Lesczcynski, Stanislas

Polen, 1677-1766
194,340  
Duc de Lorraine
Født. den 20. oktober, 1677, Lwów, Polen [nu Lviv, Ukraine]
Død 23. februar, 1766, Lunéville, Frankrig.

Stanislas Leszczynski blev placeret på den polske trone af Karl XII af Sverige, som havde vundet dette territorium under en militær kampagne i 1704. Stanislas blev afsat i 1709 og forlod landet for at slå sig ned i den franske provins Alsace.
   Stanislas datter Marie giftede sig med Louis XV i 1725. I 1733 forsøgte Stanislas at genvinde den polske trone ved hjælp af fransk støtte for sit kandidatur. En krig som varede fem år sluttede med at Stanilas igen tabte sit krav på den polske trone. Freden i Wien underskrevet i 1738 tillod Stanilas at beholde sine kongelige titler og afgav ham provinserne Lorraine og bar for livstid.
  Hans dannede sit hof ved Lunéville (sydøst for Nancy).
Because Stanislas was the father of the Queen of France, he also received a yearly income of two million livres from the French treasury. He set up a court at Lunéville (southeast of present day Nancy) and spent the rest of his life embellishing his two residences and enjoying the good life. The scene is now set for the entrance of Voltaire and Emilie.

Voltaire and Emilie were invited to Lunéville because Father Menou, religious adviser to Stanislas, had a rivalry with Stanislas's mistress, Mme de Boufflers. Father Menou hoped to dispose the mistress by providing a suitable replacement. The woman would have to be cheerful and amusing, beautiful and not too young, a noble Lorrainer by birth or marriage to be acceptable to the Court - and Emilie du Châtelet was the ideal choice.