Louis III, Prince of Condé
Encyclopedia
Louis de Bourbon, was Prince of Condé for less than a year, following the death of his father Henry III, Prince of Condé in 1709. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon
, he was a prince du sang
.
in Paris on 10 November 1668 and died at the Palace of Versailles
on 4 March 1710.
The eldest son of Henri Jules de Bourbon, duc d'Enghien, and Anne Henriette of Bavaria
, Louis was the grandson of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
, known at court as le Grand Condé.
One of nine children, he was his parents' eldest surviving son. His sister, Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, married François Louis, Prince of Conti
in 1688. Another sister, Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, would marry Louis Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine
, a legitimised son of King Louis XIV, in 1692. His youngest sister, Marie Anne de Bourbon, much later married the famous general Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme.
He was made a Chevalier du Saint-Esprit in 1686, a colonel of the Bourbon-Infanterie Regiment later that same year, a maréchal de camp in 1690, and a lieutenant general in 1692. Upon the death of his father, he inherited all the Condé titles and estates.
, known at court as Mademoiselle de Nantes, who was the eldest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France
and his mistress, Madame de Montespan. In an age where dynastic considerations played a major role, eyebrows at court were raised at a marriage between a full-blooded prince du sang
and a royal bastard. The head of the House of Condé, le Grand Condé, however, acquiesced to the socially inferior match in the hope of gaining favour with the bride's father, Louis XIV.
The seventeen-year old duc de Bourbon was known at court as Monsieur le Duc. After the marriage, his wife assumed the style of Madame la Duchesse. Like his father, who became Prince of Condé in 1687, Louis III de Bourbon led a typical, unremarkable life. At a time when five-and-a-half feet was considered a normal height for a woman, Louis, while not quite a dwarf, was considered a short man. His sisters, in fact, were so tiny that they were referred to as "dolls of the Blood", or, less flatteringly, as "little black beetles" since many of them were dark in complexion and hunchbacked. While not suffering from this condition himself, Louis was macrocephalic
. In addition, his skin tone was said to have a definite yellowish-orange tint to it. On the plus side, while no scholar, Louis was respectably well educated. Similarly, while certainly no fool, he was not burdened with too much intelligence for his time and station in life.
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House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, he was a prince du sang
Prince du Sang
A prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
.
Biography
Louis de Bourbon, duc de Bourbon, duc de Montmorency (1668–1689) duc d'Enghien (1689–1709), 6th Prince of Condé, comte de Sancerre (1709–1710), comte de Charolais (1709), was born at the Hôtel de CondéHôtel de Condé
The Hôtel de Mademoiselle de Condé, 12 rue Monsieur , has been referred to simply as the Hôtel de Condé, but this name can result in confusion, as it was also used for the main Paris seat of the princes of Condé. The building is also called the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé, since it was built for Louise...
in Paris on 10 November 1668 and died at the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
on 4 March 1710.
The eldest son of Henri Jules de Bourbon, duc d'Enghien, and Anne Henriette of Bavaria
Anne Henriette of Bavaria
Anne Henriette of Palatinate-Simmern, in France known as Anne Henriette of Bavaria was a Princess of Palatinate-Simmern by birth and by her marriage in 1663, the Duchess of Enghien and then the Princess of Condé...
, Louis was the grandson of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé
Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé was a French general and the most famous representative of the Condé branch of the House of Bourbon. Prior to his father's death in 1646, he was styled the Duc d'Enghien...
, known at court as le Grand Condé.
One of nine children, he was his parents' eldest surviving son. His sister, Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, married François Louis, Prince of Conti
François Louis, Prince of Conti
François Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conti was Prince de Conti, succeeding his brother Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti in 1685. Until this date he used the title of Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon. He was son of Armand de Bourbon and Anne Marie Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Jules Mazarin...
in 1688. Another sister, Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, would marry Louis Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine
Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine
Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Legitimé de France was the eldest legitimised son of the Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan...
, a legitimised son of King Louis XIV, in 1692. His youngest sister, Marie Anne de Bourbon, much later married the famous general Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme.
He was made a Chevalier du Saint-Esprit in 1686, a colonel of the Bourbon-Infanterie Regiment later that same year, a maréchal de camp in 1690, and a lieutenant general in 1692. Upon the death of his father, he inherited all the Condé titles and estates.
