Noble Blood - A Rebel Heiress in the French Royal Family

Episode Date: June 25, 2024

Anne Marie's father was the brother of the King of France. Her mother was one of the country's richest women. And though in her youth Anne Marie had dreamed she would marry her cousin, King Louis XIV, in the end she would lead a life far more interesting—becoming a symbolic leader during a political civil war, and embarking on an attempt for a doomed love match marriage that would, in the end, cost her more than her heart. Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Noble Blood merch — Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and grim and mild from Aaron Manke. Listener discretion advised. On the morning of March 27, 1652, the French city of Orleans found itself in the middle of a stand-down. On one side of its gates were the city's authorities, a stressed out group of municipal officials who feared the ramifications of opening the door for the person outside. That person outside the gates was a heroine of the people, Anne-Marie Louise Deor Lyon, Duchess of Montpensier, daughter of France, and niece of the king himself. Two days earlier, Anne-Marie had departed Luxembourg Palace with a small escort. She donned a gray habit covered in gold, and she rode toward the city whose name she bore. People cheered in the streets as she rode by, and her father had waved goodbye from his palace window, watching his daughter head for Orleans in his stead.

But upon arrival at the city, Anne-Marie faced a problem, a gate that was called. closed. Tensions were fraught in 1652 France due to the escalation of something known as the fronde of the princes, a civil war which saw the princes of the blood fighting against the authority of the king. Anne-Marie was at Orleans not on behalf of her uncle the king, but at the behest of her father who had sided with the frondeur, or noble rebels. Orlion was trying to stay neutral, in the Civil War, and fearing the political backlash, the city gates would not open for the Duchess. But the nervous administrators did send her a plate of confitures as a consolation. Anne-Marie was not assuaged. She swore to either break down the gates or scale the walls.

She found a group of boatmen who agreed to help her open a different gate, and as they got to battering, mademoiselle climbed up a nearby knoll, quote, like a cat catching her clothes on all the thorns and brambles to gain a vantage point, while her ladies in waiting implored her to come down. From her knoll, Anne-Marie saw that people were looking down from the ramparts of the city, cheering her on. Aided by a group of helpful citizens, the gate came down, and the city officials made due. of the situation by formally welcoming the princess they had tried to prevent from entering. Anne-Marie was carried through the streets on a sedan chair. She wrote, quote, My joy had me feel quite beside myself. Everyone was kissing my hands and I was in fits of

laughter at seeing myself in so entertaining a situation. Her popularity and refusal to take no for an answer had won the day. It's not exactly an underdog story. After all, the boatmen had been bribed, and the citizens were organized by agents of her father, who was the Duke of Orleans. But like any good Nepo baby, Anne-Marie just needed a little help to get her foot in the door in order to make good. She would eventually go on to take decisive military action and save her army, going down in history as a key figure of the fronde.

But Anne-Marie, also known as La Grand Mademoiselle, actually holds her central place in history today, not only because she was a woman who helped lead an army, but because she was the wealthiest woman in France. Her father, Gaston, Duke of Orleans, was the eldest surviving brother of King Louis XIII. His status granted Anne-Marie unique access and privileges, but it was actually Anne-Marie's mother who granted her her fortune. Marie de Bourbonne, Duchess de Montpensier, was the sole heiress to the fortunes amassed by the Montpensier family in the 16th century. Marie died within days of her daughter's birth,

leaving everything to her newborn baby girl, Anne-Marie. Because of the safety net provided by that fortune, Anne-Marie grew up to be a uniquely independent woman, turning down marriage proposals from a number of royals, including King Charles II of England. In addition to her military career, she would develop a literary passion and would complete a series of memoirs over her lifetime. In her writing, Anne-Marie conceptualized a utopia away from the politics of court and the institution of marriage. But when she did decide to get married in her later life, it would be a scandal that would rock the court and result in great loss for Mademoiselle. Quote, the late Mademoiselle could have been the happiest princess in the world if she had wanted to, the writer Jean-Rignotte-Deseigre Lé, reflected, but, quote, under the pretext of not wanting a master over her, she would not accept or follow any good advice. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. Then Marie-Louise-Dor

