WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Rumor Has It: Madame De Pompadour

Episode Date: January 26, 2024

In this episode of rumor has it we examine the scandalous words of Madame De Pompadour, companion to the Sun King.

Sh-Rumor Has It. Rumor has it. Rumor has it. Rumor has it. Rumor has it. Rumor has it. Rumor has it. Did you hear? I saw. She told me rumor has it. You'll never believe. You're listening to Rumor Has It with Addy Longnecker. Hello, hello, and welcome to Rumor Has It. I'm your host, Addy Longnaker.

And today, we've got more tea on the French court, which just seems to be dripping in drama. Today we're talking about Jean-Antonette Poisson, Marquis de Pompadour. She was a famous mistress of Louis XIV, otherwise known as the Sun King. It was he who instituted Versailles, and he who was known for the most lavish parties and for driving the French monarchy in to disaster. One of the best examples of an absolute monarch, he had taken over all of the government to roles that had been left to the parliament. Madame de Pompadour served as his mistress from 1745 to 1751, and she remained popular in court until her death.

What makes her so famous, though, is the words that she was rumored to have spoken. Just as Marie Antoinette said, let them have cake, maybe. Madame de Pompadour is known for returning to Louis X, 14th at one time and saying, After us, the deluge. What makes this sentence so remarkable if it is what she said, is that it means that she knew just what was happening to the French government. She knew that the decadence and the taxation and the extravagance of the French court was going to drive the French people into revolution.

But she didn't care because she had a good then. This has been rumor has it. I'm your host, Addy Longnicker. Until next time when we serve up some more hot tea.