Versailles on BBC2: Who was Madame de Montespan and was she really the official mistress of Louis XIV? Also airing on SBS in Australia
Anna Brewster stars as Montespan, the most powerful woman in France. Here is her story “The start of season two really is all about Montespan,” Louis XIV actor George Blagden told RadioTimes .com. Advertisement We have already met the king’s mistress in season one of Versailles, Madame de Montespan (Anna Brewster), but in season two this ambitious noblewoman is tightening her control. Two years have passed and now Montespan is the most powerful woman in France. “We start to see how that influence that she’s gained and that favour that she’s gained with the King really starts to affect him and his mind,” Blagden explained . “All of the day to day decisions that he has to make are filtered through the Montespan filter, and we even see him taking her advice on some rather monumental decisions and ignoring his most trusted valet, Bontemps.” Did Madame de Montespan really exist? Yes. Her full name was Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart , Marquise of Montespan, and she was the...