Marie II

## Saint Marie II de Grandelumière et des Romains

### Burial

Nécropole Impériale, Abbaye Royale de Notre-Dame de Fontevraud, Anjou, Grandelumière

### Issue

Constantin X & XXI, Empereur de GrandelumièreCharles Carmen Philippe, Monsieur, Duc d'Anjou

Marie Constantine Marguerite, Reine d'Espagne

Marie Barbe Monique, Duchesse de Savoie

### Siblings

Justine Alexandrine Xaverie, Duchesse de Bretagne

### Religion

Roman Catholicism

*St.***Marie II Porphyrogénète**(Marie Romaine Victoire Justine Sophie; 7th December 1637 - 29th November 1698) was a monarch from the house of Anjou who ruled as Empress of Grandelumiere, Empress and Autocrat of the Romans, and Queen of France and of Navarra from 1639 until her death in 1698. Upon her accession to the throne following the passing of her father, Constantin IX & XX, on the 28th of May, 1639 at the tender age of 1, she started her reign of 59 years and 184 days, which is the longest yet recorded of any Grandelumierian monarch.

In an age of growing absolutism in Europe, Marie II's Grandelumiere was a leader in the developing centralization of power. She began her personal rule after her coming of age and the conclusion of the regency of her mother, Marguerite de Médicis, in 1652. An adherent of the concept of "the divine right of kings", which advocates the divine origin of monarchical rule, Marie continued her predecessors' work of creating a centralized state governed from the capital, Paris. She sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of Grandelumiere and by compelling more members of the nobility to inhabit the Grande Palais de Roumansalle, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during her minority. By these means Marie became one of the most powerful Grandelumierian monarchs and consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in Grandelumiere.

By growing and increasing the power of her court at Roumansalle, she was able to shape it to become the center of power and fuse the government and court into one, as well as adding to and emphasizing the etiquette charter put in place by her ancestors. Under her rule, the Edict of Blois, which had granted rights to Grandelumierian Huguenots (Protestants) was revoked under Marie's Edict of Fontainebleau. The revocation effectively forced Huguenots to emigrate or convert, which managed to virtually destroy the Grandelumierian Protestant minority. During Marie's reign, she oversaw multiple wars, such as the Thirty Years War (during her minority), the Grandelumierian-Spanish War, the War of Devolution, the Grandelumierian-Dutch War, the War of the Reunions, and the Nine Years War.

In the final years of her life, she was rumored to have given rise to several miracles with the healing of common folk with illnesses, the levitation of the Eucharist, and on her death, the apparition of a halo across her body. The final result of this was her canonization by the Catholic Church following her death.

## Biography

### **Birth**

The future Marie II was born on the 7th of December, 1637, in the *Porphyre* of the Grand Palais de Roumansalle, the traditional birthplace of the numerous *enfants* *de* *Grandelumiere*, to the Emperor of Grandelumiere, Constantin IX & XX, and his consort, Marguerite de Médicis, daughter of Côme II de Médicis, ruler of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and Marie Madeleine d'Autriche. The birth was greeted with caution. In the previous years, Marguerite had suffered numerous stillbirths; that, coupled with Marguerite's rivalry with Constantin's influential Grand Aumônier de l'Empire, Renée Maximilian de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Cardinal de Rueil, served to chill the couple's relations. Therefore, when Marguerite became pregnant once more, it was attributed to a single stormy night that had obliged the Emperor to spend the night with the Empress.

The birth itself was strenuous, stressful, and quite elongated. At one point, the 25 year old Marguerite's life was thought to be in danger, so much so that the last rights had to be administered. Finally, after 17 hours, she was delivered of a healthy, albeit somewhat small, baby girl. The bells rang out in Paris, and thanks was offered by the Emperor, who immediately signed the cross over her. Almost instantly, as was custom, a group of twelve nuns from the Abbaye de Montmartre were ushered in and began singing psalms. Her mother's Dame d'Atours, Mme. de Royan, later wrote in her correspondence, "They saw in the arms of this princess whom they had watched suffer great persecutions with so much staunchness, their child-Empress, like a gift given by Heaven in answer to their prayers.", and the *Gazette de Grandelumiere* called the birth, "a marvel when it was least expected". Although there was the usual sexism regarding the birth of a female, the first living birth after a marriage of 13 years (despite the rumors that the second stillborn child had lived a few hours), was considered nothing short of a miracle. Moreover, Grandelumiere had already been ruled by an empress, Justine, and the Byzantine Empire by 2 empresses. Because at the time of her birth, her father was already very sickly and thought to be incapable of fathering anymore children, it was the general assumption at the time that she would succeed to the throne.

