Charles de Bourbon, Duc de Berry
Encyclopedia
Charles de France, Duke of Berry, (Charles de France, duc de Berry), (Versailles, 31 July 1686 – Versailles, 5 May 1714) was a grandson of Louis XIV of France
. Although he was only a grandson of Louis XIV, Berry held the rank of fils de France
("son of France"), rather than petit-fils de France ("grandson of France"), as the son of the Dauphin, heir apparent to the throne. The Duke of Berry was for seven years heir presumptive
to the throne of Spain (1700–1707). He was a member of the House of Bourbon
.
, Charles was the youngest son of Louis, Dauphin of France, "le Grand Dauphin", and of Duchess Maria Anna of Bavaria.
One of three children, he was the uncle of the future Louis XV
, the son of his brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy. Charles other brother, Philip, Duke of Anjou, was the future Philip V of Spain
. Charles was styled Duke of Berry (duc de Berry) at his birth, but never actually possessed that Duchy. In 1710, he was invested with his apanage, consisting in the duchies of Alençon, of Angoulême, county of Ponthieu
and other minor fiefs. Ponthieu was exchanged some month later for other domains. By a special brevet, his grandfather permitted him to keep the title "Duke of Berry", which he held until his death..
As the third son of the Dauphin, Berry was not expected to inherit the throne; and at his father's death in 1711, his oldest brother Louis, Duke of Burgundy became Dauphin.
However, in agreement with the testament of Charles II, king of Spain, the Duke of Berry was heir presumptive to the Spanish throne from November 1700 until 15 August 1707 (birth of his nephew Louis, Prince of Asturias). He renounced all his rights to the Spanish succession on 24 November 1712, in application of the treaties of Utrecht.
As a result of the prestige of his birth, cadet branches of the royal family saw in him a splendid match for their daughters. One of his aunts, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, princesse de Condé
, a legitimised daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan
, proposed her beautiful daughter, Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon, but the marriage proposal came to naught, much to the annoyance of the House of Bourbon-Condé.
The Princess de Condé's sister, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, duchesse d'Orléans
, then suggested a union with her eldest daughter, Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans
. The marriage with Marie Louise Élisabeth, daughter of Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, the future Regent
of France, took place on 6 July 1710. It was an unhappy marriage, and after a miscarriage
which ended her first pregnancy, Marie Louise Élisabeth never gave birth to a child that lived for more than a day or a few weeks.
Elizabeth Charlotte
, Duchess Dowager of Orléans and the grandmother of Berry's wife, nicknamed him "Berry-Bon Cœur" ("Berry Good Heart") and later wrote on the marriage between him and her granddaughter:
In 1712, Berry's eldest brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Dauphin of France, and the later's elder son, Louis, Duke of Brittany died. It was foreseeable that Berry would serve as Regent for his brother's younger son, Louis, Duke of Anjou
. But, on 5 May 1714, he died from internal injuries sustained in a hunting accident. His death rendered the details of the Regency
less straightforward than before.
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! style="background:#ccccff;"|Family of Charles in 1687
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, they needed a surname. However, since their father was Duke of Berry only by name, their surname was not "de Berry" but "d'Alençon", taken from his first substantial duchy.
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...
. Although he was only a grandson of Louis XIV, Berry held the rank of fils de France
Fils de France
Fils de France was the style and rank held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France .The children of the dauphin, who was the king's heir apparent, were accorded the same style and status as if they were the king's children instead of his...
("son of France"), rather than petit-fils de France ("grandson of France"), as the son of the Dauphin, heir apparent to the throne. The Duke of Berry was for seven years heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the throne of Spain (1700–1707). He was a member of the House of Bourbon
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...
.
Biography
Born at the Palace of VersaillesPalace 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....
, Charles was the youngest son of Louis, Dauphin of France, "le Grand Dauphin", and of Duchess Maria Anna of Bavaria.
One of three children, he was the uncle of the future Louis XV
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...
, the son of his brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy. Charles other brother, Philip, Duke of Anjou, was the future Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
. Charles was styled Duke of Berry (duc de Berry) at his birth, but never actually possessed that Duchy. In 1710, he was invested with his apanage, consisting in the duchies of Alençon, of Angoulême, county of Ponthieu
Count of Ponthieu
The County of Ponthieu , centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.....
and other minor fiefs. Ponthieu was exchanged some month later for other domains. By a special brevet, his grandfather permitted him to keep the title "Duke of Berry", which he held until his death..
As the third son of the Dauphin, Berry was not expected to inherit the throne; and at his father's death in 1711, his oldest brother Louis, Duke of Burgundy became Dauphin.
However, in agreement with the testament of Charles II, king of Spain, the Duke of Berry was heir presumptive to the Spanish throne from November 1700 until 15 August 1707 (birth of his nephew Louis, Prince of Asturias). He renounced all his rights to the Spanish succession on 24 November 1712, in application of the treaties of Utrecht.
As a result of the prestige of his birth, cadet branches of the royal family saw in him a splendid match for their daughters. One of his aunts, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, princesse de Condé
Louise-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...
, a legitimised daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise of Montespan , better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children....
, proposed her beautiful daughter, Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon, but the marriage proposal came to naught, much to the annoyance of the House of Bourbon-Condé.
