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Charles II was a renowned ladies' man but, arguably his greatest love--though not in the Biblical sense--was his sister Minette. Separated from her in their youth by a royal inter-marriage, his letters reveal a tender and humane side not often seen in biographies of this cunning and calculating monarch.
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This beautifully illustrated volume, published in conjunction with a landmark exhibition at The Fan Museum, Greenwich, gathers together a marvellous group of over 40 fans and fan leaves dating from the reign of Louis XIV.In this fascinating book, daily life and times at the court of the 'Sun King', including well-known figures such as Madames de Montespan and Maintenon, as well as other royal and court figures, visiting dignitaries and national events, are discussed in considerable detail. Many scenes are set in the grounds of Versailles and these are identified by the author, whose impeccable research provides the gossip 'straight from the horse's mouth'. All this is presented in the vehicle of the folding fan, which rose to prominence under Louis XIV. He inspired subject matter for painted fan leaves, and moreover imposed strict etiquette at court involving the use (and non-use) of fans.
The princes étrangers, or the foreign princes, were an influential group of courtiers in early modern France, who maintained their unofficial status as 'foreigners' due to membership in sovereign ruling families. Arguably the most influential of these were the princes of Lorraine, a sovereign state on France's eastern border. During the sixteenth century the Lorraine-Guise dominated the culture and politics of France, gaining a reputation as a powerful, manipulative family at the head of the Catholic League in the Wars of Religion and with close relationships with successive Valois monarchs and Catherine de Medici. After the traumas of 1588, however, although they faded from the narrative h...