Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien (Polish: Maria Kazimiera Ludwika d’Arquien), known also by the diminutive form "Marysieńka" (28 June 1641 – 30 January 1716) was a French noblewoman who became the queen consort of Poland and grand duchess consort of Lithuania from 1674 to 1696 by her marriage to King and Grand Duke John III Sobieski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. She had great influence upon the affairs of state with the aproval of her spouse, and acted in effect as regent during his absence. Early life Marie Casimire and her sister Louise Marie were the only surviving children of Henri de la Grange, Marquis d'Arquien and his first wife, Francoise de la Chastre (1613-1648). She came to Poland at the age of five years as a lady in waiting to Marie Louise Gonzaga, the French-born Queen of Poland from 1645 to 1672, wife and consort to two Polish kings — Władysław IV Vasa and later his brother (who succeeded him) John II Casimir Vasa. The harsh climate of Poland did not prove healthy for Marie Casimire, and she developed a persistent cough and recurring fever. At the court, she met and fell in love with John Sobieski, who arrived there in 1656, but she was first married off to Jan "Sobiepan" Zamoyski in 1658, with whom she had four children, all of whom died in early childhood. Jan Zamoyski died on 2 April 1665 and the widowed Marie Casimire married Jan Sobieski just over three months later, on 14 July of the same year. The couple had thirteen children together, but only four of them reached adulthood— Jakub, Aleksander, Konstanty and Teresa (who later became Kurfürstin of Bavaria and mother to Emperor Karl VII). Queen of Poland John Sobieski was elected King of Poland in 1674, not without the influence of his wife. As the Queen of Poland, Marie Casimire quickly became unpopular, as she supported the proposed Polish–French alliance, while simultaneously striving to gain privileges for her family from the French king Louis XIV, whom she greatly admired. Like Marie Louise Gonzaga, Marie Casimire was a strong supporter of an absolute monarchy, for which she was reviled by certain spheres of the Polish nobility. The nobility were scandalized at the queen's political meddling, believing that no foreign woman should interfere. Marie Casimire also opposed Poland's policy of religious toleration and supported the Edict of Fontainebleau. Her influence