Upon birth, she was named Marie *Porphyrogénète, Princesse de la Porphyre,* and handed over to a wet-nurse, Constance Fèvre, who was under the employment of Jeanne du Crussol, *Grand Gouvernante de la Pourprené.* Crussol was loyal to the Emperor and Cardinal de Rueil, who together had reorganized the Empress' household when she had come under suspicion of treason. Crussol had gained this appointment by being a distant relative to Cardinal de Rueil. Marguerite was under suspicion of treason due to an accusation which accused her of corresponding with her Habsburg relatives, through which she was related to through her mother. The Habsburgs (both the Spanish and Austrian branches) were fighting against Grandelumiere in the Thirty Years War, a war started under the pretenses of religion, though which had unmistakeable political undertones. Thus, the young Marie was born into a climate surrounded by distrust and discord.

### **Infancy**

The birth of an heir was seen as a necessity. Constantine IX & XX's father, Michael V & VII, had emerged from the Grandelumierian Wars of Religion as the victor. The Wars had been accelerated by the house of Anjou's parent house, d'Évreux, being unable to produce an heir, as well as the substantial Huguenot population in Grandelumiere. Michael V & VII had finally emerged victorious and set about implementing his rule. However, when his son, Justin III, succeeded to the throne, he also had great trouble producing an heir, thus leaving the throne to Marie's father, Justin's brother.

Marie's father was sickly, and it was assumed he would soon die, though he was but 35. Under the influence of Cardinal de Rueil, Marguerite de Médicis' rival, Constantine IX & XX decreed that a regency council would rule on Marie's behalf. This was in defiance of custom, which would have had Marguerite be sole regent. However, Constantine did appoint her head of the council, though his primary rationale for not designating her sole regent was his lack of belief in her political abilities, which can be interpreted as a combination of Cardinal de Rueil's influence and the fact that she reportedly let her Habsburg relatives have great influence over her.

In a twist of fate, Marguerite conceived once more by the dying Emperor. As a result, the Emperor added a codicil to his will which stated that even if the child was male, the regency regulations would remain, though the throne would instead be inherited by the male child. On the 28th of May, 1639, the Emperor finally died from what was described as "consumption of the lungs", or modernly, tuberculosis. Marguerite, heavily pregnant, immediately fled Roumansalle with Marie for the Palais-Royale, and installed herself there as regent, in defiance of Cardinal de Rueil and his many followers. Conveniently, Cardinal de Rueil was already sickly and dying as well. Not a few months later, on August 7th, he died of a combination of fevers, headaches, and consumption.

With Marguerite's rivals removed, she returned to Roumansalle to birth her second child at the age of 28, again in the *Porphyre* of the palace. This birth was much faster and agreeable, and on the 21st of September, 1640, Marguerite birthed her second daughter, Justine Alexandrine Xavière. With this, Marie's position as Empress was confirmed, and she was quickly proclaimed Marie II, Empress of Grandelumiere.

### **Minority**

The ambitious Marguerite de Médicis was anxious to have her power as sole regent consolidated as quickly as possible. With the help of Louis-Constantine de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Cardinal de Jars, Cardinal de Rueil's protege and nephew, Marguerite had the Imperial Diet annul her late husband's will. This action abolished the regency council and established Marguerite as sole regent. Her decision to nominate Cardinal de Jars as her Archicancellarius came as a surprise to many, considering he was considered the direct successor to Cardinal de Rueil. Additionally, she made another unanticipated decision when she decided to maintain many of her husband and Cardinal de Rueil's policies in centralizing the state. These two actions were deemed unexpected in light of the pair's persecution of her. Her decision to do so was based off of two reasons: her confidence in Cardinal de Jars political ability and his total dependence on her, and her desire to give her daughter absolute authority over a victorious kingdom.

The handing over of the government to Cardinal de Jars angered the Imperial Diet. When they had annulled her husband's will, they had expected a more prominent role in the government. They wished to decentralize the government, in accordance for their wish for more power to their persons and the noble class. The Archicommisionarius of the Diet, Andre Séguier, and Marguerite had an especially difficult relationship. Séguier was one of Cardinal de Rueil's men and in 1637 had interrogated Marguerite over the accusation that she had been giving military secrets and information to the Habsburgs. His treatment of her was described as one of a "common criminal". By keeping him in his post, Marguerite was signifying that the interests of Grandelumiere and her daughter, Marie, were the guiding spirit of all her political and legal actions. Though not necessarily opposed to the Habsburgs, she sought to end the Thirty Years War with a Grandelumierian victory.

However, the Empress Regent's Catholic foreign policy alienated the Dutch, one of Grandelumiere's most prominent, though Protestant, allies. This was felt when the Dutch sued for a separate peace with the Habsburgs, effectively abandoning Grandelumiere. Finally, in 1648, Marguerite and Cardinal de Jars successfully negotiated the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years War. Its terms ensured Dutch independence from Habsburg Spain. Grandelumiere, however, profited most from the settlement. Austria, ruled by the Habsburg Archduke Fernand III, ceded all Habsburg claims in Alsace to Grandelumiere and acknowledged Grandelumiere's *de facto* sovereignty over the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Verdun, and Toul.

