Clara Izabella Pac (née Mailly-Lespine)

Klara Izabella Pacowa, born Claire Isabelle Eugenie de Mailly-Lespine (1631 - 11 March 1685), was a Polish court official. She was a lady-in-waiting and confidante of two of the queens of Poland, Marie Louise Gonzaga and Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Poland, and came to play an important part in Polish political life. Early life She was the daughter of the French count Antoine de Mailly-Lespine and Genevieve d’Ufre, widow of Prince Charles Alexandre de Croÿ-Havré. Lady-in-waiting to Marie-Louise As a poor distant relation to Marie Louise Gonzaga, she arrived in Poland as a maid-of-honour in service to the queen. She served as maid-of-honour to the queen from 1646 to 1654. She attracted attention by her beauty in the court ballet The Fours Seasons, and was named as one of the nymphs of the queen's court in the poem "Psyche" by Jan Andrzej Morsztyn. The politically active queen Marie Louise used her ladies-in-waiting to form connections and alliances which could be of use to her in state affairs, and on 28 June 1654 she arranged for Klara Izabella to marry Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac. The marriage are believed to have affected Pac's career, as he was benefited by the court and known for his loyalty to the king. After marriage, she continued as a close companion to the queen. During the Deluge, Klara Izabella accompanied the queen to Silesia and then the royal court around Poland during the war with Sweden, being present with the queen in Gdansk in January 1657, and Silesia in April; she returned to Warsaw in 1659. As most ladies-in-waiting of the politically active queen, Klara Izabella followed the queen's example and engaged actively in state affairs. She is believed to have persuaded her spouse to support the French candidate in the following election of 1661, and she herself raised a sum of 3000 livres to benefit French interests during the election. Being the lady-in-waiting to the queen and constantly present at court, she formed valuable connections, protected the interests of her spouse and benefited him in the eyes of the royal couple, soothing any conflicts between them and him, and maintained connections with foreign rulers through their diplomats, whom she received as guests in the Belvedere Palace her husband had built for her as her residence in Warszaw in 1663. During the 1660s, P.