[issybird]

Originally Posted by bfisher

The most likely plotter to try to undermine the reputations of Louis XIII and his queen would have been Monsieur (Gaston, 9th Duc d'Orleans). He was constantly trying to supplant Louis. I suppose that is why Dumas cast Richelieu as the plotter in the affair of the diamonds; he would not have wanted to offend his patron, Louis-Philippe. In the novel, Monsieur is only mentioned in the context of the siege of La Rochelle, where he is depicted somewhat sympathetically. Given Gaston was off-limits, that left Richelieu as a logical target.

Given Louis XIII's childless marriage to date, Monsieur must have had high hopes and perhaps thought, "If later, why not now?"

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

I went back to Google to see if I could find out more. It seems the Palais Cardinal reverted to the crown on the death of Richelieu, becoming the Palais Royal and subsequently the home of the next Duc d'Orleans, Philippe the younger brother of Louis XIV, ie the younger son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria.

Thank you for that correction!

So the Cardinal was not being painted as a villain then, and perhaps it was more in the mindset of the Musketeers and their rivalry with the Cardinal's men - a bit like two football teams being sworn enemies, so that then their followers finish up getting heated with each other for no logical reason. "We hate each other because we hate each other."

This makes sense. The constant dueling which the Crown and Cardinal was trying to contain has a modern echo in sports hooliganism. But I still think the portrayal of the Cardinal was inconsistent; the wrap-up had him a good guy but his attempts to undermine the Queen, for example, were antithetical to the good of the Crown and were part of Richelieu's own power grab.