“I am Agnes. Long live France and love!”

To visit the grave of Agnes Sorel (1422-1450), the first official mistress of the monarch in French history, many tourists visiting the province of Touraine have always sought to. The tomb - over a black marble base - an angelic young face in serene calm, alabaster angels leaning over it - is located in the French town of Loches.
The death of a young royal favorite in 1450 was perceived as nothing more than a mystery.

Agnes Sorel was 20 years old when her senior Charles VII noticed her in the retinue of Queen Isabella (wife of Rene II).

They say that the French monarch was not Don Juan, but she transformed everything around - the melancholy king, secretive and unattractive, fashion and customs. Agnes received the place of maid of honor under the patronage of relatives in 1440-41 at the court of Isabella of Lorraine, wife of King Rene of Anjou, but Duchess Isabella went on a long journey to Italy, leaving Agnes under the care of her mother, Queen Yolanda, mother-in-law of King Charles VII. Yolanda, who noticed the tenacious mind and unusual beauty of the girl, probably planned to use her for her own purposes, to influence her weak-willed son-in-law, and it is also very likely that it was with Yolanda's patronage that Agnes was presented to the royal court, obviously in 1443, shortly before death of the queen herself.
Agnes "resisted" the royal will for a long time, for the king was married to Mary of Anjou (the portrait is attached). But .... did not resist ...

Oddly enough, the relationship between the queen and the favorite was good, and Mary even gave Agnes gifts

The lover was so generous that he caused a murmur among the people. He gave her castles and estates, including Bote-sur-Marne, for which the favorite was called the "Lady of Bote". In French, it had another meaning - "Lady of Beauty." Agnes Sorel is her and remained in history. She also received the titles of Dame Issuden, Vernon, and Rukesezier from Carl.

Agnes' influence on King Charles was boundless, it was she who convinced him to resume hostilities against the British, which ended with the liberation of Normandy.
The favorite wanted to understand why the people, whose opinion she usually ignored, despised and hated her. And she suddenly found out in what deep poverty ordinary French people live, while the court was bathed in luxury. Agnes decided to remind the king of his duty and duties. To this end, she used a certain trick, as reported by Brant in his book "The Life of Gallant Ladies": the astrologer predicted to me that one of the bravest and most courageous kings would fall in love with me. When we met, I thought you were that brave king: But it looks like I was wrong: You are too pampered and hardly attend to the affairs of your poor kingdom. It seems to me that this courageous king is not you, but the English king, who creates such strong armies and captures such beautiful cities from you. Farewell! I go to him, apparently, the astrologer told me about him.
These words pierced the king right in the heart, he even cried. Charles VII abandoned hunting, gardens, forgot about entertainment, gathered all his strength and courage, which allowed him to quickly expel the British from his kingdom.
Indeed, some time after this conversation, Charles VII, with the help of his famous decrees, reorganized the troops and in 1449, violating the truce with England, began hostilities again. The king, driven by love for Agnes, put an end to the Hundred Years War in a few months, returning all the occupied lands of France. Agnes, who used to call him derisively Charles the Indifferent, began to call him Charles the Conqueror.
Alas! Fate decreed that the favorite did not have a chance to see the crown of her efforts.
They had four children with the king, whom the king unconditionally legitimized and they bore the Valois family name (Marie-Marguerite (1444-1473), Charlotte (1446-1477), Jeanne (1448-1467) and an unnamed daughter who died as an infant in 1450.
In fact, Agnes Sorel is the first woman to hold the almost official title of royal mistress.
Francois Clouet. Portrait of Agnes Sorel

Agnes Sorel died in Normandy, where she, expecting her fourth child, went to her lover, the king, who was expelling the English. Exhausted by the road, she gave birth prematurely. After the birth, Agnes became ill, she was tormented by endless pains in her stomach. Anticipating her death, Agnes donated a lot of money to the church and all the time repented of her sinful life. She died on February 9, 1450 in agony, and the king did not dare to show her body, as it was disfigured by the disease.

