Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1707–1743)
Encyclopedia
Louise Françoise de Bourbon (4 December 1707 – 19 August 1743) was a grand daughter of Louis XIV of France
and his mistress Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart
, better known as Madame de Montespan. Louise-Françoise was known as Mademoiselle du Maine and had no children.
to Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Légitimé de France, duc du Maine and his wife Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, known as Mademoiselle de Charolais prior to her marriage. Her father was the eldest legitimised son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Her mother was later a famous salon
hostess at the family home Château de Sceaux
. Her mother was also a grand daughter of le Grand Condé
.
Known as Mademoiselle du Maine, she was the youngest of seven children two others of which had been female but had died in infancy.
Mademoiselle du Maine was placed in the Abbaye de Maubuisson, a very prestigious abbey in the Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône
area of France, the north-western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 27.6 km (17.1 mi) from the center of Paris. As such she grew up here; when once visiting Madame de Maintenon
in 1717, Maintenon said that she and her two brothers would have been very pleased with them.
Louise-Françoise was very close to her parents even though the former were never really close. Louise-Françoise's mother would frequently embarrass her husband and this caused much friction. On 9 April 1714, she was baptised with the name of her aunt Louise Françoise de Bourbon, known as Madame la Duchesse. Madame la Duchesse had grown up with the Duke of Maine under the care of Madame de Maintenon
. Present at her baptism were the Dauphin, Louis de France
who was the guest of honour being helped by Mademoiselle du Maine's other paternal aunt, the Duchess of Orléans
. It was the Cardinal de Rohan
who baptised Mademoiselle du Maine.
In 1718 during the regency of Philippe d'Orléans
both of her parents were imprisoned her father was sent to Doullens
and her mother to Dijon
. She was moved from the Abbey at Maubuisson to another convent at Chaillot in Paris around the area of the present Trocadéro
. She stayed at Chaillot till 1720 when her parents were released from their separate imprisonments.
At the death of her father, she was given his apartments on the ground floor overlooking the Orangerie and lived next to her mother. Mademoiselle du Maine was rumoured to have been betrothed to one Monsieur de Guise but the said engagement never materialised. By 1740, another possible marriage was with the widowed Prince of Monaco
who was often in residence at Versailles. This never occurred either. Another candidate was her first cousin, Louis de Bourbon, youngest son of her namesake and her uncle the Duke of Bourbon.
Louise Françoise is said to not have been attractive; the 1910 book on her mother the duchesse du Maine stated that she was neither pretty or attractive, and save for her dowry, no one would have sought her hand. He also said that her court hoops were so large that on one occasion they became entangled with those of the Queen and the two women had to stand and pull against each other to disentangle themselves. Louis XV
was most annoyed and Monsieur de La Tremoille
was sent to the duchesse du Maine with the measurement for the hoops Mademoiselelle should wear, with the rider that in future she should stand at a more respectful distance from the Queen.
Louise Françoise would never marry; dying at the Château d'Anet
at the age of 35 having bee taken ill while out riding, noted by the duc de Luynes
; he noted also No sooner was she place in her carriage than she fainted away. She never recovered consciousness, and died a few hours later. She left her profitable pensions to her first cousin Élisabeth Alexandrine de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Sens; daughter of her namesake Madame la Duchesse.
She was buried at the Chapel of the Château d'Anet; her grave was left by revolutionaries
of 1789–1799. She was outlived ber her two younger brothers and her mother..
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 mistress Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart
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....
, better known as Madame de Montespan. Louise-Françoise was known as Mademoiselle du Maine and had no children.
Biography
Louise Françoise de Bourbon was 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....
to Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Légitimé de France, duc du Maine and his wife Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, known as Mademoiselle de Charolais prior to her marriage. Her father was the eldest legitimised son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Her mother was later a famous salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
hostess at the family home Château de Sceaux
Château de Sceaux
The Château de Sceaux is a grand country house in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, not far from Paris, France. Located in a park laid out by André Le Nôtre, it houses the Musée de l’Île-de-France, a museum of local history. The former château was built for Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV's minister of...
. Her mother was also a grand daughter of 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...
.
Known as Mademoiselle du Maine, she was the youngest of seven children two others of which had been female but had died in infancy.