Leone was born at the Palais de Louve on May 29, 1627, the daughter of the King's younger brother and France's wealthiest heiress. The birth of the young princess was a blessed to her uncle, King Louis XIII. Not because he was witnessing the miracle of life, but rather because she was born a princess instead of a prince. A prince, you see, would have been a threat to the king and queen who had failed to conceive after 12 years of marriage. But to their luck, the heir presumptive had had a daughter,

and the Salick law dictated that women could not inherit the throne. Anne-Marie will eventually devote a significant, amount of time in her memoirs to an examination of her childhood. But for today's sake, we'll sum it up like this. She grew up in the palace of the tullery under the care of a governess who educated her on court etiquette and little else. A staff of 40 were instructed to attend to her medical and spiritual needs, a staff that included a physician, a surgeon, and a chaplain. She was, however, like most princesses, fundamentally lonely, motherless and distant from her father and her grandmother. Her closest relatives for a time were actually the king and queen, her aunt and uncle,

whom she called Petit Mamma and Petit Papa affectionately. When her aunt, the Queen Anne, finally became pregnant and the Dauphin was to be born outside of Paris, Queen Anne invited her niece to stay with her. 11-year-old Anne-Marie soon took up calling her cousin, the little prince, her petite husband, apparently the result of the mademoiselle taking a suggestion by Queen Anne a bit too seriously. King Louis found it funny, but Louis's prime minister, Cardinal Rishelieu, found it threatening, and he sent little Anne-Marie away. For reference, it's that guy's policies that will eventually bring about the frond, but not quite yet. Anne-Marie's first serious proposal would come from Charles Stewart, Prince of Wales, who fell head-over

heels for his cousin. The future, King Charles II of England, was not to get his way, but more on that later. Headstrong and used to getting what she wanted, Anne-Marie was setting her sight higher than a cousin who was then in exile. She wanted. She wanted. Ferdinand III, the recently widowed Holy Roman Emperor. She believed she deserved nothing less than the most advantageous match available, but neither Queen Anne nor her father would agree to it. It's a strikingly different attitude toward marriage than the one Anne-Marie would come to have in the future, but she had to understand the politics of the court before she could detest them. But soon Anne-Marie and France would have larger worries than political marriages.

The Fronde is a period of French history that is much less widely discussed in favor of the bigger revolutionary storm that would eventually follow it. But it is an important moment in French history nonetheless. Put incredibly simply, the Fronde is the name given to two civil wars between 1640, and 1653, now referred to as the parliamentary frond and the sequel, Two Fronde Too Furious. Just kidding, I mean the frond of the princes. The conflict was born out of widespread discontent with the regency government following the death of King Louis the 13th, when King Louis the 14th was still too young to rule on his own, and the continuing policies of the Louis the 13th administration, namely the devastating taxation implemented by Cardinal Rishilu

and his expansion of monarchical powers at the expense of nobility. Anne-Marie later explained that she did not immediately understand the gravity of the event that she was beginning to witness. Instead, she just possessed a kind of smug satisfaction that the country was turning against the queen, validating her own frustrations with her aunt, who hadn't let her marry the Holy Roman Emperor like she wanted. But Anne-Marie's father, Gaston, was for now supporting Queen Anne and the Regency of King Louis XIV, and so Anne-Marie would support Queen Anne too. Thanks to the successful leadership of Gaston and the Prince de Conde, the Royal Regency prevailed over Parliament who was trying to limit the powers of the monarchy,

and the two parties signed the Peace of Rule Treaty in March 1649. It was, in essence, slapping a Band-Aid on the problem. Condé, a member of one of the most powerful families in France, now becomes an important player in our story. At this point, Anne-Marie had already despised him for years. To give an example as to why, during the parliamentary fran, the Mademoiselle had come down. with smallpox, and upon her recovery, Kande teased her by saying,

he did not believe she had been ill at all that she was faking it for attention. So she didn't like him on a personal level, but the man was a problem for more than just Anne-Marie. His victories had boosted his ego to heights too close to the sun, and it became clear that he was in possession of far more power than the monarchy would tolerate. And what do you do when your star general has proud ambitions beyond his station? Throw him in jail, of course, much to Anne-Marie's delight. Condé, however, was still a prince, and there was uproar that a prince was jailed for anything less than high treason.