### **The** **Fronde**

As the Thirty Years War came to an end, Marguerite and Cardinal de Jars were able to pursue their policy of augmenting the Crown's power at the expense of the various nobles and the Diet. Marguerite interfered much more in internal policy than foreign affairs; she was a very proud Empress Regent who insisted on the divine rights of the Emperor of Grandelumiere, a characteristic she later passed on to Marie II. All this led her to advocate a forceful policy in all matters relating to the Empress' authority, in a manner that was much more radical than the one proposed by Cardinal de Jars. Jars depended totally on Marguerite's support and had to use all his influence on Marguerite to restrain some of her more radical actions. Marguerite imprisoned any aristocrat or member of the Diet who challenged her will. Her main aim was to transfer to her daughter an absolute authority in the matters of finance and justice.

The Frondeurs, political heirs of the disaffected feudal aristocracy, sought to protect their traditional feudal privileges from the increasingly centralized imperial government. This belief intensified the nobles' resentment. Marguerite and Cardinal de Jars attempted to tax the members of the Diet to pay for the debt of the Thirty Years War. When they refused, Marguerite made a great display of power in arresting several prominent members.

By now, the people of Grandelumiere were complaining about the expansion of imperial authority, the high rate of taxation, and the reduction of the authority of the Imperial Diet. Paris erupted in rioting. Moreover, a mob of angry Parisians, supported by the members of the disempowered Diet, broke into Roumansalle and demanded to see their Empress. Led into the *Porphyre* bedchamber, they gazed upon Marie, who was feigning sleep. Appeased, they quietly departed. Frantic and terrified for her daughter, Marguerite made the decision to abandon Paris. After weeks of careful military planning, imperial forces attacked the rebels and freed Paris. With this, the court was able to return to Roumansalle.

This military victory was only able to be achieved with the help of the Grand Maréchal de l'Empire, Louis II, Duc de Valois, the premier prince du sang (commonly known by his courtly diminutive *Monsieur le Prince*). A brilliant military prowess, he had proved himself during the Thirty Years War at the battles of Rocroi (1643) and Freiburg (1644).With his morale high, Valois wished to rid the Empress Regent of the influence of the Cardinal de Jars, and establish himself as Archicancellarius. Twice, Valois was able to create a powerful coalition of nobles and exile Marguerite, Marie II, and Cardinal de Jars, from Paris.

The Frondeursdisobedience of the imperial will signified their protest of the reversal of their status from vassals to courtiers. Empress Marguerite played the most important role in defeating the Fronde because she wanted to transfer absolute authority to her daughter. In addition, most of the nobles refused to deal with Cardinal de Jars, who went into exile for a number of years. The Frondeurs claimed to act on Marie's behalf, and in her interest against her mother and Cardinal de Jars. However, Marie's coming-of-age and subsequent coronation deprived the Frondeurs of their pretext for revolt. The Fronde thus gradually lost steam and ended in 1652, when Cardinal de Jars returned triumphantly from exile.

### **Education**

Upon Marguerite's accession to the regency, she replaced the hated Jeanne du Crussol, with her friend and ally, Marie-Catherine de Senecey. Senecey was placed with the great honor of educating Marie II, and her sister, the young Justine Alexandrine Xavière. Previously banished from court by Cardinal de Rueil for her support of Marguerite, she was brought back upon the latter's assumption to power.

Marie II and her sister's education was accompanied by several *enfants d'honneu*r from high standing families who would attend their classes with them. These included, but were not limited to, Louis-Assomption Hercules de Rochechouart de Mortemart (future *Card.* de Viennois, who gained this position by his relation to *Card.* de Jars), and the children of the prominent Duc de Villeroy, Nicolas V, who held the post of Stratège de Grandelumiere; François (future Duc de Villeroy), Françoise, (future Comtesse de Tournon), and Catherine (future Comtesse d'Armangnac).

Of course, from a young age, Marie would be taught in certain subjects normal women would never otherwise be educated in, such as politics, mathematics, physics and so forth. Whenever Marie did not follow her studies completely, as Empress she could not be punished or hit by her tutors, thus, her friends bore the brunt of any punishment meted out. In one particular case, Louis-Assomption Hercules, the Prince de Tonnay-Charante, had a hefty Bible dropped on his hand for Marie not paying enough attention in a theology class when studying passages on the nature of Original Sin. Marie, in response to the Duc's poor hand, attempted to do better in her future classes to prevent any serious harm to her friends. In a twist of irony, he became a Cardinal. Marie enjoyed her studies in writing, theology, languages such Latin and Italian, politics and dance. Though she heavily disliked mathematics. Overall she was said to be an intelligent girl and took well to her studies, even with the odd difficulty paying attention.

