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France 24

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FRANCE 24

France's Château de Maintenon: The castle of Louis XIV's secret wife

Louis XIV

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This French Renaissance-style castle would probably have remained largely unknown if it hadn't become home to the secret wife of Louis XIV, Madame de Maintenon. Françoise d'Aubigné – her real name – was a woman of humble origins who is often compared to Cinderella. After Louis secretly married her, the Château de Maintenon underwent numerous transformations as she put her own stamp on it. Meanwhile, the French-style garden was designed by renowned landscape architect André Le Nôtre but was only laid out in 2013.

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