But with Condé out of commission, Anne-Marie's father, Gaston, was relied upon more than ever by the royal family, and because he could not be everywhere at once, Anne-Marie would sometimes appear in his place. The court brought her to Bordeaux, where Condé's wife and Anne-Marie's friend, Claire Clement, was leading a rebellion. Anne-Marie was intended to act as a surrogate for her father, but Anne-Marie was beginning to develop her own political voice.

She strongly urged the Queen to agree to terms with the rebels, who in turn concluded, Mademoiselle is becoming furiously fondue. Despite her personal dislike of Condé and his family, Anne-Marie did ultimately encourage her father to side with the princes of Condé to oust Cardinal Mazarin, the Royals' chief minister. For her part, she saw this as a path to becoming Queen of France herself. There was still fruitless talk of a marriage between her and the young King Louis XIV, and Condé said that he wanted to see Anne-Marie on the third. throne, which was more than Queen Anne and Mazarin were offering. When part two of the Civil War began to break out, Gaston could not make up his mind as to whether or not he was needed more in

Paris or his Duchy of Orleans. And Mademoiselle ultimately jumped at the opportunity to go to Orleans in his stead. These events bring us back to where we began this episode, where Anne-Marie, on behalf of the Frondeux ultimately gains passage into the city, and her legend is born as a savvy political operator. In Orleans, Mademoiselle hosted local officials, issued safe conduct passes, and went through and intercepted private mail, which was probably a lot of fun. But the real action was escalating in Paris, and Anne-Marie was eager to be a part of it. Her star was on the rise amongst the people who sang of her in the streets and cheered as she rode back into the city. She was welcomed home by Henrietta Maria of France, the widow of Charles I and the Queen of England

in exile, who offered Anne-Marie a backhanded compliment. She remarks that Anne-Marie resembled Joan of Arc, the original maid of Orleans, who had saved the city and driven back the English, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that Anne-Marie had rejected the English suitor Charles II, a.k.a. Henrietta Marie's son. But Anne-Marie's major military moment was yet to come. On the evening of July 1st, Anne-Marie had a premonition that something terrible was about to happen, something that would require her help. Another very Joan of Arc moment. She refused to take any medicine. that evening to stay sharp in case she was soon needed. And in the early hours of July 2nd, Mademoiselle's suspicions were justified when she was awakened with the news that the Condé was

under attack, stuck outside the city at the port St. Denis. Condé had sent word for Gaston, but Gaston claimed he was ill, and thus Mademoiselle was begged to take her father's place. Anne-Marie first rushed to her father, whom she found in fine shape. I am not ill enough to be in bed, but too ill to go out, he explained, and I get it, who hasn't been there. Anne-Marie begged her father, reminding him that not only was Condé in danger, but so many of their supporters were as well. Gaston still wouldn't go himself, but he gave his authorization for his daughter to go out on his behalf. Anne-Marie marched to the city militia, warning them that if Condé were defeated and his troops destroyed,

the royal army would turn on Paris to squash the rebellion. When that didn't work, she apparently turned to threatening the Marshal of France that she would pull out his beard and he would meet his death at her hands. It seems that she was convincingly intimidating, and the militia reluctantly agreed to allow the rebel. army passage into the city. The reality of the battle was grim. As Anne-Marie was escorted to Kande, she encountered many wounded soldiers. Some she called her friends among them. In a house near the Bastille, she met with Kande, who was himself looking unwell. He burst into tears at the thought of many of his

friends, possibly wounded or dead. And it moved Anne-Marie to see. the notoriously cold man be vulnerable. The pair were soon joined by Anne-Marie's father, Gaston, miraculously cured of his ailments. Maybe he took a great nap. Gistan and Condé agreed it was time for the army to retreat. Anne-Marie left the house and went to the Bastille, climbing to the top of one of its towers where a telescope was stationed. From there, she had a view of the Charon Quarter, where the king and his officials had gathered in anticipation of their victory. In the distance, she could also see the royal troops preparing for a final assault. Anne-Marie's strange premonition about an unforeseen something, as she described it, was coming true.

