Timeline

For this story, I have created the following timeline based on the life dates of Anne d'Autriche and Louis XIV as well as the information from the film "The Man in the Iron Mask" and the book "The Three Musketeers":

1601 Birth of Anne d'Autriche (real)

1607 Birth of d'Artagnan (The Three Musketeers)

1615 Marriage of Anne d'Autriche to King Louis XIII of France (real)

1625 d'Artagnan comes to Paris and enters the service of the king (The Three Musketeers)

1637 Our adventure begins

1638 Birth of Louis XIV (real) - yes, in the film Aramis says that Louis lived as a nobleman for 16 years, so he wouldn't have been born until 1640, I'm just going to assume that Aramis is mistaken or just doesn't count the first two years of Philippes life ;)

(1643 Death of Louis XIII (real))

1656 Death of Louis XIII (film)

1662 The Man in the Iron Mask

It started with an immoral offer.

"You cannot be serious, Sire!"

Stunned, Anne d'Autriche, Queen of France, looked at the men who had just made a truly repulsive request of her. Her husband, King Louis XIII, had the decency to look a little embarrassed, while Cardinal Richelieu gave himself the same appearance of impenetrability and sovereignty as always.

It was then the Cardinal who took the floor again.

"Madame, you and His Majesty have now been married for over twenty years and France is still waiting for an heir."

This was not news to Anne. After all, she was the one whose belly the whole kingdom was looking at and which, to everyone's disappointment, had not borne fruit for over two decades now. This was probably not her fault. The king's visits to her bedchamber had always been sparse and unsatisfactory until they had finally stopped altogether a few years ago. And for that matter, there was no word of Louis having given a child to one of his mistresses.

"And you expect me to conceive this heir without the direct participation of my husband? Cardinal, this is outrageous. I am a good Catholic and a faithful wife. Never in my life would it occur to me to cheat on my husband - my royal husband."

"With his consent it would not be cheating, Madame."

"But it would still be cheating the crown."

"That is also debatable, Madame."

Anne was beside herself. The Cardinal made a wholly unacceptable proposal and then pretended that she was the stupid and unreasonable one. Her husband, as always, could not be counted on. Louis was a good-natured man, but also a weak one. He could not hold his own against a Richelieu - and if she was honest, neither could he against an Anne d'Autriche. This was a battle between her and the cardinal.

"Madame, I understand that this proposal is not compatible with your delicate feminine feelings of modesty and decency, but the duty of a king and queen is first of all the good of the realm. And to leave the realm without a secure succession, is the greatest betrayal of the crown. You know as well as I do that France would be plunged into chaos should His Majesty - long may he live - pass away. You cannot want that, Madame," Richelieu said unctuously.

A trap, it must be a trap, Anne thought.

"Is that how you see me? As a royal broodmare?" Anne heard for herself that her Spanish accent, which she had tried so hard to wean off since her wedding, had come back with a vengeance.

"Is that not the fate of all royal brides, Madame?" asked Richelieu smoothly.

Unfortunately, he was right. Of course, she had had no say in the matter when, at the age of fourteen, she had been married off to the King of France for political reasons. Of course, the purpose of her life was to bear children. But the King's, after all!

"Then I suppose you have already chosen a stallion too?" she asked pointedly.

The cardinal put his fingertips together. "Well, that point is indeed still open for debate. Of course, the potential sire of the future King of France would have to meet the highest standards. We would be happy to give Madame some say in the matter."

The Macarra viejo! Did he now seriously want to know who she would like to go to bed with? Now Anne was quite sure that her old adversary was trying to trap her.

"Your Excellency, if I remember correctly, you have already tried to foist an improper relationship on me before. How can I believe for a moment that you are serious about this absurd proposal? As I see it, you want to set a trap to discredit me and get rid of me."

"Madame, I am offended," said Richelieu. Anne did not believe a word he said. "Do you really think I care so little for the fate of France?"

That is exactly what I think, Anne said to herself. You don't care about France, you care about your personal power - and with this proposal you would have the entire royal family at your mercy. How could Richelieu possibly believe that she would embark on such a ludicrous enterprise? Not only was it against everything she considered morally good and right, it would be humiliating and just incredibly dangerous.

"Sire," she turned back to her husband, who had been following the exchange of words between advisor and wife in quiet discomfort. "Surely you cannot seriously consider this idea, or even show it favour?"

The king was visibly uncomfortable being directly confronted by his wife. "My dear, the question of succession is indeed one of the most pressing problems of Our reign. The Cardinal has made a very convincing case that Our sacrifice would be a small price in proportion."

Our sacrifice? Anne thought she had misheard. The King had not even meant "our" in the sense that they would both be affected. He had used the royal 'our' - he was concerned with his sacrifice.

"You really shouldn't be so narrow-minded about this," the king continued.

"It would be a sin," she hissed.

"Madame, I can already assure you that you are absolved of any sin in this regard," the cardinal said unctuously.