Emmanuel-François-Joseph de Bavière

Emmanuel François Joseph von Wittelsbach, Count of Bavaria (17 May 1695 – 2 July 1747), also called Chevalier of Bavaria, Marquess of Villacerf, was a high-ranking officer and politician under King Louis XV of France. He served, among other positions, as Governor of Péronne in Picardy.

Early life Emmanuel François Joseph was born on 17 May 1695. He was the illegitimate son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, and Countess Agnes Françoise Le Louchier. His father, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, had been married to Maria Antonia of Austria (daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I) from 1685 until her death in 1692. Before his birth, his father remarried to Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska of Poland, daughter of King John III Sobieski in 1694. He was, however, legitimized by his father as a Knight of Bavaria (Eques Bavariae) on 20 November 1695.

After a befitting education, he lived at his father's court during his period of exile from 1706 to 1715. There was an appointment as Count of Bavaria and a transfer of a sum of 400,000 livres, which was covered by the revenue of the County of The Hague.

Second marriage In 1736, he married his niece, Countess Maria Josepha von Hohenfels (1720–1797), the illegitimate daughter of his half-brother, Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor, and his lover, Baroness Maria Caroline Charlotte von Ingenheim. Together, they were the parents of:

The Count died on 2 July 1747 at the Battle of Lauffeld near Lauffeld.