It was rumored that she was aware of a conspiracy against Charles VII, and Agnes tried to warn him, and therefore set off on the road. The people did not like the favorite from the petty nobility. Luxurious outfits sheathed with marten and sable, jewelry (among them is the first of the known carved diamonds - and it was with her that the “fashion” of wearing diamonds went - before it only high ranks of the male were allowed), dresses with a defiant neckline and completely bare breasts as well did not like, as well as the influence on the king, whose advisers were her people. By the way, it was she who introduced the well-known train, which the clergy called the "devil's tail", into fashion. She was the first to pluck her eyebrows and shave her blond hair to emphasize a high bulging forehead and huge almond-shaped blue eyes.
And the royal son, the dauphin and the future Louis XI, hated her in general, because the queen mother was in the shadows, while Agnes became a titled mistress, whose daughters were legitimized by the king.

In fact, already in the XV century. an investigation into the death of Agnes Sorel began - at first the rich man Jacques Kerr was accused of it (he was acquitted), then the shadow fell on the royal son, but the truth never surfaced.

The body of the extinct Agnes was taken to Losches. She was buried without ornaments. The king soon indulged in love affairs and gave them to others. Despite the fact that Agnes Sorel was a believer and made many donations, the churchmen did not want to lead a prayer service in honor of the scandalous person, and they decided to move the luxurious tomb away from the altar.
Oddly enough, Louis XI, who disliked Agnes Sorel, did not allow her to touch her tomb. Louis XV was just as categorical, but his successor, XVI in a row, granted the petition of the Church. The worst thing happened during the Revolution: in 1793 the tomb was smashed, the urn was thrown into the cemetery. A certain Poshol collected its contents.

The prefect of the region, General Pomerel, sent the monument for restoration, and then placed it in a dungeon at the foot of the donjon in Loches. By his order, very bold words from Voltaire's poems then decorated the pediment: “I am Agnes. Long live France and love!” In 1970, for the sake of safety, the tombstone was placed in the royal castle, and it returned to Saint-Urs almost two centuries later.
Detail of the gravestone of Agnes Sorel, made of white marble in the 15th century

Stained glass window with coats of arms and initials of the "Beautiful Lady" - Agnes Sorel

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Books

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• Great mistresses, Dufresne K.. Agnes Sorel, Francoise de Chateaubriand, Anna de Pisslet, Diane de Poitiers, Gabriella d'Estre, Louise de Lavaliere, Antoinette de Pompadour, Jeanne Dubarry, Zoë Ducayla, Maria Valevskaya - here they are, ...

Agnes Sorel (1409–1450)

Beloved of King Charles VII. In 1431 she was maid of honor to Isabella of Lorraine, Duchess of Anjou. She enchanted the king with her beauty. She had three daughters by Charles VII. Her name is associated with the liberation of France from the British.

Charles VII could not pass by this lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Sicily. She was so beautiful "that he longed to excite her and thought that his dreams could only come true in a dream."

Fascinated, he contemplated with delight her ash-colored hair, her blue eyes, her perfect nose, her charming mouth, her bare chest. Finally Karl asked her name. “I am the daughter of Jean Soret, and my name is Agnes Sorel,” answered the maid of honor.

The king silently went up to his quarters. It seemed like he had never been so in love in his life. He would not fall in love, because this woman captivated all the men she met.

“She was the youngest and most beautiful among all the women in the world,” exclaimed Jean Chartier.

“Yes, of course, she was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen,” echoed Olivier de La Marche.

“She, in truth, was the most beautiful among the young women of her day,” the author of the Martinian Chronicle shared their opinion.

Finally, Pius II, too, could not resist saying: "She had the most beautiful face imaginable."

And these words, spoken by the Pope himself, should hardly be regarded only as a compliment...

Almost nothing is known about the origins of Agnes Sorel. And what we know can be summed up in three sentences: her father, Jean Sauret, was an adviser to the Count of Clermont; her mother, Catherine de Menelai, was the owner of the de Verneuil estate. Aunt Agnes, when the girl was fifteen years old, attached her as a maid of honor at the court of Isabella of Lorraine, Queen of Sicily and wife of King Rene.