The governor of the Bastille was a frondeur, and he was ready to follow Mademoiselle's orders, provided that, she had authorization from Gaston. Luckily, Anne-Marie had already obtained a note from her father, ordering the governor to fire on an enemy in range of his guns. The cannons of the Bastille were normally facing inwards toward the city, but Anne-Marie ordered them to be turned outwards, towards the royal army. She sent a page to inform Condé of her plan, but by the time he received notice, he had already seen what she had done and gave the order for his troops to retire into Paris. As the Royal Army began to advance,

the cannons fired, and their march was halted entirely. Good, they're firing on the enemy, a confused Cardinal Mazarin said. I'm afraid it's against us, someone replied. The officials began to speculate that it was Mademoiselle up there on the Bastille, to which Mazarin remark,

that cannon shot has killed her husband, a reference to her long-standing plan to marry the young King Louis XIV. At that moment, Anne-Marie did not care about losing her potential alliance with the young King Louis XIV or her chance at the crown. She would later reflect in her memoirs that she felt a mix of satisfaction for what she had done to save her army, alongside a feeling of grief for the lives lost on both sides. Anne-Marie had given the Frondeurs a flashy victory in Paris in the moment, but it ultimately didn't have much impact. The rebellion was speeding too fast towards destruction. It fizzled out for a few more months before ultimately failing in October, when the king announced his return

to Paris. Mademoiselle was sent a chilly letter from King Louis, who notified her that his brother Philippe would be taking her apartment at the Tullery and asked her to vacate by noon the next day. Anne-Marie soon learned that Gaston, for his part, had been ordered to leave Paris, and she feared that she would be next. Before Gaston left, the father and daughter had a major fight. She accused him of betraying the frond. He retorted that the rebellion was over and she needed to give up her fantasies. She asked her father if she could stay with him, and he denied her, offering no alternative. Quote, I was abandoned in my disgrace by the one who

had caused it, she later reflected in her memoirs. His refusal of a place to stay came back to me, and I have not forgotten it. Anticipating her impending exile, Mademoiselle left Paris. She traveled, traveled incognito, even going so far as to create a false identity, the widow Madame Dupree, when she stopped at a roadside inn. As the widow Dupre, she chatted with a friar from Paris, who claimed that he knew Gaston and his daughter, the grand mademoiselle, very well. He somehow did not recognize her. Nonetheless, Anne-Marie suspected her disguise was not a very convincing performance. Anne-Marie had another title as the Duchess de Saint-Farge, an area in central France, and so she was able to move into the local chateau there. Soon after she arrived, she received a

surprise letter from King Louis, who remarked that San Frégeau was a good choice and assured her that she could stay there undisturbed for as long as she wished. In his eyes, I imagine that that would be ideally forever. Thus began five years of exile from Paris. Much of her life remained the same. She hosted visitors, played parlor games, but I imagine that after a life spent at court, especially following recent experiences with the rebellion,

Anne-Marie wouldn't be truly content in the slow, relaxing country. She received more proposals that she turned down. She took in her father's bastard son and saw to his education. She developed a love for reading and hired a literary tutor to educate her. This is also when she began to write her memoir. The first part of the memoir is split into two halves,

the first of which covered events from her birth until the conclusion of the frond and likely was written within the first year of exile. The second half was about the exile itself, and through her writing, we learn of a very, prolonged dispute with her father Gaston over her finances. Now in her mid-20s, Anne-Marie had finally hired a financial advisor, who, in addition to getting her affairs in order, pointed out that Gaston had been considerably mismanaging his daughter's funds while she was a minor. Looking at the

numbers, it's clear Gaston considered his daughter's inheritance his personal piggy bank. Anne-Marie says she thought of things in simple terms. She was owed money and she wanted what she was owed. But the battle turned ugly. Gaston accused Anne-Marie of trying to beggar her younger half-sisters out of jealousy, and he threatened her financial advisor into resigning. The dispute eventually went to the French courts, where each party won and lost a case.