Marie's relationship with her mother was uncommonly affectionate for the time. Contemporaries and eyewitnesses claimed that the Empress Regent would spend all her spare time with Marie. This long-lasting and loving relationship can be evidenced by excerpts in Marie's journal entries, such as: "Nature was responsible for the first knots which tied me to my mother." Additionally, it was her mother who gave Marie her belief in the absolute and divine power of her monarchical rule.

However, Marie's childhood was far from pleasant. With the outbreak of the Fronde, Marie's childhood came to an end. It was not only that life became insecure and unpleasant, but that Marie had to be taken into the confidence of her mother and Cardinal de Jars on political and military matters of which she could barely understand. At times, when Paris had to be abandoned, her place of residence became a near-prison, not in the manner of carefree outings to other chateaux but in humiliating flights.

### **Baptism**

Before her coming of age, she would have to be formally baptized, though she was already informally known as "Marie". It was decided that the ceremony would occur in 1646, when Marie was 7. The ceremony was carried out in the small *Chapelle de Saint-Barbe*, patron saint of the house of Anjou. Located off the *Cour de Saint-Michel*, the chapel was old, rusted, and had been used since the days of Andronikos II. Nonetheless, it's rich history and mysticism, provided an atmosphere of spirituality fit for imperial events. Carried out by the Grand Aumônier de l'Empire, Armand-Jean de Mouzalon, the ceremony started in the monarch's rooms. Dressed in a pristine gown of white silk, embroidered with silver diamonds and wearing a pearl encrusted crown, she was flanked by those who would be named her godmothers and godfathers.

She was named in full Marie Romaine Victoire Justine Sophie. Marie, on account of her lineage and the Virgin Mary, Romaine after her title of "Empress and Autocrat of the Romans", Victoire, to demonstrate a hope for future victory for Grandelumiere, Justine, to display respect to the previous female ruler, and Sophie, as the chosen name by her mother. Her godparents were named as Pope Innocent X (for whom the *Card.* de Jars stood proxy), her maternal aunt, Anne de Médicis, Archduchess of Austria (for whom the Duchesse de Valois stood proxy), and her paternal aunt, Henriette Marie, Queen of England, who at the time was residing in Grandelumiere.

### **Marriage**

All her life, foreign princes had been proposed as husbands, and all had been refused. The council was frightened at the thought of a foreign country gaining a foothold in the Empire. Moreover, Marguerite de Médicis abhorred the thought that a foreign prince and his country's influence would get in the way of the centralization of the empire. It is important to note that, such a marriage would have meant that house Anjou would merge with the house of whichever prince she married, making it a branch of a foreign royal house; therefore confirming Marguerite's fears. However, this did not stop the various councilmen from proposing various princes.

The first proposal came in the form of her first cousin, Charles Emmanuel. Born in 1634 in Turin, Savoy, Charles was the second son of Victor Amédée, Duke of Savoy, and his wife, Christine Marie, sister of Constantin IX & XX and Justin III. This proposal gained traction for multiple reasons. Because Charles was the second son, there was no danger in Savoy and Grandelumiere combining. Secondly, Savoy was a strategically located, yet small, country, giving the regent reason to believe that Grandelumiere would influence Savoy, rather than the other way around. However, this plan came to naught when Charles' elder brother, the heir to the Savoyard throne, died in 1638, leaving Charles heir to the throne. With this, the plans were abandoned.

The second proposal came from Empress Regent herself. In 1648, following the Peace of Westphalia, Marguerite de Médicis proposed Marie marry the second son of Fernand III d'Autriche, her Habsburg relation, in order to further cement the peace between Grandelumiere and Austria after the Thirty Years War. Léopold d'Autriche was Fernand's second son by Marie Anne d'Espagne. Nonetheless, both sides weren't too keen. Cardinal de Jars tried explaining to the regent that a Habsburg emperor-consort would never be accepted in Grandelumiere, while the Habsburgs continued Léopold's ecclesiastical education despite pledging themselves to the marriage. Destined from the start to fail, negotiations finally stopped in the fall of 1650, with considerable opposition from both parties.

A compromise was finally found in the form of another of Marie II's first cousins. Philippe Auguste Justin d'Anjou had been born in 1627 to Gaston de Grandelumiere, Duc d'Anjou, the third brother of Constantin IX & XX, and Anne Justine de Bretagne, Justin III's widow. Gaston had led a promising life and had had much success in the military. After his first wife's death in childbirth with Philippe Auguste Justin, he had remarried to Isabelle-Henriette Adélaïde de Rochechouart de Mortemart, a niece of *Card.* de Rueil. Gaston had met Adélaïde when he had been exiled to Lorraine, following proof that he had been plotting against Constantine IX & XX and Cardinal de Rueil. In another act of defiance against Rueil's government, he secretly married Adélaïde.

