1655 portrait of Louis, the Victor of
the Fronde, portrayed as the god
Jupiter
Portrait by Justus van Egmont
between the years 1649–1652.
Condé, attacked the rebels in Paris; the rebels were under the political control of Anne's
old friend Marie de Rohan. Beaufort, who had escaped from the prison where Anne had
incarcerated him five years before, was the military leader in Paris, under the nominal
control of Conti. After a few battles, a political compromise was reached; the Peace of
Rueil was signed, and the court returned to Paris.
Unfortunately for Anne, her partial victory depended on Condé, who wanted to control the
queen and destroy Mazarin's influence. It was Condé's sister who pushed him to turn
against the queen. After striking a deal with her old friend Marie de Rohan, who was able
to impose the nomination of Charles de l'Aubespine, marquis de Châteauneuf as minister
of justice, Anne arrested Condé, his brother Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, and the
husband of their sister Anne Genevieve de Bourbon, duchess of Longueville. This situation
did not last long, and Mazarin's unpopularity led to the creation of a coalition headed
mainly by Marie de Rohan and the duchess of Longueville. This aristocratic coalition was
strong enough to liberate the princes, exile Mazarin, and impose a condition of virtual
house arrest on Queen Anne.
All these events were witnessed by Louis and
largely explained his later distrust of Paris and the higher aristocracy.[27] "In one sense,
Louis's childhood came to an end with the outbreak of the Fronde. It was not only that life
became insecure and unpleasant – a fate meted out to many children in all ages – but that
Louis had to be taken into the confidence of his mother and Mazarin on political and
military matters of which he could have no deep understanding".[28] "The family home
became at times a near-prison when Paris had to be abandoned, not in carefree outings to
other chateaux but in humiliating flights".[28] The royal family was driven out of Paris
twice in this manner, and at one point Louis XIV and Anne were held under virtual arrest
in the royal palace in Paris. The Fronde years planted in Louis a hatred of Paris and a
consequent determination to move out of the ancient capital as soon as possible, never to
return.[29]
Just as the first Fronde (the Fronde parlementaire of 1648–1649) ended, a second one (the
Fronde des princes of 1650–1653) began. Unlike that which preceded it, tales of sordid
intrigue and half-hearted warfare characterized this second phase of upper-class
insurrection. To the aristocracy, this rebellion represented a protest for the reversal of their
political demotion from vassals to courtiers. It was headed by the highest-ranking French
nobles, among them Louis's uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans and first cousin Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of
Montpensier, known as la Grande Mademoiselle; Princes of the Blood such as Condé, his brother Armand de Bourbon, Prince of
Conti, and their sister the Duchess of Longueville; dukes of legitimised royal descent, such as Henri, Duke of Longueville, and
François, Duke of Beaufort; so-called "foreign princes" such as Frédéric Maurice, Duke of Bouillon, his brother Marshal Turenne,
and Marie de Rohan, Duchess of Chevreuse; and scions of France's oldest families, such as François de La Rochefoucauld.
Queen Anne played the most important role in defeating the Fronde because she wanted to transfer absolute authority to her son.
In addition, most of the princes refused to deal with Mazarin, who went into exile for a number of years. The Frondeurs claimed
to act on Louis's behalf, and in his real interest, against his mother and Mazarin.
Queen Anne had a very close relationship with the Cardinal, and many observers believed that Mazarin became Louis XIV's