ANNE OF AUSTRIA, THE SUN KING'S MYSTERIOUS MOTHER

Exceptional destinies

An episode from the series SECRETS OF HISTORY - PORTRAITS

Synopsis

Mother of Louis XIV, celebrated by Alexandre Dumas in "The Three Musketeers", Anne of Austria remains one of the most misunderstood queens in the history of France.

The daughter of the King of Spain, she married the young Louis XIII at age 14. Her powerful mother-in-law, Marie de Médicis, overshadowed her before being bullied by Richelieu, whom she hated.

From the Val-de-Grâce abbey to the Saint-Germain-en-Laye castle, historians and pundits retrace the journey of this queen, who was also an efficient regent, particularly during the Fronde.