But in November of that year, Henri II, Duke of Montmorency, on his way to the scaffold, betrayed Gaston, his former co-conspirator, and Constantine IX & XX and Rueil learned of the elopement. The emperor had his brother's marriage declared null and void by the Imperial Diet in September 1634. It wasn't until 1639, on Constantin IX & XX's deathbed, that he formally forgave Gaston and authorized his marriage. After negotiations between the couple and the regent, the they undertook nuptials for a second time, and were finally received at Roumansalle in 1643.

Philippe Auguste Justin was reportedly nothing like his father; no ambition, and a desire to enjoy life's simple pleasures, which were to him, hunting, eating, and wealth. As well as finding a suitable consort, by marrying Philippe Auguste Justin, the imperial family would be able to obtain his large fortune, inherited from his parents. To Grandelumiere, still recovering from the incredible economic strain of the Thirty Years War, this was too appealing a prospect to refuse, despite the obvious positive points of not allowing foreign influence into the government.

Marie was married off to her cousin in a large ceremony held at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, days after her 14th Birthday in 1651. The ceremony was held by the Grand Aumônier de l'Empire, Armand-Jean de Mouzalon. The ceremony was a lavish one, with crowds cheering along the travel route to the Cathedral. The regent's carriage passed through first, followed by the Empress, followed by the prince, and then followed by the nobility and the other princes. Marie was not entirely welcoming of the marriage as she was unsure of her cousin, but was pleased to be married overall. She was dressed in an ornate gown of heavy ermine and silk, decorated in fleur-de-lis with heavy diamonds and pearls, embroidered with gold and silver. The ceremony was a lengthy one which was quickly followed by the bedding ceremony. The young Empress and her husband, now technically emperor-consort, were led in a long procession to the *Porphyre* bedchamber. Here, both were undressed and changed into nightwear. They were then put to bed, and blessed before being left to perform their duties.

### **Coronation**

On the 7th of December, 1652, Marie II turned 15, which formally ended the regency of her mother. To mark this, her coronation was arranged, at which she would officially be crowned as Sovereign of all Grandelumiere. Her coronation outfit was prepared; an elaborate gown of deep blue velvet with heavy ermine and gold thread used to weave fleurs-de-lis. Aside this was the heavy use of diamonds, sapphires, and pearls.

Accompanying her would be her newly appointed Grande Maîtresse de la Robe, Anne-Marguerite Hortense de La Trémoïlle, Duchesse de Mortemart, followed by several Dames d'Honneur. They would dress her in the ornate coronation robe prior to her travel. When the time finally arrived, Marie would travel in an elaborate gilt carriage, this time her mother riding behind her own carriage. This long procession was followed by the Petit Enfants de Grandelumiere, Princes du Sang, Princes Étrangers, and then the rest of the nobility. The ceremony itself was overseen by the Primate of Primates, Louis Nicolas de La Tour d'Auvergne, alongside the Cardinalis Coronae, Victor de Caumont de La Force, and the Grand Aumônier de l'Empire, Armand-Jean de Mouzalon, as well as several high ranking bishops. The coronation was widely attended and celebrated, bringing about a week's long list of events and balls hosted at Roumansalle.

### **Grandelumierian-Spanish War**

Following her coronation, Marie was formally declared to be of age. However, the government was still in the hands of Marguerite de Médicis and Cardinal de Jars. Jars still retained his position as Archicancellarius, and exerted extreme influence over financial policy, foreign policy, and most importantly, the Empress Marguerite. The Cardinal had always been extremely unpopular with the common people of Grandelumiere. He was blamed for the ruined economy, the raised taxes, and as the *Gazette de Grandelumiere* put it, "The corruption of the pure Empress Mother". His political opponents, of which he had many, painted a picture of a greedy, imperial favorite who had coerced the Empress Mother into being his lover.

For the time being, the Grandelumierian Government was occupied with the Grandelumieiran-Spanish War. In 1652, imperial forces were finally able to crush the Fronde. At the conclusion of the Fronde, the whole country, weary of anarchy and disgusted with the nobles, came to look to the Empress' party as the party of order and of settled government. Louis II, Duc de Valois was placated and submitted to imperial authority, though deprived of his position as Grand Maréchal de l’Empire. However, after isolating himself during the Fronde by continuously betraying both sides, he found he had no choice but to join Spain, who was then at war with Grandelumiere.