In the end, Mademoiselle ultimately realized that she would have to give up the fight if she wanted both peace in her life and a chance to return to court. Her sacrifice paid off. She returned to court in the summer of 1657. She reconciled with Queen Anne and eventually her cousins,

King Louis and his brother Philippe, when they returned from battle. The latter, Philippe, was much happier to see her than the king. It's good that those two got along because there was now talks of amy. marriage between Anne-Marie and the younger prince. She held genuine affection for her cousin, even though he had claimed her apartments at the palace, but she found him trivial and childish, which checks out considering he was 13 years younger than her. It was actually for that very

reason that Queen Anne and Cardinal Mazarin sought Anne-Marie as a match. They hoped that She would encourage Philippe away from his frivolities and towards a respectable military career. During this time, Anne-Marie wrote a literary portrait of herself, which provides us with some unique insight. She describes her physical appearance, tall, medium-billed, crooked teeth, prominent nose. She was constant in her friendships but made a bad enemy. She enjoyed reading, quote, good, solid books, and enjoyed, conversing with honest people. She had no inclination to gallantry, and the poetry she liked the least was that of love. Returning to court also reminded Anne-Marie of all the things she disliked

about life there. Now 30, on top of the potential Philippe match, she was still being asked whether she would consider marriage to Charles II of England. She fantasized about a life away from court and a life away from marriage altogether. Writing to her friend and fellow memoirist Madame de Motteville, she described the utopia I mentioned at the beginning of this episode. Anne-Marie proposed a rural retreat

where a self-contained group of well-bred, like-minded people could participate in cultivation of the mind. There would be a large house, plain, but with plenty of bookshelves. There would be poetry, music, and good food for, quote, nothing is more human than eating.

In line with her Christian beliefs, there would be a hospital for the sick and the poor would be fed and educated. The company would notably exclude married couples. Membership would be restricted to widows, widowers, and those who had resolved not to marry. Love would not be permitted within the community, but friendships were encouraged.

marriage, Anne Marie argued, quote, has made men superior to us women, caused us to be called the fragile sex, subject to the male sex, often against our will and for family reasons that make us victims. At last, let us free ourselves from slavery. Let there be a corner of the world in which it can be said that women are their own mistresses, and let us celebrate ourselves for the centuries to come. In reality, Anne-Marie recognized her utopia as what it was, a fiction, and she had more complex feelings surrounding marriage. In her writing, she recalls a conversation in 1661 with Cardinal Mazarin, where she confessed, quote,

there were moments when I really wished to marry and others when I didn't care at all, but I was happy that I was not forgotten and that there was concern about an establishment for me. That interest, though, was a double-edged sword. Those looking out for her likely had their own interests in mind above hers. Quote, I will think about you when it is convenient for me, Louis once coldly told her, quote, and I will marry you off where it will be of use to me. Anne-Marie defied that arrangement. In 1663, when King Louis tried one final match, a marriage to Alphonsei.

of the 6th of Portugal, she rejected it and subsequently went back into exile. She would later justify her denial in her memoir, explaining that she did not want a husband who was paralyzed, impotent, cruel, and violent. Well, who can blame her? In 1665, Queen Anne's health declined, and Anne-Marie returned to Paris to be with her aunt. In the wake of Anne's death, A new era began at court, and Anne-Marie would find herself for the first time in her life in a romance. The object of her affection was a favorite of King Louis. His name was Antonin Nompard de Comand, later known as the Duke of Lazon. He was well-connected, but his noble family was poor, and Antonin was determined to make a name for himself.

