Louis de Bourbon-Condé, comte de Clermont
Encyclopedia
Louis de Bourbon was a member of the cadet Bourbon-Condé branch of the French royal house. He is known for leading French forces in Germany during the Seven Years War where he took command in 1758 following the failed French Invasion of Hanover
. He was unable to break through Ferdinand of Brunswick's Anglo-German army and captured Hanover
. He was Count of Clermont from birth.
, he was the third and youngest son of Louis (III) de Bourbon, prince de Condé
(1668–1710) and Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes (1673–1743), a legitimated daughter of King Louis XIV of France
and his maîtresse-en-titre
Madame de Montespan.
He was also the great-grandson of Louis de Bourbon, le Grand Condé
, who died in 1687.
A possible bride was his first cousin, Mademoiselle du Maine
, but a union never materialised.
From 1730, he was a lover of Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine
, wife of the Duke of Bouillon
, mother of the Princess of Beauvau
.
His eldest brother, Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, was the head of Condé family from 1710 until his death in 1740, and was Louis XV's Premier Ministre (prime minister) from 1723 to 1726. He raised his nephew Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé who was an orphan from 1741.
"He was a curious character: prince of the blood, abbé [of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
], military officer, libertine, man of letters (or at least a member of the Academy), anti-Parlement, religious during his final years, he was one of the most striking examples (and one of the most amusing on certain days) and also one of the most shocking (although not at all odious), of the abuses and disparities pushed to scandal, under the Old Order, of pleasure and privilege." (Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
).
The comte de Clermont is perhaps best known to history as the fifth Grand Master
of the Grand Lodge of France, the supreme Masonic authority in France, which existed from 1728/29 to c.1773.
According to some sources, the comte was elected and installed in that office in 1743 and retained the position until his death, and was succeeded by his cousin, Louis Philippe d'Orléans
, known as the duc de Chartres, afterwards Duke of Orléans. But another source claims he was designated Grand Master in 1744 "but soon left the organization, abandoning his title to Lacorne, his dancing master." Both the Cousin biography and the Académie française
biography omit all reference to his Masonic activities.
Invasion of Hanover (1757)
The Invasion of Hanover took place in 1757 during the Seven Years' War when a French army under Louis Charles César Le Tellier, duc d'Estrées advanced into Electorate of Hanover and neighbouring German states following the Battle of Hastenbeck. French forces overran most of Hanover forcing the Army...
. He was unable to break through Ferdinand of Brunswick's Anglo-German army and captured Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
. He was Count of Clermont from birth.
Biography
A prince of the bloodPrince 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...
, he was the third and youngest son of Louis (III) de Bourbon, prince de Condé
Louis III, Prince of Condé
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...
(1668–1710) and Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes (1673–1743), a legitimated 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 maîtresse-en-titre
Maîtresse-en-titre
The maîtresse-en-titre was the chief mistress of the king of France. It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartments. The title really came into use during the reign of Henry IV and continued until the reign of Louis XV....
Madame de Montespan.
He was also the great-grandson of Louis de Bourbon, le Grand 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...
, who died in 1687.
A possible bride was his first cousin, Mademoiselle du Maine
Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1707–1743)
Louise Françoise de Bourbon was a grand daughter of Louis XIV of France and his mistress Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, better known as Madame de Montespan...
, but a union never materialised.
From 1730, he was a lover of Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine
Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine
Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine was a French noblewoman and member of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine...
, wife of the Duke of Bouillon
Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne (1668–1730)
Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French nobleman and ruler of the Soveriegn Duchy of Bouillon. He was the son of Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne and his wife Marie Anne Mancini...
, mother of the Princess of Beauvau
Marie Charlotte de La Tour d'Auvergne
Marie Charlotte de La Tour d'Auvergne was a French noblewoman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne. Married into the House of Beauvau, a powerful family originating in Anjou, she had a daughter aged twenty and died of smallpox at the age of thirty three...
.
His eldest brother, Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, was the head of Condé family from 1710 until his death in 1740, and was Louis XV's Premier Ministre (prime minister) from 1723 to 1726. He raised his nephew Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé who was an orphan from 1741.
"He was a curious character: prince of the blood, abbé [of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
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....
], military officer, libertine, man of letters (or at least a member of the Academy), anti-Parlement, religious during his final years, he was one of the most striking examples (and one of the most amusing on certain days) and also one of the most shocking (although not at all odious), of the abuses and disparities pushed to scandal, under the Old Order, of pleasure and privilege." (Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve was a literary critic and one of the major figures of French literary history.-Early years:...
).
The comte de Clermont is perhaps best known to history as the fifth Grand Master
Grand Master (Masonic)
In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....
of the Grand Lodge of France, the supreme Masonic authority in France, which existed from 1728/29 to c.1773.
According to some sources, the comte was elected and installed in that office in 1743 and retained the position until his death, and was succeeded by his cousin, Louis Philippe d'Orléans
Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe d'Orléans known as le Gros , was a French nobleman, a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the dynasty then ruling France. The First Prince of the Blood after 1752, he was the most senior male at the French court after the immediate royal family. He was the father of...
, known as the duc de Chartres, afterwards Duke of Orléans. But another source claims he was designated Grand Master in 1744 "but soon left the organization, abandoning his title to Lacorne, his dancing master." Both the Cousin biography and the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
biography omit all reference to his Masonic activities.
Ancestry
Titles and styles
- 15 June 1709 – 16 June 1771 His Serene Highness the Count of Clermont