The Princess de Condé's sister, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, duchesse d'Orléans
Françoise-Marie de Bourbon
Françoise Marie de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the youngest legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. Originally known as the second Mademoiselle de Blois, that style eventually gave way to the name Françoise Marie de...
, then suggested a union with her eldest daughter, Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orléans
Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, Duchess of Berry , was a member of the House of Orléans who married Charles, Duke of Berry.-Biography:...
. The marriage with Marie Louise Élisabeth, daughter of Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, the future Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of France, took place on 6 July 1710. It was an unhappy marriage, and after a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
which ended her first pregnancy, Marie Louise Élisabeth never gave birth to a child that lived for more than a day or a few weeks.
Elizabeth Charlotte
Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine was a German princess and the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Her vast correspondence provides a detailed account of the personalities and activities at the court of her brother-in-law, Louis XIV...
, Duchess Dowager of Orléans and the grandmother of Berry's wife, nicknamed him "Berry-Bon Cœur" ("Berry Good Heart") and later wrote on the marriage between him and her granddaughter:
At first he was passionately fond of his wife; but at the end of three months he fell in love with a little, ugly, femme de chambreMaidA maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
. The Duchess, who had sufficient penetration, was not slow in discovering this, and told her husband immediately that, if he continued to live upon good terms with her, as he had done at first, she would say nothing about it, and act as if she were not acquainted with it; but if he behaved ill, she would tell the whole affair to the King, and have the femme de chambre sent away, so that he should never hear of her again. By this threat she held the DukeDukeA duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
, who was a very simple man, so completely in check, that he lived very well with her up to his death, leaving her to do as she pleased, and dying himself as fond as ever of the femme de chambre. A year before his death he had her married, but on the condition that the husband should not exercise his marital rights. He left her pregnant as well as his wife, both of whom lay-in after his decease. Madame de Berry, who was not jealous, retained this woman, and took care of her and her child.
In 1712, Berry's eldest brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Dauphin of France, and the later's elder son, Louis, Duke of Brittany died. It was foreseeable that Berry would serve as Regent for his brother's younger son, Louis, Duke of Anjou
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, on 5 May 1714, he died from internal injuries sustained in a hunting accident. His death rendered the details of the Regency
Régence
The Régence is the period in French history between 1715 and 1723, when King Louis XV was a minor and the land was governed by a Regent, Philippe d'Orléans, the nephew of Louis XIV of France....
less straightforward than before.
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! style="background:#ccccff;"|Family of Charles in 1687
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Issue
The Duke and the Duchess of Berry had three children who never reached one month of age. As Grandchildren of FranceFils de France
Fils de France was the style and rank held by the sons of the kings and dauphins of France. A daughter was known as a fille de France .The children of the dauphin, who was the king's heir apparent, were accorded the same style and status as if they were the king's children instead of his...
, they needed a surname. However, since their father was Duke of Berry only by name, their surname was not "de Berry" but "d'Alençon", taken from his first substantial duchy.
- Na (not baptized) d'Alençon, Granddaughter of France (Palace of Fontainebleau, 21 July 1711 - same day, Palace of Fontainebleau)
- Charles d'Alençon, Grandson of France, Duke of Alençon (as a courtesy title) (Palace of Versailles, 26 March 1713 – 16 April 1713, Palace of Versailles)
- Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Alençon, Granddaughter of France (Palace of Versailles, 16 June 1714 – 17 June 1714, Palace of Versailles)
Ancestors
Titles and styles
- birth - 30 June 1710 Most High and Most Powerful Prince Charles, Son of France, Duke of Berry (Duke of Berry only as a courtesy title, and as such ignored for example in the letters patent conferring him his apanage, where he is only called "Charles, Son of France")
- 30 June 1710 - September 1710 Most High and Most Powerful Prince Charles, Son of France, Duke of Berry, of Alençon and of Angoulesme, Count of Ponthieu, Lord of the castellanies of Noyelles, Hiermont, Coutteville and Le Mesnil (Duke of Berry "by brevet", as a personal title for life, other titles hereditary as an apanage)
- September 1710 - 5 May 1714 Most High and Most Powerful Prince Charles, Son of France, Duke of Berry, of Alençon and of Angoulesme, Viscount of Vernon, Andely and Gisors, Lord of the castellanies of Rignac and Merpins
Other honours
- knight of the Holy SpiritOrder of the Holy SpiritThe Order of the Holy Spirit, also known as the Order of the Knights of the Holy Spirit, was an Order of Chivalry under the French Monarchy. It should not be confused with the Congregation of the Holy Ghost or with the Order of the Holy Ghost...
(at birth) - knight of Saint MichaelOrder of Saint MichaelThe Order of Saint Michael was a French chivalric order, founded by Louis XI of France in 1469, in competitive response to the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece founded by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, Louis' chief competitor for the allegiance of the great houses of France, the Dukes of...
(automatically when received as a knight of the Holy Spirit in 1699) - knight of Saint LouisOrder of Saint LouisThe Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis was a military Order of Chivalry founded on 5 April 1693 by Louis XIV and named after Saint Louis . It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, and is notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles...
(1693) - knight of the Golden FleeceOrder of the Golden FleeceThe Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
(1701)