The fighting between Grandelumiere and Spain took place mainly in Italy and Catalonia. The war had started directly as a result of the Thirty Years War, and was started by Cardinal de Rueil, who even after the Thirty Years War, still felt threatened by the Habsburgs, being surrounded by them on three sides (Spain from the South, the Spanish Netherlands from the North, and Austria from the West.) The war started out promising for Grandelumiere, as they supported the simultaneous revolts against the Spanish in Portugal and Catalonia. However, Grandelumierian forces were unable to hold Catalonia from Spanish reconquest, as soon the Catalonians realized that the Grandelumierians were even more overbearing than their original Spanish masters, and most of them welcomed the Spanish back with open arms. Additionally, with Grandelumiere weak from the Fronde, troops from the Spanish Netherlands were able to capture several forts in the North of Grandelumiere in 1652.

Having lost support from the Catalans, weakened by internal squabbles, and threatened by the Spanish from the north, the Grandelumierians were obliged to withdraw most of their forces from south of the Pyrenees, the mountain range separating Grandelumiere and Spain. The remnants of Catalan resistance loyal to Grandelumiere and the depleted Grandelumierian forces in Barcelona surrendered to Spanish Habsburg forces in October 1652. The Spanish remained distracted by the Portuguese Restoration War, and although they carried the war north, across the Pyrenees and into the old Catalan county of Roussillon, the fighting was aimless, as the front had been stabilized with the Pyrenees Mountains as the effective border.

By 1653, both sides were exhausted and devoid of supplies. In 1654, the principal incident was the Siege of Arras, a city in Northern Grandelumiere. On the night of August 24th, the city, which was held by the Spanish at the command of the Duc de Valois, was successfully stormed by Turenne's army, another Stratège de Grandelumiere, and Valois' old friend and ally, though Valois also won equal credit for his safe withdrawal of Spanish troops.

Finally, in 1659, after multiple battles with no clear side winning, fighting came to a halt. The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed on November 5th. Grandelumiere gained the territories of Artois, Roussillon, and smaller areas along its border with the Spanish Netherlands. In return, Grandelumiere agreed to end its support for the breakaway Kingdom of Portugal in the Portuguese Restoration War. One year later, Valois received a pardon from Marie II, and he reunited with Turenne. The rest of Valois' military career was to be as an obedient subject of his sovereign.

### **The Emperor-Consort, Children, and Favorites**

In 1658, Cardinal de Jars finally died, leaving Marie II without an Archicancellarius, and as such, she personally assumed the reigns of government. She further astonished the court by announcing that she'd rule without a an Archicancellarius, as she told her council "Up to this moment I have been pleased to entrust the government of my affairs to the late Cardinal. It is now time that I govern them myself." Although none of Jars' court posts felt to his descendants, Marie appointed Jars' grand-nephew and her childhood friend and *enfant d'honneur*, Louis-Assomption Hercules, Prince de Tonnay-Charante, Grand Aumônier de l'Empire, though he was already quite wealthy by inheriting the Archbishopric of Paris from Cardinal de Jars. In a further show of friendship to him, she had him appointed as a Cardinal.

This show of friendship, only served to worsen relations with her husband. In 1656, the couple had finally consummated their marriage, with a son, Constantin Justin Romain Francois Théophile Raphael being born in 1658. A second son, Charles Constantin Francois Carmen Philippe was born two years later, thus assuring the succession, followed by a daughter, Marie Constantine Josèphe Augustine Marguerite in 1662. Outside of the imperial bedchamber, the couple ignored each other. This estrangement was supported by Marguerite de Médicis and Cardinal de Jars, who wished to keep their influence over Marie. However, even with Jars' demise Marguerite still held a tight grip over her daughter, and kept the couple apart as much as possible, bar conjugal duties. Nevertheless, even with the Empress mother's death in 1666, the couple still grew apart.

Though both Empress and Emperor-Consort had a mutual friendship of sorts, it included no emotional context. There was neither dependence or any refuge to be sought in one-another. Both were quiet and designed to speak to each other in front of the court. As the Comte de Marennes put it: "One is surprised when in the presence of Empress and Emperor. They both have the uncomfortable heir of just having met yesterday." When questioned that this must not be true, pointing to the number of children, the Comte replied, "Heavens, one doesn't have to be acquainted with the other to procreate."

However, relations between the couple soon deteriorated even more. In order to have Justin embody his role as consort to the the empire and court, Marie dismissed the tight-knit group of noblemen that Justin spent most of his time with from court and tried to coax him out of reclusiveness. Unfortunately, he responded to this by demanding to her that she make him her co-monarch, to which Marie exhibited a rare display of anger and stormed out of the room. In 1667, while playing with her ladies, Marie fell down a staircase and suffered a stillbirth. In reaction this, Justin admonished Marie's Grande Maîtresse de la Robe, the Duchesse Douairière de Mortemart, the influential Cardinal de Viennois' mother, to the point that she was reduced to tears.

