Małgorzata Kotowska also known as Małgorzata Durantówna (died 1690) was a Polish lady-in-waiting, and an unofficial diplomatic emissary.
Małgorzata Kotowska was born to a French tailor in France as Marguerite Durant. The family emigrated to Warsaw in Poland during her childhood. In 1659, she married
Adam Kotowski, a court official who was ennobled in 1673. At the royal Polish court, she made the acquaintance of the new French Queen of Poland,
Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien
Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien (, ; 28 June 1641 – 30 January 1716), known also by the diminutive form "Marysieńka", was a French noblewoman who became the queen consort of Poland and grand duchess consort of Lithuania from 1674 ...
, who had several French favorites, and who appointed her lady-in-waiting. She became the trusted confidante of the queen, who was heavily active in state affairs through her influence on her husband the king.
In 1679, Queen Marie Casimire sent her as her informal political ambassador to the emperor to find out the view of the emperor concerning an alliance between the emperor and Poland against Turkey.
[Anke Gilleir, Aude Defurne: ]
Strategic Imaginations: Women and the Gender of Sovereignty in European Culture
', p. 216-217
After her visit to the emperor, Małgorzata Kotowska continued to the court of
Cosimo III de' Medici
Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder s ...
in Florence, and finally to the Republic of Venice on the same diplomatic mission.
In Warsaw, Małgorzata Kotowska held receptions for the foreign diplomats in her residence, and acted as the go-between and an informer of the queen. Her important and influential position was widely acknowledged. She was described as pious and discreet.
References
* https://www.historiaposzukaj.pl/wiedza,osoby,326,osoba_malgorzata_kotowska.html
* https://www.wilanow-palac.pl/w_sluzbie_jej_krolewskiej_mosci_dzialalnosc_malgorzaty_z_durantow_kotowskiej_w_kregu_spraw_krolowej_marii_kazimiery_w_latach_1675_1699.html
* http://www.polskaniezwykla.pl/web/place/17055,warszawa-od-chlopa-panszczyznianego-do-szlachcica.html
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1690 deaths
17th-century Polish women
Polish ladies-in-waiting
17th-century Polish people
Immigrants to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth