Prie, Jeanne Agnes Berthelot de Pléneuf, Marquise de (1698–1727)
Prie, Jeanne Agnes Berthelot de Pléneuf, Marquise de (1698–1727)
French marquise with power at court. Name variations: Madame de Prie. Born Jeanne Agnes Berthelot de Pléneuf in 1698; died in 1727; daughter of rich but unscrupulous parents; married Louis, marquis de Prie, in 1713.
At age 15, Jeanne de Pléneuf was married to Louis, marquis de Prie, and moved to the court of Savoy at Turin, where he was ambassador. At 21, she returned to France. Lovely and mesmerizing, she was soon the mistress of Louis Henry, duke of Bourbon. During the duke's ministry (1723–25), Jeanne de Prie was in many respects the true ruler of France, her most notable triumph being the marriage of Louis XV to Marie Leczinska over 40 other princesses. Mme de Prie assumed that, in gratitude, Marie would grant her favors. But when, in 1725, de Prie tried to have Bourbon's rival Cardinal Fleury exiled, her influence came to an end. After Fleury's recall and the banishment of Bourbon to Chantilly, de Prie was exiled to Courbépine, where she committed suicide the following year.
suggested reading:
Thirion, M.H. Madame de Prie. Paris, 1905.