Les Polonais à la cour de Marie Leszczyńska

Abstract

Marie Leszczyńska, daughter of King Stanisław I and Catherine, née Opalińska, was the wife of King Louis XV of France between 1725 and 1768. This article examines the presence of Poles at her court and in her closest entourage. The queen could rely very little on her compatriots’ support within her household, for the only Poles who officially belonged to her court were confessors and a chef. The number of Polish residents associated with Versailles in regard to the frequency of their stays or the status they enjoyed at the court of King Louis XV was also very limited. Among them were the Queen’s parents and the princesse de Talmond. The most numerous among them were travellers, relatives of the Leszczyńskis and visitors who came to see the queen of France out of curiosity, a sense of duty or in the hope of obtaining assistance with a difficult financial situation. They were usually offered the privilege of an audience with the Queen and access to some court honours, but, with the exception of a small circle of people, Marie Leszczyńska did not offer guests from Poland the opportunity to become part of the court or to establish stronger cultural ties.

Keywords

• Marie Leszczyńska
• Stanislas Leszczyński
• queen consort of France
• queen’s court
• French–Polish relations