Gabrielle de Rochechouart de Mortemart was born in 1633. She was the eldest child of
Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart and his wife; Diane de Grandseigne. She joined the court in 1651 during the
Fronde. She originally was placed by her parents in the household of the young king
Louis XIV. Later, she joined the household of his younger brother
Philippe, duc d'Anjou. Gabrielle and the duc d'Anjou remained close friends for the rest of their lives, even after he succeeded to the duchy of Orléans and became known at court as the notoriously flamboyant homosexual Monsieur. In 1655 she married Claude Leonor Damas de Thianges, Marquis of Thianges. The couple had four children, the third of whom married and had issue. Although she may have been a mistress of
Louis XIV, she never gained the power and influence over the king exercised by her younger sister,
Madame de Montespan who became the king's
maîtresse-en-titre in 1668. Gabrièlle was with her sister during the French military tour when Madame de Montespan became Louis XIV's mistress. She was also with the court when La Montespan gave birth to her daughter by Louis XIV,
Mademoiselle de Nantes, at
Tournai in June 1673. Her daughter
Diane married the homosexual
Philippe Jules Mancini, duc de Nevers and nephew of
Cardinal Mazarin. Through Diane, Gabrielle was the grandmother of
Philippe Jules François Mancini and great-grandmother of
Louis Jules Mancini Mazarini, the prominent French diplomat and writer. She was very close to her daughter, Diane, as well as to her sister, La Montespan. She died in 1693, roughly 60 years of age. She is also an ancestor of the present
Prince of Monaco through
Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois She was an ancestor of the husband of
Marie Antoinette's favourite, the
duchesse de Polignac. She was also known for her writings, on subjects such as the nature of "politesse". ==Issue==