On 4 December 1668, Madame de Sévigné wrote to her cousin Bussy, “At long last, the prettiest girl in France is marrying – not the prettiest boy – but one of the most honest men in the kingdom: he is Monsieur de Grignan.”[1] Grignan was indeed remarkably ugly (his ugliness being a frequent family joke) yet tall, graceful, athletic, and charming.

That same year, Louis XIV named Grignan the lieutenant general of the King in Provence.

Grignan was thus obliged to leave Paris and return to his family castle in the south of France.

For nearly forty years afterward, he and Madame de Grignan lived an extravagant vice-regal existence in Provence.

Every year, he presided at the opening of the Etats at Lambesc, seated on a throne-like chair with the Archbishop of Aix on his right and the Intendant of Provence on his left.