Marriage
In 1685, Louis married Louise-Françoise de BourbonLouise-Françoise de Bourbon
Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the eldest surviving legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan. She was said to have been named after her godmother, Louise de La Vallière, the woman that her mother had replaced as the king's...
, known at court as Mademoiselle de Nantes, who was the eldest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and his mistress, Madame de Montespan. In an age where dynastic considerations played a major role, eyebrows at court were raised at a marriage between a full-blooded prince du sang
Prince du Sang
A prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
and a royal bastard. The head of the House of Condé, le Grand Condé, however, acquiesced to the socially inferior match in the hope of gaining favour with the bride's father, Louis XIV.
The seventeen-year old duc de Bourbon was known at court as Monsieur le Duc. After the marriage, his wife assumed the style of Madame la Duchesse. Like his father, who became Prince of Condé in 1687, Louis III de Bourbon led a typical, unremarkable life. At a time when five-and-a-half feet was considered a normal height for a woman, Louis, while not quite a dwarf, was considered a short man. His sisters, in fact, were so tiny that they were referred to as "dolls of the Blood", or, less flatteringly, as "little black beetles" since many of them were dark in complexion and hunchbacked. While not suffering from this condition himself, Louis was macrocephalic
Macrocephaly
Macrocephaly , occurs when the head is abnormally large; this includes the scalp, the cranial bone, and the contents of the cranium.-Causes:...
. In addition, his skin tone was said to have a definite yellowish-orange tint to it. On the plus side, while no scholar, Louis was respectably well educated. Similarly, while certainly no fool, he was not burdened with too much intelligence for his time and station in life.
Children
The couple had nine children, all of whom survived into adulthood:| Name | | Portrait | Lifespan | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marie Anne Éléonore Gabrielle de Bourbon Abbess of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs Saint-Antoine-des-Champs Abbey Saint-Antoine-des-Champs Abbey was a convent in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. The faubourg Saint-Antoine developed around it. It later became the hôpital Saint-Antoine.-List of abbesses:... |
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22 December 1690 - 30 August 1760 |
Born at the Palace of Versailles Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles.... ; mentally retarded; became abbess of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs in her teens; died in Villejuif. During her youth, she was known as Mademoiselle de Condé and de Bourbon. |
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| Louis Henri Joseph de Bourbon Duke of Bourbon Prince of Condé |
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18 August 1692 - 27 January 1740 |
Born at the Palace of Versailles and married twice; first to his paternal cousin Marie Anne de Bourbon and had no issue. He later married Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Rotenburg Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Rotenburg Princess Caroline of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg was the consort of Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon.-Biography:Born at Rotenburg an der Fulda in Hesse, Germany, she was the daughter of Ernest Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg, head of the Roman Catholic branch of the House of Hesse, by his wife... and had issue. He was the Prime Minister of France during the reign of Louis XV of France Louis XV of France Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723... but the king later had him exiled. Louis Henri died in disgrace at the Château de Chantilly Château de Chantilly The Château de Chantilly is a historic château located in the town of Chantilly, France. It comprises two attached buildings; the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s, and the Petit Château which was built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency... ; |
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| Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon Princess of Conti |
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22 November 1693 – 27 May 1775 |
; Born at Versailles, she married her paternal cousin Louis Armand II, Prince of Conti Louis Armand II, Prince of Conti Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti was Prince of Conti, from 1709 to his death, succeeding his father François Louis, Prince of Conti. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince du Sang. His mother was the pious Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, a grand daughter of Louis de... . She was the maternal grandmother of Philippe Égalité Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror... . She died in Paris having outlived all her siblings; |
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| Louise Anne de Bourbon Mademoiselle de Charolais |
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23 June 1695 - 8 April 1758 |