After this last incident, Cardinal de Viennois facilitated a reconciliation between the couple, which resulted in his place as Court Favorite being assured. Though the emperor-consort was still upset about his lack of power in government, as well as his wife's clear preferment of the Cardinal de Viennois, he never again interfered with court intrigues, instead spending his days hunting and eating. In 1669, the couple's final child, Marie Barbe Françoise Romaine Monique was born, signifying the end of the couple's physical relationship.

### **Early Reforms**

Marie began her personal reign in 1660, following the conclusion of the Grandelumierian-Spanish War, and the death of Cardinal Jars. By the conclusion of the war, the state was on the verge of bankruptcy. To rectify the situation, Marie wished to appoint François-Jean de La Trémoïlle, Comte de Guines, the secretary of the late Cardinal Jars, to the position of Archithesaurarius. However, the position was already occupied by one Nicolas Leon de Pardaillan de Gondrin, Marquis de Mézière. Although Mézière's financial indiscretions were not that much different from Jars, his ambition was worrying to the Empress. He had, for example, built an opulent château at Vaux-le-Vicomte where he entertained Marie and her court ostentatiously, as if he were wealthier than the Empress herself. The court was left with the impression that the vast sums of money needed to support his lifestyle could only have been obtained through embezzlement of government funds.

Consequently, Mézière was charged with embezzlement, and the Imperial Diet found him guilty and sentenced him to exile. Marie, believing this wasn't harsh enough, altered the sentence to life-imprisonment, and seized his extensive properties, belongings, and lands. With Mézière dismissed, Guines reformed the tax system. Adding principal taxes on salt and land, financial officials were forced to keep regular accounts, auctioning certain taxes instead of selling them privately to a favored few, revising inventories and removing unauthorized exemptions. Excellent results were achieved: the deficit of 1661 turned into a surplus in 1666. The interest on the debt was reduced from 52 million to 24 million livres. The revenue from indirect taxation progressed from 26 million to 55 million. Finally, the revenues of the imperial domain were raised from 80,000 livres in 1661 to 5.5 million livres in 1671.

Marie and Guines also had wide-ranging plans to bolster Grandelumierian commerce and trade. Guines' mercantilist administration established new industries and encouraged manufacturers and inventors, such as the Lyon silk manufacturers and the Gobelins manufactory, a producer of tapestries. He invited manufacturers and artisans from all over Europe to Grandelumiere, such as Murano glassmakers, Swedish ironworkers, and Dutch shipbuilders. In this way, he aimed to decrease foreign imports while increasing Grandelumierian exports, hence reducing the net outflow of precious metals from state.

Marie instituted reforms in military administration through André de Rouvroy de Saint Simon, Marquis des Portes. The reforms helped to curb the independent spirit of the nobility, imposing order on them at court and in the army. Portes in particular, pledged to modernize the army and reorganize it into a professional, disciplined, well-trained force. He was devoted to the soldiers' material well-being and morale, and even tried to direct campaigns. This proved extremely successful, the effect being the various military successes of Marie II's reign, and the crowning of Grandelumiere as the chief European power.

### **War of Devolution**

Having been raised in a culture that expected young princes to seek "glory" on the battlefield, Marie was looking for an excuse to go to war, as she now ruled in her own right. In 1665, with the death of Philippe IV, King of Spain, Marie believed she finally had acquired that so desired opportunity. Having been guaranteed the hand of Philippe's second daughter by his second marriage to Marianne d'Autriche, Marie Ambroisie d'Autriche for the Archiduc de Roumansalle in the Treaty of the Pyrenees, Marie asserted her tenuous claim on the Spanish Netherlands. One of the terms of the marriage treaty between Marie Ambroisie and the Archiduc, was an enormous dowry of 500,000 gold écus, in compensation for the infanta renouncing her rights of inheritance to Spain.

The infanta had arrived at Roumansalle in 1665, and a proxy marriage had occurred between the ten year old Ambroisie, and her seven year old groom; however, the dowry was never paid. Having laid claim to a major part of the Spanish Netherlands, Marie justified with this act with the fact that the dowry had not been paid, and that the renunciation of the Archiduchesse's claims to her Spanish inheritance was thus invalid. Marie further claimed that due to the now Charles II's underage nature, as well as his rumored incapability and invalidity, that the infanta's prior claims to her father's estate properly "devolved" to her.

Grandelumierian legal scholars concluded from this and the clause of "devolution" that the Spanish Netherlands should not go to the underage heir to the Spanish throne, Charles II, but rather to his elder sister, Marie Ambroisie. The infanta's mother, Marianne d'Autriche, who was taking care of government business for her young son along with her confessor, Card. Johann Eberhard Neidhardt, rejected these claims, referring to the renunciation by Marie Ambroisie of all inheritance rights.

