Diane de Poitiers, Royal Mistress Extraordinaire

Diane de Poitiers was a remarkable 16th century courtesan, the mistress of French King Henri II.  She wielded considerable power and influence at the French court, garnering considerable wealth along the way. All this, despite a royal rivalry between Diane and Henry’s wife, Queen Catherine de Medici.  The Queen and Diane loathed each other andContinue reading “Diane de Poitiers, Royal Mistress Extraordinaire”

Podcast: Marguerite Alibert – from Prostitute to Princess

Marguerite Alibert lived many different lives.  She had gone from poverty to prostitution to princes – not just one, but two. She was a beautiful yet hard woman who survived the gritty world of Paris poverty, only to mingle among France’s elite. Marguerite viewed sex and love not from a romantic perspective, but as a means toContinue reading “Podcast: Marguerite Alibert – from Prostitute to Princess”

Marguerite Alibert – from Prostitute to Princes

Marguerite Alibert was a very resourceful Frenchwoman who lived many different lives.  She had gone from poverty to prostitution to princes – not just one prince, but two, from different countries. She managed to transform herself from a prostitute, to a consort, to a defendant in the trial of her husband’s murder.