It is not known exactly where and when the most beautiful woman of the 15th century was born. For if the chronicler, out of courtesy, said that Agnes was born in Fromanto, he forgot to specify which of the two cities he was talking about - Fromanto in Picardy or Fromanto in Touraine ... Historians agree that she was 22 years old when she first saw Charles VII. It can also be said for sure that Agnes was "as beautiful and charming as no other queen ..."

So, with her beauty, she struck Charles VII, and the monarch rose to himself in a state close to ecstasy. He felt like he was in heaven.

However, not only Charles VII was captivated by the beauty of Agnes, as he could soon see for himself.

That same evening, the king tried to express his feelings to Agnes, but the young girl ran away with a frightened look, which only inflamed the desire in the king. For several days, his swollen temple veins were the subject of conversation in the royal court.

But one morning, observant courtiers noticed that the king had a normal look, and everyone understood: the beautiful Agnes no longer spent the night alone.

A few months later, the whole court knew about the love affair between the king and the lady from Fromanto. One queen was in the dark. But one evening, Maria of Anjou met the favorite of the king, walking along one of the corridors of the palace with bare breasts. This gave the Queen food for thought. And Mary of Anjou put the king under surveillance. The king was very careful. The chronicler Jean Chartier reported that "no one has ever seen Agnes kissing the king..." Although no one doubted that there was a secret intimate relationship between them, because in 1445 the beauty felt that she was pregnant...

On the day when the baby was supposed to be born, the queen, noticing the self-satisfied smile on the face of the king, no longer doubted his betrayal. She met with her mother, Yolande of Anjou, and shared her experiences with her. Yolanda was sensible. She understood that her daughter, whose external data and intellectual abilities were very mediocre, could not compete with the smart and beautiful Agnes. In addition, she understood that if Charles VII was required to drive away the favorite, he would still have mistresses. Therefore, Yolande of Anjou advised her daughter to come to terms with the existing state of affairs ...

The kind and condescending queen listened to the advice and tried to establish friendly relations with her mistress. They even walked together, listened to music, and had small talk at dinner, which greatly pleased Charles VII, for whom there was no greater pleasure than to see the complete harmony that reigned around ...

For several years, the king, judging by the recall of Pope Pius II, "could not live an hour without his beautiful girlfriend" and was more concerned with honing his love skills than with the conduct of state affairs.

Was it any wonder that in 1448 France was burdened with excessive taxes, and Agnes Sorel had three children by this time.

Charles VII decided to welcome the mother of his illegitimate children to the nobility. This wonderful idea was the highest gratitude that the king could bestow on a charming favorite. Not far from Paris, on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes, on a hill overlooking the bend of the Marne, Charles had a small castle intended for a library. This area was called Bote-sur-Marne (in translation - "beauty on the Marne"), and the king gave this estate to Agnes. She received the title of Dame de Bote (the title corresponded to her irresistible appearance).

At the same time, they started talking about extravagant outfits invented by the favorite herself. Agnes, abandoning the spacious tunics that hid the forms, began to wear long dresses that tightly fitted the body. In addition, she came up with a neckline that shocked Queen Mary. Bashfully hiding one breast, she gracefully exposed the other. This new fashion outraged most of the ladies of the court, who did not dare to follow the example of Agnes.

Perhaps it was these unfortunate women with not very beautiful breast shapes that made several eminent citizens protest the fantasies of the favorite in the field of clothing. Chancellor Juvenal Desursin, who was among them, wrote indignantly: “How does the king in his own residence endure that they walk in clothes with a deep neckline, because of which you can see women's breasts and nipples. And how in his apartments, as well as in the apartments of the queen and their children, many men and women are tormented, who are in an atmosphere of debauchery, sins and vicious relationships. Wearing such clothes is inappropriate and deserves punishment.”

Juvenal Desursin was not alone in suggesting that Agnes was a woman of easy virtue. Burginin Chastelyn left the following memories of her: “Her ingenuity was aimed at bringing into fashion new forms of clothing consistent with these conditions in the conditions of debauchery and decay.”