As many second sons of nobility do, he achieved rank through the military, ironically having been part of the royal arm during the second fronde. He then began to acquire influence at court, falling into favor with King Louis and earning himself a reputation as a ladies' man. Evidently possessing sex appeal in spite of his non-traditional looks, historians almost all, all note his height, apparently described as very diminutive, evidently unaware of the potential charisma possessed by a short king. He was well known among court for his wit and charm, but he also possessed a short temper to match his height. He and Anne-Marie had crossed paths for years,

but Mademoiselle's memoirs date their first conversation to 16. when she was 42 and he was 36. She found his conversation extraordinary, and the two began to seek each other out. By 1670, Anne-Marie was determined to marry him. She was tired of her solitary life and wanted a husband. R.I.P. Anne-Marie Louise Dor-Leon, you would have loved Sir Sharonin's speech in little women. In a sharp departure from Anne-Marie's earlier writing on marriage, she exclaimed, quote, all I need for my happiness was to have a husband like him, whom I would love dearly and who would love me.

Once in a lifetime, it was essential to know the joy of being loved by someone worth loving. Her courtship of Lazon was taboo for two reasons. One, as a close relative of the king, marrying a minor nobleman was unimaginable. And two, as a woman, especially a princess, Anne-Marie was supposed to be the pursued, not the pursuer. Lazin, for his part, conveniently was acting as Anne-Marie's confidant in matters of marriage, slyly hinting that a good match for her would be a man whose fortunes, she could raise. While it would be nice to believe that he had her best interests at heart, based on later actions he would take, it's likely he saw the match only for its advantages,

and he was sometimes even downright mocking towards Anne-Marie. Despite his subtle steering, he was still genuinely surprised when Anne-Marie actually told him that she wanted to marry him. It seems he did harbor some modicum of affection for her as a friend, even if it wasn't love. Around Christmas time, Anne-Marie entrusted a letter to the King's valet, telling Louis of her desire to marry Lazon. Louis expressed surprise and asked his cousin to think some more on the matter. She would stay the course and formally asked Louis for permission to marry, arguing, that she saw more honor in marrying the king's subject than in marrying a foreign prince. Louis told her that he did not forbid her from marrying, but he also did not advise her to,

asking her to once again think hard about her choice, and reminding her that there were many people who did not like Lazon. Louis's wife, Queen Marie-Térace, and Prince Philip, the king's brother were among those strongly opposed to the match. The former because it broke tradition, the latter because he believed Louis was manipulating the marriage to elevate his favorite. Still, the match was announced and Anne-Marie called the days that followed, quote, the happiest of her life. Most of the court took the news as Philippe did, believing that Lausanne couldn't have loved Mademoiselle, that. that he and Louis were just scheming to elevate his station.

The spinster princess was something of a tragicomic figure amongst the court, equally pitied and mocked. The backlash was so strong that only a few days after the announcement, Anne-Marie received a letter informing her that the engagement had been broken by King Louis. When she saw him in person following the news, Anne Marie claims they both cried. Rumors still persist that the couple married secretly in 1671 with the king's blessing, but there's no consensus as to the validity of the rumor.

Ultimately, it did not matter because Lausanne was arrested at the king's behest later that same year. Some speculated it was because of a secret marriage, but today it's rather believed that it was the result of a confrontation between Lassau, King Louis, and Louis's mistress, Madame de Montespan. Lézanne apparently blamed the mistress for not aiding him in keeping the engagement and went into one of his bouts of violent rage. The next years of Anne-Marie's life would be spent trying and failing to secure her once fiancée's release. She also dedicated herself to working on her memoirs once again, documenting the

story of the failed engagement. Anne-Marie eventually came to an agreement with Montespan. She would make the mistress's illegitimate son with Louis her heir if the king would agree to release Lausanne. Anne-Marie ultimately signed two of her most profitable lands, way to the young illegitimate Louis Auguste de Bourbon. Her once fiancée was released, but not permitted back in Paris for some time. After 10 years, Lausanne could see the sunlight, but it soon became clear to Anne-Marie that his priority was getting back to court, not marrying her. At one point in her writing, she goes so far as to call him a swindler. She had given up a fortune, for a man who just wasn't that interested.