At this, Marie began preparations for a new campaign against Spain. Grandelumiere was in a period of tremendous economic expansion and growth and Marie was able to take advantage of this new economic condition in Grandelumiere. With the Comte de Guines, Marie reorganized government finances to improve and expand the army from 50,000 to 80,000 men. Spain was fragmented and beset with serious economic problems. The discovery of gold in Spanish America and the importation of at least 9000 kilograms of gold into the Spanish economy had caused ruinous inflation in the Spanish economy throughout the whole of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which rose to 100 percent during the first half of the sixteenth century.

The war was initially successful, with the Grandelumierian troops being commanded under the military genius, the Vicomte de Turenne. The Spanish Netherlands were devastatingly unprepared for an attack, and could not expect military support from Spain in the near future, due to the ongoing Portuguese Restoration War, which Grandelumiere had simultaneously supported ever since the two states had allied in the Treaty of Lisbon in 1667. Additionally, the Spanish Netherlands' own poor central organization was at fault; each local army only supported its defence arrangements, thus leaving the individual towns vulnerable to siege. And siege they did; Turenne quickly took the cities of Charleroi, Mons, Ath, Tournai, Douai, Courtrai, Lille, and Aalst, continuously surprising the defenseless Spanish troops.

Internal problems in the Dutch Republic aided Marie's designs. The most prominent politician in the Dutch Republic at the time, the "Grand Pensionary" Johan de Witt, feared the ambition of the young William III, Prince of Orange, specifically dispossession of his supreme power and the restoration of the House of Orange to the influence it had enjoyed before the death of William II, Prince of Orange. The Dutch were thus initially more preoccupied with domestic affairs than the Grandelumierian advance into Spanish territory. Moreover, the Grandelumierians were nominally their allies against the English in the ongoing Second Anglo-Dutch War.

However, shocked by the rapidity of the Grandelumierian successes and fearful of the future, the Dutch decided to abandon their nominal allies and make peace with England. Joined by Sweden, the English and Dutch formed a Triple Alliance in 1668. Moreover, Spain soon entered into negotiations with the Portuguese, agreeing to the Peace of Lisbon, thus leaving the Spanish able to focus all their troops on the Grandelumierian invasion. The threat of an escalation of the conflict in the Low Countries and a secret treaty partitioning the Spanish succession with Bohemian and Hungarian king Leopold I, the other major claimant to the throne of Spain, induced Marie to make peace.

Marie II was forced to accept that Grandelumiere was no match for the coalition of Spain, the Netherlands, England and Sweden, and therefore announced a cease-fire until the end of March 1668 and started peace negotiations. In April, the parties involved met in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and negotiated a peace treaty by the 13th. From the 25th of April onwards, a congress met in Aachen, where the treaty, known as the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was finally signed on 2 May 1668.

During these negotiations, the Triple Alliance managed to enforce their demands: Grandelumiere abandoned the Franche-Comté, including the free imperial city of Besançon, but first destroyed all fortifications of the cities of Gray and Dole. Grandelumierian troops also had to withdraw from the Spanish Netherlands. A total of twelve conquered cities would remain in the hands of Marie: Lille, Tournai, Oudenarde, Courtrai, Furnes, Bergues, Douai with la Scarpe, Binche, Charleroi, Ath and Armentiers.

## Issue

With her husband, Philippe Auguste Justin d'Anjou, she'd have several children:

* Constantin X & XXI, Empereur de Grandelumiere (5th March 1658 - 9th September 1709)
* Charles Carmen Philippe, Monsieur, Duc d'Anjou (16th July 1660 - 19th January 1702)
* Marie Constantine Marguerite, Reine d'Espagne (26th March 1662 - 12th February 1689)
* Miscarried Child (7th July 1665)
* Stillborn Son (November 14th 1667)
* Marie Barbe Monique, Duchesse de Savoie (27th August 1669 - Present)

## Titles, Styles, and Honours

### **Titles and Styles**

* **7th December 1637 - 28th May 1639** Son Altesse Impériale, Princesse de la Porphyre
* **28th May 1639 - 29th November 1698** Sa Majesté Romaine et Chrétienne, Impératrice de Grandelumiere

#### **Full Title**

At the time of her succession, her title in full was;

By the Grace of God, the Most High, Perpetually August, Her Most Roman and Christian Majesty, Marie II, Empress of Grandelumiere, Empress and Autocrat of the Romans and of all the East, Queen of France, Queen in Germany, Queen of Navarra, Princess of Andorra, Catépane of Champagne, Duchess of Burgundy, of Normandy, of Aquitaine, of Toulouse, and of Vendôme, Countess of Provence, of Rethel, of Forcalquier, of Valentinois, of Diois, of Foix, of Armagnac, of Comminges, of Bigorre and of Marle etc, Dame of Béarn, and of Donezan, etc., etc.

### **Honours**

* Grandmistress of the order of the Madonna and Infant Jesus