Marie Louise Gonzaga

Marie Louise Gonzaga (Italian: Maria Luisa, , ; 18 August 1611 – 10 May 1667) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania by marriage to two kings of Poland and grand dukes of Lithuania, brothers Władysław IV and John II Casimir. Together with Bona Sforza (1494–1557), she is regarded as one of the most influential and powerful queen consorts of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Born in Nevers to Charles I, Duke of Mantua and Catherine of Guise, Marie was brought up at the French court as the future bride of Duke Gaston of Orléans. In 1645, she married Władysław IV of Poland with whom she did not have a harmonious relationship. After his death in 1648, the widowed queen married his half-brother and successor, John II Casimir. Marie Louise exercised considerable influence over her second husband and dictated the political course in the country. An ambitious and energetic woman, she was a strong supporter of an absolute monarchy for which she was reviled by certain spheres of the Polish szlachta and Lithuanian nobility. She, nevertheless, remained active in the Commonwealth's politics and co-sponsored the foundation of the first Polish newspaper, Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny (Polish Mercury Ordinary), in 1661 as well as other public institutions.

While her role is regarded as crucial in repulsing the foreign forces out of Poland-Lithuania during the Swedish Deluge (1655–1660), she became increasingly unpopular for her absolutist policies and her intention of nominating her niece's husband, Henri Jules, the future Prince of Condé, the heir apparent to the Polish-Lithuanian throne. That resulted in a military conflict with the internal opposition, which ended with the defeat of the royal army in 1666, during Lubomirski's rebellion. After Marie Louise's death, John Casimir hesitatingly renounced the crown, and the Commonwealth government officially curtailed the prerogatives of the royal consort.

Early life and marriage proposal Marie Louise Gonzaga was born on 18 August 1611 in the town of Nevers, France to Charles I, Duke of Mantua, and Catherine de Lorraine-Guise-Mayenne. Marie Louise was supposed to marry Gaston, Duke of Orléans in 1627, but King Louis XIII strongly opposed the marriage and subsequently imprisoned her in the Château de Vincennes and later in a small convent.

The first proposal for her to marry the newly elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Władysław IV Vasa, was made in 1634, but Władysław eventually married Cecilia Renata of Austria, the daughter of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Anna of Bavaria. This decision was very unfavourable for France and greatly angered Louis XIII because of the newly established alliance between the Austrian Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In 1637, the Abbot of Villeloin, Michel de Marolles, visited Nevers and had the opportunity to play Tarot with the Princess, who had added some innovations to the game. She told Marolles to publish her version which he did. His account is the oldest known set of printed rules of the game of Tarot.

In 1640, Marie Louise met Władysław's brother, John Casimir with whom she had an early affair. She later invited Prince John Casimir to France for her annual literary salon organised in Paris.

Queen of Poland, Grand Duchess of Lithuania, politics and conflict with nobility

Following the death of Cecilia Renata in 1644, Cardinal Jules Mazarin was determined to weaken the alliance between the Polish-Lithuanian Vasa dynasty and the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, the rivals of the French state. Mazarin insisted for Marie Louise to marry the widowed sovereign, making sure that she was the only candidate.

Under the pressure of the French government and other Western nations, Marie Louise Gonzaga finally married Władysław by proxy on 5 November 1645. The proper wedding of Marie Louise and Władysław IV took place in Warsaw on 10 March 1646. She was forced by the Commonwealth's parliament (Sejm) and the strongly zealous nobility to change her name from Marie Louise to Ludwika Maria for the marriage to take place, as the given name Maria was then considered in Poland reserved only for Mary, mother of Jesus.

Two years later, on 20 May 1648, Marie Louise was widowed by the sudden death of Władysław IV. John Casimir was eventually elected the next King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania by the parliament, and married her on 30 May 1649. During an 18-year marriage with John Casimir, she gave birth to two children, Maria Anna Teresa and John Sigismund, who died in infancy.

Queen once more, Marie Louise immediately focused on influencing the political views of her new husband. Marie Louise believed that she was more able to control John Casimir rather than his deceased brother Władysław, who was described as extremely stubborn, self-centered and overwhelmingly supporting the nobility. In contrast, Marie Louise opposed the nobility and sought to weaken their power in Parliament. Intelligent, tenacious and with a strong personality, she guided John Casimir throughout his political and military campaigns. This was noticed by a Brandenburgian diplomat, Hoverberk, who stated in his diaries that "by incessant insistence, molestation, complaints and other tricks she controlled the poor king and therefore the entire ill-fated country itself." In contrast to her husband, Marie Louise was reportedly not sympathetic towards the servants, peasants and lower classes but sought to strengthen the Polish-Lithuanian nation in case of war against the powerful and dangerous eastern empires: the Ottoman Empire, the Swedish Empire and the Russian Empire. As a former salonist in France, she opened a literary salon in Poland, the first in the country. She was the patron of the next king and grand duke, John III Sobieski, who would follow the example of trying to reform the Commonwealth's legal system, also without success.

Rumours pointed her out as the mother of her successor as queen and grand duchess, Marie Casimire, through adultery, but there is no evidence to these rumours. She certainly had a close relationship with Marie Casimire, whom she educated on political matters and, according to Robert Nisbet Bain, spoiled her in the process. After Marie Louise had to give up her project of bringing Duke d'Enghien to Poland, she centred her hope on John III Sobieski and a marriage between her two protegés, which did come to pass.

The long reign of Marie Louise Gonzaga is poorly assessed by both contemporaries and historians. Together with Bona Sforza, she was one of the most energetic Polish queens and Lithuanian grand duchesses of the modern age and played an instrumental role in repulsing the Swedish armies during the Deluge, but her stubborn nature would ultimately frustrate her ambitious plans for reform.

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