Anna Maria Mancini was the third of the five Mancini sisters; nieces to Cardinal Mazarin who were brought to France to marry advantageously. Along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, the Mancini sisters were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes. She was the first love of Louis XIV of France. In 1661, Marie was sent away to marry an Italian prince, Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna. They had three children, all sons. After the birth of her third child, relations between Marie and her husband deteriorated. In 1677, in order to support herself, she wrote her memoirs.