Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Rotenburg
Encyclopedia
Princess Caroline of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg (18 August 1714 – 14 June 1741) was the consort of Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon.
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 Countess Eleonore of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. She was one of 10 children.
On 24 July 1728 she married Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon at Sarry
in France
. Louis Henri was a French prince of the Blood Royal
and head of the House of Condé, a branch of the House of Bourbon
. Maternally, he was a grandson of Louis XIV of France
through his mother, one of the king's legitimated daughters. By the time of his second marriage to Caroline, Louis Henri had lost the sight of one eye and the attractive slenderness his height bestowed upon him in youth. After marriage she was known at the French court as Madame la Duchesse
.
The previous Princess of Condé had been Marie Anne de Bourbon and had died eight years before the marriage between Caroline and Louis Henri. Caroline was alleged to have been pretty and to have been included on a list of possible wives for Louis XV of France
, but had been removed on account of her bad temper. When her husband was banished to his estates in 1725, Madame la Duchesse was obliged to withdraw with him to the Château de Chantilly
until Monsieur le Duc was pardoned and the couple were allowed to resume attendance at the royal court
again in 1730, where they lived quietly at the Hôtel de Condé
. The couple had one child eight years into their marriage:
Her husband died at the Château de Chantilly on 27 January 1740, in the same year the future Marquis de Sade
was born at the Hôtel de Condé
; his mother was Caroline's lady in waiting. Caroline died in Paris in June 1741 and was buried at the Carmel du faubourg Saint-Jacques in Paris.
In 1767 her niece, Princess Maria Luisa of Savoy, would come to France to marry the young Louis Alexandre de Bourbon. She would become the great friend of Marie Antoinette
as the princesse de Lamballe and be murdered by a revolutionary mob in Paris during the September Massacres
of 1792.
In 1745 another of her nieces, Princess Viktoria of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, would marry Charles, Prince of Soubise
, head of the junior branch of the House of Rohan and father of Charlotte de Rohan, who would also marry a Prince of Condé
.
Biography
Born at Rotenburg an der FuldaRotenburg an der Fulda
Rotenburg an der Fulda is a town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany lying, as the name says, on the river Fulda.- Geography :- Location :...
in Hesse, Germany, she was the daughter of Ernest Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg
Ernest Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg
Ernst Leopold of Hesse-Rotenburg was landgrave of Hessen-Rheinfels-Rotenburg between 1725 and 1749.Born in Langenschwalbach, he was a son of landgrave William of Hesse-Rotenburg and Maria Anna of Löwenstein-Wertheim .He died in Rotenburg in 1749.-Marriage and issue:He married his first cousin...
, head of the Roman Catholic branch of the House of Hesse
House of Hesse
The House of Hesse is a European royal dynasty from the region of Hesse, originally and still formally the House of Brabant.-History:The origins of the House of Hesse begin with the marriage of Sophie of Thuringia, daughter of Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia and Elizabeth of Hungary with Henry...
, by his wife Countess Eleonore of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. She was one of 10 children.
On 24 July 1728 she married Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon at Sarry
Sarry
Sarry may refer to:*Sarry, Marne, a commune in the French region of Champagne-Ardenne*Sarry, Saône-et-Loire, a commune in the French region of Bourgogne*Sarry, Yonne, a commune in the French region of Bourgogne...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Louis Henri was a French prince of the Blood Royal
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 head of the House of Condé, a branch 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...
. Maternally, he was a grandson of 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...
through his mother, one of the king's legitimated daughters. By the time of his second marriage to Caroline, Louis Henri had lost the sight of one eye and the attractive slenderness his height bestowed upon him in youth. After marriage she was known at the French court as Madame la Duchesse
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...
.
The previous Princess of Condé had been Marie Anne de Bourbon and had died eight years before the marriage between Caroline and Louis Henri. Caroline was alleged to have been pretty and to have been included on a list of possible wives for 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 had been removed on account of her bad temper. When her husband was banished to his estates in 1725, Madame la Duchesse was obliged to withdraw with him to 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...
until Monsieur le Duc was pardoned and the couple were allowed to resume attendance at the royal court
Royal court
Royal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:* The Royal Court , Timbaland's production company*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court...
again in 1730, where they lived quietly at the Hôtel de Condé
Hôtel 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...
. The couple had one child eight years into their marriage:
- Louis Joseph de Bourbon (9 August 1736 – 13 May 1818); next Prince of Condé.
Her husband died at the Château de Chantilly on 27 January 1740, in the same year the future Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
was born at the Hôtel de Condé
Hôtel 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...
; his mother was Caroline's lady in waiting. Caroline died in Paris in June 1741 and was buried at the Carmel du faubourg Saint-Jacques in Paris.
In 1767 her niece, Princess Maria Luisa of Savoy, would come to France to marry the young Louis Alexandre de Bourbon. She would become the great friend of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
as the princesse de Lamballe and be murdered by a revolutionary mob in Paris during the September Massacres
September Massacres
The September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys...
of 1792.
In 1745 another of her nieces, Princess Viktoria of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, would marry Charles, Prince of Soubise
Charles, Prince of Soubise
Charles de Rohan , duke of Rohan-Rohan, seigneur of Roberval, and marshal of France from 1758, was a military man, a minister to the kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, and a notorious libertine. The last male of his branch of the House of Rohan, he was also the great grandfather to the duc d'Enghien,...
, head of the junior branch of the House of Rohan and father of Charlotte de Rohan, who would also marry a Prince of Condé
Prince of Condé
The Most Serene House of Condé is a historical French house, a noble lineage of descent from a single ancestor...
.
Ancestry
Titles and styles
- 18 August 1714 - 24 July 1728 Princess Caroline of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg
- 24 July 1728 - 27 January 1740 Her Serene Highness the Princess of Condé
- 27 January 1740 - 14 June 1741 Her Serene Highness the Dowager Princess of Condé