Considering that Juvenal Desursin and Chastelin, fearing for their position in society, tried to speak very softly about Agnes, one can imagine how the common people spoke of the favorite of Charles VII.

However, these reproaches and even insults, reaching the ears of Agnes, did not anger her, but only greatly saddened her. The favorite wanted to understand why the people, whose opinion she usually ignored, despised and hated her. And she suddenly found out in what deep poverty ordinary French people live, while the court was bathed in luxury. Agnes decided to remind the king of his duty and duties. To this end, she used a certain trick, as reported by Brant in his book "The Life of Gallant Ladies": the astrologer predicted to me that one of the bravest and most courageous kings would fall in love with me. When we met, I thought that you were the very brave king... But it seems that I was mistaken: you are too pampered and hardly take care of the affairs of your poor kingdom. It seems to me that this courageous king is not you, but the English king, who creates such strong armies and captures such beautiful cities from you. Farewell! I go to him, apparently, the astrologer told me about him.

And these words pierced the king in the very heart, he even cried. Charles VII abandoned hunting, gardens, forgot about entertainment, gathered all his strength and courage, which allowed him to quickly expel the British from his kingdom.

Indeed, some time after this conversation, Charles VII, with the help of his famous decrees, reorganized the troops and in 1449, violating the truce with England, began hostilities again. By that time, many important positions remained in the hands of the enemy, but the king, driven by love for Dame de Bota, put an end to the Hundred Years War in a few months, returning all the occupied lands of France. Agnes, who used to call him derisively Charles the Indifferent, began to call him Charles the Conqueror.

Alas! Fate decreed that the favorite did not have a chance to see the crown of her efforts. While the battles were going on, she died suddenly under very mysterious circumstances.

It happened in 1449. For several weeks the king was in the abbey de Jumiège. He carefully prepared for the siege of Harfleur, which was still in the hands of the enemy, and held military councils, which specified the details of the upcoming assault. In his rare free moments, he strolled through the garden with a gloomy look, and one might have thought that the king was not sure of the successful outcome of the battle. In fact, he was thinking about Agnes Sorel, who was in Loches and who was about to give birth ... Charles VII, having conquered the Duchy of Normandy, was looking forward to the birth of his fourth illegitimate child. Maybe this time she will give me a son, he thought. “I would love to have a son from her.”

This desire did not pursue any political goals, for Charles, who had five legitimate children from his marriage to Mary of Anjou, already had an heir, the Dauphin Louis, and the future of the dynasty did not bother him. It was the desire of a man madly in love.

On one of the January days, when he was slowly walking, thinking about Agnes and the child who was soon to be born, he saw a monk of the abbey running towards him: “Sire Mademoiselle Sorel was brought there in a very serious condition.”

Charles VII turned pale and, forgetting about royal gravity, rushed to the carriage. He hardly recognized Dame de Beaute - the hardships of travel had so strongly affected her facial features and pregnancy had disfigured her figure so much. Seeing the king, she stood up and smiled.

"It's madness," exclaimed Charles VII, "to come here in such a state!"

“I needed to see you urgently,” Agnes answered quietly, “no one but me could tell you what you should know.”

The king was very surprised at her words. He escorted Agnes into the bedroom, and she sank exhausted onto the bed. Karl, without giving her a minute to rest, stood at the head of her bed. And Agnes told him that "some of his subjects wanted to betray him and hand him over to the British ..."

The monarch did not believe her. Despite her fatigue, Agnes continued to speak with difficulty. She told the king everything to the smallest detail about the conspiracy being prepared and about the conspirators, whose intentions she accidentally became aware of.

“I came to save you,” she said.

Was there a conspiracy? Maybe. But the enemies of the king, having learned that Agnes had penetrated into their secret, considered it reasonable not to take any action ...

