Royal Mistresses of France

Professor Andrew Lear is a world-renowned expert on sexuality in art and the author of the best-known book on sexuality in Greek vase-painting.  He is the founder of Oscar Wilde Tours, the gay history tour company, and Shady Ladies Tours, the woman's history tour company.

Andrew Lear

Come watch this fun and interesting lecture, and learn about the amazing women who co-ruled France as the official Mistress of the King!

<p><strong><em>Can&#x27;t make the live event?  No problem, you can watch the event at your convenience for 2 weeks.</em></strong></p><p>One of the most astonishing characteristics of Ancien Régime France was the official mistress—la maîtresse en titre—of the King.  From the 15th century until just before the Revolution, French kings not only had lovers.  Many of them had a lover who was presented as such at Court, lived in an apartment in the royal palace, and in some cases co-ruled the country with the King, while the Queen, once she had born an heir to the throne, was largely ignored!</p><p> Learn how this situation came about, how these mistresses were chosen, what their relationships with the King were like, how the Queens dealt with it, and more.  Above all, learn the stories of these amazing women:</p><p> Diane de Poitiers, who co-ruled France with Henri II—they even signed his letters in the name HENRIDIANE, like a Renaissance version of Brangelina</p><p> Gabrielle d’Estrées who convinced the Protestant Henri IV to convert to Catholicism, ending  the wars of religion in France,</p><p> Madame de Montespan, mistress of Louis XIV, who made fun of the other courtiers, screamed at the King, and fell from grace when she was accused (possibly correctly) of participating in Black Masses, in which babies were sacrificed over her naked body</p><p> And more, on this amazing romp through one of pre-Revolutionary France’s most amazing sides, and one of world history’s most amazing groups of women!</p>

<h3>ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:</h3><p>Parisian native <strong>Edith de Belleville</strong> was an attorney at law for many years, but her passion for Paris and its history led her back to university (at the age of 50) to get her official tour guide license. Deeply inspired by Parisian women of the past, Edith decided to write a book, in French, entitled<em> The Beautiful Rebels of Paris</em> (Belles et Rebelles, Editions du 81 ). Edith also teaches Jewish heritage in Paris at University Gustave Eiffel (Marne- la- Vallée), and has just finished writing a book in English which will be published soon, <em>Tea with Coco Chanel, adventures of a modern- day Parisienne</em>. </p><p><strong>Prof. Andrew Lear</strong> is a renowned expert on same-sex relations in Greek and Roman antiquity. During his academic career, he taught at Harvard, Pomona College, and NYU. In recent years, he has founded Oscar Wilde Tours, the LGBTQ history and culture tour company and Shady Ladies Tours, a women&#x27;s history and culture tour company. He is also working with actor/author Stephen Fry on a podcast about the &quot;Scandals and Secrets of London&#x27;s National Portrait Gallery.&quot;</p>

<h2>FAQs</h2><h3>When will the Zoom invite come?</h3><p>The Zoom invite will be in the CONFIRMATION EMAIL from your order—IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE IT IN YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL PLEASE MESSAGE US IMMEDIATELY. Subsequent to this, the Zoom invite will be sent to your email address at 48hrs, 2hrs, and 10mins before the event. PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPAM AND SOCIAL FOLDERS IF YOU DO NOT SEE THE ZOOM INVITE IN YOUR INBOX.</p><h3>If I can&#x27;t make the live recording, can I watch the event at another time?</h3><p>The event will be recorded, and all ticket holders will receive a link to the recording by email the evening after the presentation, with a password to access it.  It will be available to view for 2 weeks after the live event. If you do not receive the link to the recording a couple of hours after the live event please email us—sometimes Eventbrite emails can get lost in spam/social folders.</p><h3>What time zone is the event scheduled in?</h3><p>The event is scheduled for 2pm EST (i.e. New York time). You can watch it in any time zone but please adjust to the time zone you are in.</p><h3>Refund policy?</h3><p>Refunds are available up to the start time of the event. After the start time, refunds are only available if you have been unable to access the event.</p>

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Royal Mistresses of France

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