Born at Versailles, she never married; she had an affair with Louis François Armand Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu Louis François Armand du Plessis, duc de Richelieu Armand de Vignerot du Plessis was a French soldier, diplomat and statesman. Joining the army, he participated in three major wars and eventually rose to the rank of Marshal of France.... and was his mistress at the same time as her cousin, Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans. She never had any children but was suspected of having illegitimate issue. She owned the Hôtel de Rothelin-Charolais (where she died) and was known during her life as first Mademoiselle de Sens and then Mademoiselle de Charolais; |
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| Marie Anne de Bourbon Mademoiselle de Clermont |
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16 October 1697 - 11 August 1741 |
Born in Paris, she was said to have been the fruit of her mother's affair with François Louis, Prince of Conti François Louis, Prince of Conti François Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conti was Prince de Conti, succeeding his brother Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti in 1685. Until this date he used the title of Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon. He was son of Armand de Bourbon and Anne Marie Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Jules Mazarin... . She would marry in secret, against her brother's wishes, to Louis de Melun, Duke of Joyeuse Joyeuse Joyeuse , was the name of Charlemagne's personal sword. The name translates as "joyful".-Joyeuse in legend:Some legends claim that it was forged to contain the Lance of Longinus within its pommel; others state it was smithed from the same materials as Roland's Durendal and Ogier's Curtana.The 11th... in 1719; she died in Paris having worked for many years in the service of Queen Maria Leszczyńska Maria Leszczynska Marie Leszczyńska was a queen consort of France. She was a daughter of King Stanisław Leszczyński of Poland and Catherine Opalińska. She married King Louis XV of France and was the grandmother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, and Charles X. In France, she was referred to as Marie Leczinska... ; known as Mademoiselle de Clermont; |
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| Charles de Bourbon Count of Charolais |
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19 June 1700 - 23 July 1760 |
Born at Chantilly, he was known as the comte de Charolais and on his death, the title was passed to his sister Louise Anne; He secretly married Jeanne de Valois-Saint Remy, a descendent of Henri II via an illegitimate branch. Their son was Louis-Thomas (1718–1799), who was not legitimised by the king, later was exiled to England; he also had issue from his affair with one Marguerite Caron de Rancurel. Died in Paris; | |
| Henriette Louise Marie Françoise Gabrielle de Bourbon Henriette Louise de Bourbon Henriette Louise de Bourbon was a French Princess by birth and a member of the House of Bourbon... Abbess of Beaumont-lès-Tours |
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15 January 1703 - 19 September 1772 |
Born at Versailles, she was once considered as a possible wife for Louis XV, but she refused; she would never marry; known as Mademoiselle de Vermandois, she was abbesse de Beaumont-lès-Tours from 1728; she died at Beaumont; | |
| Élisabeth Thérèse Alexandrine de Bourbon Mademoiselle de Sens |
15 September 1705 - 15 April 1765 |
Born in Paris she was known as Mademoiselle de Sens; her vast fortune was inherited by her nephew, Louis Joseph de Bourbon Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé Louis Joseph de Bourbon was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of Prince du Sang.-Biography:... - future Prince of Condé; |
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| Louis de Bourbon Count of Clermont |
15 June 1709- 16 June 1771 |
Born at Versailles, he was known as the comte de Clermont from birth and became the abbé de Saint-Germain-des-Près Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-des-Prés is an area of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.... in 1737; never married and died at Versailles; he founded the l’Académie du Petit-Luxembourg, where scientists, artists and architects would meet. He was also the fifth Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of France, the supreme Masonic authority in France, which existed from approximately 1728 until its reorganisation in 1773. |
Prince de Condé
Louis was prince de Condé for a little less than a year, as he died only eleven months after his father. Like his father, Louis was hopelessly insane, having slipped into madness several years before his actual death, "making horrible faces", as one historian noted. Louis died in 1710 at the age of forty-two.Ancestry
Titles and Styles
- 10 November 1668 – 1 April 1709 His Serene HighnessSerene HighnessHis/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
the Duke of Bourbon- Monsieur le DucPrince du SangA prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
; this style was used to indicate that he was the heir of the First Prince of the BloodPrince du SangA prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
. This allowed his wife, Louise-Françoise, to be addressed as Madame la Duchesse. The idea was that when her husband succeeded to the Condé titles he would then be known as Monsieur le Prince and she as Madame la Princesse. In 1709, the style went to his cousin, the Duke of OrléansPhilippe II, Duke of OrléansPhilippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
.
- Monsieur le Duc
- 1 April 1709 – 4 March 1710 His Serene HighnessSerene HighnessHis/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
the Prince of Condé
Titles
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