Reassured by the fact that she managed to inform the king about the danger that threatened him, the favorite fell asleep. Her sleep was short-lived: her first labor pains began, and she, moaning, began to toss and turn in bed. Charles VII moved her to a manor in Mesnil-sous-Jumièges, a country house built for the rest of the abbots. Here, the next day, a girl was born, who was destined to die in six months. The chronicler Jean Chartier narrates: “After giving birth, Agnes was troubled by indigestion, which lasted for a long time. During this illness, she constantly repented of her sins. She often remembered Mary Magdalene, who committed the highest carnal sin, but repented of it and asked for mercy from the Almighty and the Virgin Mary. And, like a true Catholic, Agnes spent whole hours reading prayers. She expressed all her desires and made a will, where she named the people whom she would like to help, leaving the sum of sixty thousand ecu, due for all their labors. Agnes got worse and worse, she regretted that her life was so short.

Finally, she asked her confessor Father Denis to forgive her sins, and on February 9, 1450, at six o'clock in the evening, Agnes Sorel, the beauty of beauties, died.

Her portraits now look a little strange: a pretty girl with a meek expression on her face and her breasts that fell out of her dress. These are not the fantasies of artists, but the real fashion that Agnes Sorel introduced in France in the 15th century. The mistress of Charles VII is known almost as well as her contemporary Jeanne d'Arc. The reason for this is not only the frivolous images of Agnes, but also her influence on the fate of France.

Agnes Conquers the King

According to most well-known sources, the meeting between Charles and Agnes was arranged by his mother-in-law Iolanthe. By that time, the king had five or six children from his legal wife, Mary of Anjou. Karl's wife did not shine with either beauty or other talents.

Iolanthe reasoned as follows: rather than wait until Karl himself finds a mistress, it is better to bring him together with someone whom the powerful mother-in-law can control. She created a company of beautiful and devoted girls to Iolanthe at court. They were perfect lovers and excellent spies.

Agnes conquered the timid and not particularly sophisticated in matters of women Karl from the first meeting. She practically did not leave the chambers of the king and very soon had an unprecedented title - the official mistress. Now her children received the royal name, and she received honors from the courtiers, participation in the political life of the country and use of the royal treasury.

Maria of Anjou did not grieve for long about her husband's betrayal and decided that it would be wiser to make friends with the favorite - most likely, the queen's mother insisted on this. He and Agnes became very close, shared all the secrets, and Karl could not get enough of the fact that peace and order reigned in his house.

Fashion without decorum

Agnes loved to shock the audience with provocative outfits. For her sake, Charles changed the law, according to which only noble persons could wear precious stones.

The favorite herself came up with the styles of her dresses. She wore a six-meter train - even the queen had it shorter. But the main innovation of Agnes is considered to be a blatantly bold neckline.

First, she introduces a dress that slightly restrains the chest. Then he appears in public in an outfit where one breast is completely covered, and the other is completely bare. This is how she is depicted in her most famous portrait as Madonna. The ladies were horrified, but soon repeated the same extravagant styles.

Bare breasts have become a trend, later Sorel's followers will show the world dresses with a wandering neckline - exposing one or the other breasts, and with a double neckline, exposing both breasts at once. Then cosmetics will appear not only for the face: powder for the chest and lipstick for the nipples.

How to get a man off the couch and win a war

While Agnes was buying up expensive fabrics and furs, a hundred-year war with England was going on in the country. Karl was not very interested in state affairs and preferred to spend his time drinking and making love. The people blamed the favorite for seducing their king from the true path.

Sorel's generous donations don't help the situation. In order to motivate the king to stand up for the state, Agnes resorts to a trick, which the French historian Branthom describes in his book The Life of Gallant Ladies.

Agnes told Karl that as a child, an astrologer predicted that one of the brave and courageous kings would fall in love with her.

When we met, I thought that you were the very brave king: but it seems that I was mistaken: you are too pampered and hardly attend to the affairs of your poor kingdom. It seems to me that this courageous king is not you, but the English king, who creates such strong armies and captures such beautiful cities from you. Farewell! I go to him, apparently, the astrologer told me about him.

Charles, like any man, was furious at such words, jumped into armor and set off to drive the British out of French lands. As the historian Henri Martin writes in 1855: "Sorel urged the king to overcome his laziness."

"The most beautiful in the world of all beauties," considered her chronicler Jean Chartier. Olivier de La Marche admitted: "She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen" - and even Pope Pius II could not help mentioning that "she has the most beautiful face that you can see."