Mademoiselle du Maine was placed in the Abbaye de Maubuisson, a very prestigious abbey in the Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône
Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône
Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise, created in the 1960s.-Transport:...
area of France, the north-western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 27.6 km (17.1 mi) from the center of Paris. As such she grew up here; when once visiting Madame de Maintenon
Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon
Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon was the second wife of King Louis XIV of France. She was known during her first marriage as Madame Scarron, and subsequently as Madame de Maintenon...
in 1717, Maintenon said that she and her two brothers would have been very pleased with them.
Louise-Françoise was very close to her parents even though the former were never really close. Louise-Françoise's mother would frequently embarrass her husband and this caused much friction. On 9 April 1714, she was baptised with the name of her aunt Louise Françoise de Bourbon, known as Madame la Duchesse. Madame la Duchesse had grown up with the Duke of Maine under the care of Madame de Maintenon
Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon
Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon was the second wife of King Louis XIV of France. She was known during her first marriage as Madame Scarron, and subsequently as Madame de Maintenon...
. Present at her baptism were the Dauphin, Louis de 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...
who was the guest of honour being helped by Mademoiselle du Maine's other paternal aunt, the Duchess of 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...
. It was the Cardinal de Rohan
Armand Gaston Maximilien de Rohan
Armand de Rohan was a French churchman and politician. He became bishop of Strasbourg in 1704, Cardinal in 1712 then grand almoner of France in 1713 and member of the regency council in 1722....
who baptised Mademoiselle du Maine.
In 1718 during the regency of Philippe d'Orléans
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....
both of her parents were imprisoned her father was sent to Doullens
Doullens
Doullens is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.Its inhabitants are called Doullennais and Doullennaises.-Geography:...
and her mother to Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
. She was moved from the Abbey at Maubuisson to another convent at Chaillot in Paris around the area of the present Trocadéro
Trocadéro
The Trocadéro, , site of the Palais de Chaillot, , is an area of Paris, France, in the 16th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. The hill of the Trocadéro is the hill of Chaillot, a former village.- Origin of the name :...
. She stayed at Chaillot till 1720 when her parents were released from their separate imprisonments.
At the death of her father, she was given his apartments on the ground floor overlooking the Orangerie and lived next to her mother. Mademoiselle du Maine was rumoured to have been betrothed to one Monsieur de Guise but the said engagement never materialised. By 1740, another possible marriage was with the widowed Prince of Monaco
Jacques I, Prince of Monaco
Jacques Goyon de Matignon was count of Thorigny, Prince of Monaco as Jacques I and the fourth Duke of Valentinois from 1731 until 1733.-Biography:...
who was often in residence at Versailles. This never occurred either. Another candidate was her first cousin, Louis de Bourbon, youngest son of her namesake and her uncle the Duke of Bourbon.
Louise Françoise is said to not have been attractive; the 1910 book on her mother the duchesse du Maine stated that she was neither pretty or attractive, and save for her dowry, no one would have sought her hand. He also said that her court hoops were so large that on one occasion they became entangled with those of the Queen and the two women had to stand and pull against each other to disentangle themselves. 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...
was most annoyed and Monsieur de La Tremoille
Charles Armand René de La Trémoille
Charles Armand René de La Trémoille , 6th duc de Thouars, was the son of Charles Louis Bretagne de La Trémoille and his wife, Madeleine de Créquy....
was sent to the duchesse du Maine with the measurement for the hoops Mademoiselelle should wear, with the rider that in future she should stand at a more respectful distance from the Queen.
Louise Françoise would never marry; dying at the Château d'Anet
Château d'Anet
The Château d'Anet is a château near Dreux, France, built by Philibert de l'Orme from 1547 to 1552 for Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II of France...
at the age of 35 having bee taken ill while out riding, noted by the duc de Luynes
Charles Philippe d'Albert de Luynes
Charles Philippe d’Albert de Luynes held the title Duke of Luynes from 1712 to 1758. He wrote an important memoir of life at the court of Louis XV....
; he noted also No sooner was she place in her carriage than she fainted away. She never recovered consciousness, and died a few hours later. She left her profitable pensions to her first cousin Élisabeth Alexandrine de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Sens; daughter of her namesake Madame la Duchesse.
She was buried at the Chapel of the Château d'Anet; her grave was left by revolutionaries
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
of 1789–1799. She was outlived ber her two younger brothers and her mother..