Lezanne apparently resented the fact that he was not able to get himself out of prison and began no fewer than three separate affairs with other women. After so many years fighting for him, Anne-Marie was disillusioned and the two grew distant. Eventually, he left Paris for his country estate, telling Mademoiselle he hoped to never see her again. quote, it would have been better if I had never seen you, but better late than never, she replied. Anne-Marie would live the rest of her life in Paris and dedicated to her writing, successfully finishing her memoirs. She also found a deeper connection to her faith and began meditations. Her last written work, a commentary on the imitation of Jesus Christ, was written in the last month of her life.

quote, greatness of birth and the advantages bestowed by wealth should provide all the elements of a happy life, she wrote. Yet there are many people who have had all of these things and are not happy. The events of my own past would give me enough proof of this without looking for examples everywhere. She died on the morning of April 5, 1693, after a brief illness. She was 66. Lazzan received nothing in her will, and she refused to see him on her deathbed. She left most of her estates to her cousin Philippe, who was there with her in her final moments.

Many of her titles still carry on to his descendants today. Ultimately, her lack of an heir would be her legacy. For all of her life's incredible twists and turns, at her funeral, she was apparently noted as, quote, the wealthiest single princess of Europe. That's the story of Anne-Marie, but keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a little bit more about one of those matches that did not happen. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wodom.

My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent.

He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there.

Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Wode. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and The Big Money Play Network. It's Will Ferrell.

Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with him one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come, look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you,

which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there.

Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Young Anne-Marie was. heartbroken to learn that she was not one day going to marry her baby cousin, Louis, but her first suitor was actually another royal cousin, Charles Stewart, Prince of Wales, future King Charles II of England. Henrietta Maria of France, who was the wife of King Charles I,

was in exile during this time, living in the Louvre on the support of Queen Anne because of the events of the English Civil War. In 1646, 16-year-old Charles joined his mother and was immediately smitten with his French cousin. Anne-Marie was more on the fence. She later wrote that she thought him, quote, passably agreeable in his person, or handsome enough, but she found his inability to speak or understand French,

rather disagreeable. It was through Henrietta Maria, therefore, that 19-year-old Anne-Marie learned that Charles, apparently, had fallen madly in love with her. Though he continued to speak no French, Charles stuck to Anne-Marie's side like glue, showering her with compliments in English. Henrietta Maria was overjoyed by the match, and while Queen Anne was less involved, she did not discourage it. That winter, a festival was hosted at the Palais Royal, for which the queen herself supervised Anne-Marie's costume, and Henrietta Maria provided the crown jewels of both France and England to adorn the princess. A temporary throne was built in the theater for the very young Louis XIV, but he refused to occupy it, in the presence of the Prince of Wales, and Charles refused all the same.

The solution was for Anne Marie to take the spot. She narrates this moment in her memoirs. From her raised perch on the throne, she looked down upon her suitor, seeing him not with affection, but as an, quote, object of pity. It's hard to come back from that. Years later, Charles would formally propose, but having only learned to speak of unimportant trivial matters in French, instead of his own political situation, Anne-Marie would advise him to focus on recapturing his throne. It was very good advice,

and knowing what we know of Charles' love life, his penchant for many, many affairs and dalliances with actresses, we can probably say that Anne-Marie most likely made a sound decision when it came to protecting her heart. Noble Blood is a production of I-Heart-Heart-Rate. and Grimmin-Mild from Aaron Menke. Noble Blood is hosted by me, Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick,

Courtney Sender, Julia Melani, and Armand Kasam. The show is edited and produced by Noammy Griffin and Rima Il K. Alley, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players

and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey! And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later,

we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? They had a bogo.

Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.