She was destined to remain in history as the first officially recognized royal favorite, benefactor of the unfortunate and disadvantaged, and, finally, an example of tragic sacrificial love.

The history of life is absolutely legendary. Some reproached her for extravagance, others saw in her the successor of Jeanne d'Arc. The quatrain of King Francis I is known, in which she is credited with almost the main merit in the liberation of France from the British. She had a beneficial effect on the king, fought against his unworthy favorites and took care of replacing high positions with honored persons. From the king she had three daughters, who received the title of filles de France.

When Agnes Sorel, an outstanding woman of her era, was born exactly, it is not known exactly. Some call the year of her birth 1409, others argue that she was born much later, in 1422. Her father, close to the noble Count of Clermont, tried to make his daughter a maid of honor at the court, first of the Duchess Isabella of Lorraine, and then of Queen Mary of Anjou herself, wife of King Charles VII of France. Agnes was in her early twenties. Her beauty was legendary.

Many noble persons, high-ranking officials fell in love with the girl, and even the king himself was no exception. Before meeting with Agnes, the king had favorites. It was noted that Maria of Anjou knew about the passionate and temperamental nature of her husband. Her husband was reputed to be a windy, immoral, cowardly and cruel person, but he was quite well-read, educated and insightful.

Seeing once the fair-haired, blue-eyed Agnes, Karl was struck by her charm. She was so beautiful "that he longed to excite her and thought that his dreams could only come true in a dream."

That same evening, the king tried to express his feelings to Agnes, but the young girl ran away with a frightened look, which only inflamed the desire in the king. For several days, his swollen temple veins were the subject of conversation in the royal court.

Like a shy gazelle, at first she also avoided the king, but the enchanted Karl was persistent.

But one morning, observant courtiers noticed that the king had a normal look, and everyone understood: the beautiful Agnes no longer spent the night alone. Carl's wife Maria at that time was busy raising children - pious and with a face, according to Chastellier, "which even the British would have caught fear."

A few months later, the whole court knew about the love affair between the king and the lady from Fromanto. One queen was in the dark. But one evening, Maria of Anjou met the favorite of the king, walking along one of the corridors of the palace with bare breasts. This gave the Queen food for thought. And Mary of Anjou put the king under surveillance. The king was very careful. The chronicler Jean Chartier reported that "no one has ever seen Agnes kissing the king..." Although no one doubted that there was a secret intimate relationship between them, because in 1445 the beauty felt that she was pregnant...

To emphasize that this was not a passing fad, the king did the unprecedented act of proclaiming Agnes the official royal favourite. From now on, she was to be served like a princess, and she could wear the longest - after the queen - train.

On the day of the birth, the king was so worried that there could be no more doubts - adultery was evident. The angry and offended queen spent several days in tears, and then decided to calm down and ... become the girlfriend of the mistress of the reigning husband. The queen became so close to her rival that she soon trusted her with her most secret secrets, gave Agnes jewelry and outfits. Women began to walk together, go hunting, and discuss affairs in the country.

In 1445, Agnes gave birth to the king's daughter Charlotte, and then daughters Mary and Jeanne.

Charles VII decided to welcome the mother of his illegitimate children to the nobility. This wonderful idea was the highest gratitude that the king could bestow on a charming favorite. Not far from Paris, on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes, on a hill overlooking the bend of the Marne, Charles had a small castle intended for a library. This area was called Bote-sur-Marne (in translation - "beauty on the Marne"), and the king gave this estate to Agnes. She received the title of Dame de Bote (the title corresponded to her irresistible appearance).

queen mary

At the same time, they started talking about extravagant outfits invented by the favorite herself. Agnes, abandoning the spacious tunics that hid the forms, began to wear long dresses that tightly fitted the body. In addition, she came up with a neckline that shocked Queen Mary. Bashfully hiding one breast, she gracefully exposed the other. This new fashion outraged most of the ladies of the court, who did not dare to follow the example of Agnes.

