Louis, Prince of Condé

Louis III de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (10 November 1668 – 4 March 1710) was a prince du sang as a member of the reigning House of Bourbon at the French court of Louis XIV. Styled as Duke of Bourbon from birth, he succeeded his father in 1709 as Prince of Condé ; however, he was still known by the ducal title. He was prince for less than a year.

Biography

Birth and family Louis de Bourbon was born at the Hôtel de Condé in Paris on 10 November 1668 to Henri Jules de Bourbon, Prince of Condé and Anne Henriette of Bavaria, and was the grandson of le Grand Condé.

One of nine children, he was his parents' eldest surviving son. His sister, Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, was married to François Louis, Prince of Conti. Another sister, Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, would marry Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine, a legitimised son of Louis XIV, in 1692. His youngest sister, Marie Anne de Bourbon, much later married the famed general Louis Joseph de Bourbon.

Marriage

In June 1684, Louis XIV paid a visit to the Condés in order to demand the hand of the Duke of Bourbon for one of his daughters by Madame de Montespan; Louise Françoise, Mademoiselle de Nantes, who had just reached her eleventh birthday. However, due to this, the arrangement was kept secret until the following April, and on 24 July 1685, they were married. It came as a surprise to the royal court seeing the marriage between a prince du sang and an illegitimate daughter of the king. 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. Louis was frequently unfaithful to his young wife, who, despite being initially heartbroken, eventually followed him in this path. One author noted that:She learns that her husband is taking advantage of the Fontainebleau ladies with a few companions and gallop into the carriage to Paris to indulge in debauchery. The king, moved by her sorrow, sends her his physician and reproaches the equerry for not keeping a closer eye on the Duke of Bourbon. Fourteen is not an age for a princess to be so sad. Like his father, who became Prince of Condé in 1687, Louis led a typical, unremarkable life. In appearance, he was unimpressive in comparison with his wife, famed for her beauty. He was short in stature, and a macrocephalic with a bilious complexion. He was also noted for his lack of intelligence, as well as being notoriously malevolent and offensive having never regained consciousness.

Issue By his marriage to Louise Françoise, Mademoiselle de Nantes, he had nine children, all of whom survived him: Marie Anne Éléonore de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Bourbon (22 December 1690 - 30 August 1760); became a nun. Louis Henri I, Prince of Condé (18 August 1692 - 27 January 1740); married Marie Anne de Bourbon and had no issue. He later married Princess Caroline of Hesse-Rotenburg and had issue. Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon (22 November 1693 – 27 May 1775); married Louis Armand, Prince of Conti and had issue. Louise Anne de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Charolais (23 June 1695 - 8 April 1758); died unmarried. Marie Anne de Bourbon (16 October 1697 - 11 August 1741); secretly married Louis de Melun, Duke of Joyeuse. Charles, Count of Charolais (19 June 1700 - 23 July 1760); secretly married Jeanne de Valois Saint Remy (descendant of Henri II of France) and had illegitimate issue. Henriette Louise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Vermandois (15 January 1703 - 19 September 1772); died unmarried. Élisabeth Alexandrine de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Sens (15 September 1705 - 15 April 1765); died unmarried. Louis, Count of Clermont (15 June 1709 - 16 June 1771); died unmarried.