapter 16

In chapter 16 at the Palais Royal, Anne of Austria stopped Philip from confronting Buckingham and ordered him to behave as usual, then sent the duke to her. As Monsieur’s mother, she declared, “I am your mother, and she is no more than a stranger to me.” She loved Louis XIV, or rather the regal power and divine legitimacy represented by her eldest son, while remaining interested in Madame as her daughter-in-law.

In chapter 17, Anne told Buckingham that Duc d’Orleans had discovered his secret and ordered him to leave France, announcing his departure that day. When he bade her farewell forever, she passed her arm around him and told him to “look upon me as your mother, and believe that no one shall ever make my son weep.” In chapter 32, she refused Philip’s request to dismiss De Guiche from his household. At Fontainebleau in chapter 35, Maria Theresa told Anne that Louis XIV neglected her for pleasures in which she had no share, and Anne made a sigh that caused her daughter-in-law to withdraw weeping.

By chapter 64, Anne remembered Madame de Chevreuse and the isolation once imposed on her by Cardinal Richelieu, while Madame de Motteville and La Molena were named as the people who had given her good advice. She also had money amassed for her by Mazarin and used the same means toward Monsieur and Louis XIV. To attract young courtiers and secure Madame’s allegiance, she enriched her with presents and property transfers, then announced a lottery in her apartments; explaining the plan to Maria Theresa, she called the lottery her means of attraction, and used its bracelets to win Madame’s support and investigate an important secret.