She is credited with introducing such innovations as the wearing of diamonds by the uncrowned, the invention of a long train, the wearing of very loose outfits that open one breast; her behavior and open admission of connection with the king often caused resentment, but much was forgiven her thanks to the protection of the king and her perfect beauty. But Karl did not seem to notice the antics of his mistress. He awarded her the titles of ladies of Bote-sur-Marne, Vernon, Rukesezier.

But this woman's heart was even more beautiful than her face. When she learned about the deep poverty prevailing in the kingdom (France was languishing at the end of the Hundred Years War), she began to donate huge sums to the poor, to help the sick and crippled. Realizing that even her unparalleled generosity could not correct all the evil in a country ravaged by enemies, she subtly, femininely gracefully forced the weak, weak-willed king to remember his duties.

The poverty of ordinary Frenchmen, the ongoing Hundred Years War, the inaction of the king - all this caused discontent among the people. But for some reason, the royal favorite was considered guilty of everything. And Madame Sorel decided to act. The king, in love with her, was ready for anything for the sake of her favor and love. It was then, in 1429, that the name of the brave girl Joan of Arc, who was introduced to the king by Madame Sorel, became known.

Once, when the king was in Normandy, Madame Sorel came to him. Her condition was horrendous: Agnes went into labor. Before that, she told the king about the conspiracy being prepared against him, but Karl considered her words to be the delirium of an excited woman in labor. Whether this plot took place or not, it is now impossible to say. However, those close to him believed that even if the conspirators wanted to kill the king, they were frightened when they learned that the brave favorite brought this message to Karl.

A few days later, when Madame Sorel returned to Paris, she became ill. She died on February 9, 1450, and before her death, she regretted only one thing, that in the last minutes she could not see her beloved man. The king was not shown the deceased. Her face was disfigured by death throes.

Now scientists are sure that Sorel's death occurred as a result of mercury poisoning. It is possible that mercury was added to Sorel's food by the killer, but it is also likely that mercury entered Sorel's body unintentionally, as it was often added to cosmetics at that time.

Karl could not come to his senses for a long time: he was sure that the lady of his heart had been poisoned. At first, suspicion fell on the Minister of Finance, over whom a speedy trial took place. Due to insufficient evidence, the charge of murdering the royal maid of honor was removed from him, and he was imprisoned for embezzlement of the treasury. Then the king became suspicious of his own son. Louis really did not like his father's favorite, and he did not have the best relationship with Karl. However, as the courtiers said, he could hardly take such a step. The king gradually calmed down and ... preferred to forget about the deceased mistress.

The Hundred Years' War ended in 1453. The reforms that Sorel so dreamed of were also completed. Everyone understood that they owed this to the beautiful Madame Botha, the blond Agnes, the woman who changed the kingdom and inspired the king to bold decisions.

But Charles VII was already having fun with another lady: Agnes's cousin, Antoinette, became the favorite. She did not have such influence on Karl as her cousin, but she turned out to be an excellent lover and organizer of entertainment, parties, balls.

Having fallen in love with Antoinette and not wanting to part with her even for a minute, the king married her to his friend and settled the spouses in the palace. Andre de Villequier knew about the intimate relationship between his wife and the king, but chose not to pay attention to his wife's infidelities.

Carl spent all his time with his favorite. Soon, Antoinette alone was no longer enough for him, and the shrewd lover gathered around her adored friend several dozen of the most beautiful girls in Paris. The monarch indulged in love pleasures, and a rumor spread throughout France that Charles VII had gone mad and indulged in terrible debauchery. The courtiers were indignant and indignant, and the king traveled around the country and gathered new mistresses into his "harem". The queen looked with bitterness at her husband's debauchery.

The bad example of the sovereign seduced his subjects. High-ranking officials, noble husbands, even confessors also fell into debauchery and considered it an honor to have at least a couple of concubines with them. Paris collapsed into a pool of passion and lust.

The love exploits of the king, his wild life led to the fact that Charles VII came down with a serious illness. In the last months of his life, remembering the terrible death of Agnes, he refused food for fear of being poisoned. In the summer of 1461, the king died of exhaustion.