Marie Anne de Bourbon

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Marie Anne de Bourbon
Marie Anne de Bourbon before her marriage
Born	October 2, 1666 (1666-10-02) Vincennes, France
Died	May 3, 1739 (aged 72) Paris, France
Spouse	Louis Armand I de Bourbon, prince de Conti
Parents	Louise de La Vallière Louis XIV

Marie Anne de Bourbon, princesse de Conti (Vincennes, October 2, 1666 - Paris, May 3, 1739) was the illegitimate daughter of King Louis XIV of France and Louise de La Vallière. At the age of thirteen, she was married to Louis Armand I de Conti, prince de Conti.

Contents 1 Life 1.1 Marriage 1.2 Princesse Douairière 2 Later Life 2.1 Death 3 Siblings 3.1 Paternal illegitimate half-siblings 3.2 Paternal legitimate half-siblings 4 Ancestry 5 References 5.1 Sources 6 Titles

[edit] Life

Born secretly at the Château de Vincennes outside Paris on October 2 1666, she was the later to become the favourite daughter of her father and was rated to be the most beautiful.

She was legitimised by her father in May 1667. During her youth, she was known as Mademoiselle de Blois, a style that was later granted to her younger half-sister, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. On her first birthday in 1667, her mothe gave birth to her only full brother who would live to be a teenager; he was known as the comte de Vermandois.

[edit] Marriage

On January 16, 1680, she married her cousin, the prince de Conti, in the chapel of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Her dowry was one million livres. The marriage was the first between a Prince of the Blood and an illegitimate daughter of the King of France. After a disastrous wedding night, the marriage remained sterile.

Three years into her marriage, she lost her brother, the comte de Vermandois who had been involved in a scandal with their unlces lover, the Chevalier de Lorraine. From all sources, Marie Anne was quite hurt.

In 1685 the Prince contracted smallpox from Marie Anne. While she recovered, the Prince succumbed after five days. After this death she was called Madame la Princesse Douairière. She was also known as la Grande Princesse de Conti. Despite never having married again in her life, she was asked for her hand by the Sultan of Morocco, Ismail Ibn Sharif but she refused.

[edit] Princesse Douairière

In order to differentiate them after the death of the various princes de Conti, their widows were given the name of Douairière or dowager and a number corresponding to the time of their widowhood, their full style thus being Madame la Princesse de Conti 'number' Douairière. Between 1727 and 1732, there were three widowed Princesses de Conti:

• Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666-1739), the illegitimate daugter of Louis XIV and Louise de La Vallière; she was the wife of Louis Armand I de Bourbon, prince de Conti. She was known as Madame la Princesse de Conti Première Douairière as she was the first to be widowed in 1685. The title went to husband's younger brother, François Louis, Prince of Conti.
• Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé (1666-1732), the wife of François Louis de Bourbon, prince de Conti; she was known as ''Madame la Princesse de Conti Seconde Douairière after losing her husband in 1709.
• Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé (1693-1775), the wife of Louis Armand II de Bourbon, prince de Conti, the son and successor of François Louis, Prince of Conti. She was the daughter of Monsieur le Duc and Madame la Duchesse. After her husband died in 1727, she was known as Madame la Princesse de Conti Troisième/Dernière Douairière.

[edit] Later Life

From her staff at Versailles, it was her who had introduced her older brother the Dauphin, to his second morganantic wife known as Emilie de Choin. He married her some time after the death of his first wife, the ugly Dauphine Victoire. One day, after seeing the Dauhin asleep, Marie Anne was heard to say that the Dauphine was as ugly asleep as she was awake; to which the Dauphine woke up and said that she did not have the advantage of being a love child!

In 1710, she lost her mother who had left her fathrs court to join the Carmalite Convent in Paris. She had been living at the convent for over 30 years when she died. Marie Anne thus became the duchesse de le Vallière in her own right.

In 1713, the princess of Conti bought the Hôtel de Lorges on the rue Saint-Augustin^[1] in Paris, but did not start living there until 1715. In 1716, she bought the château de Choisy. Both properties remained in her possession until her death. In 1718, she also bought the château de Champs-sur-Marne, which she later sold to one of her mother's cousins, the duc de la Vallière. Years later, it was acquired by Louis XV's mistress, Madame de Pompadour.

During the regency of Philippe II d'Orléans (also her brother-in-law), she was encharged with the personal education of the bride to be of the young King Louis XV. The bride to be was Infanta Mariana of Spain. She arrived at the court in 1725 and was later nicknamed l'Infante-reine ('the Queen-Infanta'). The marriage was not to be and the Infante-reine was recalled to Spain by her father Philip V of Spain. She was later the mother of Maria I of Portugal (- first Queen Regnant of Portugal)

The Princess was renowned for her beauty, even at an older age. She was very close to her father, and got on very well with her older brother, Monseigneur whom she often visited at his country estate, the château de Meudon. His death in 1711 left her quite distressed.

[edit] Death

The Princesse Douairière died in Paris on May 3, 1739 as a result of a brain tumour. She was seventy-three years old. The Princess was buried in the chapel of the church of Our Lady in the Saint-Roch church in Paris^[2]. Out of her generation, she was to die at the oldest age.

[edit] Siblings

Her relationship with her two younger half-sisters, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1673-1743) and Françoise-Marie de Bourbon (1677-1749), daughters of Mme de Montespan, was competitive, and the three sisters frequently argued.

• Louis de Bourbon, comte de Vermandois (1667-1683),
  • eldest surviving son of Louis XIV and Louise de la Vallière

Her mother also gave birth to 3 sons; one in 1662 which was a miscarriage; Charles de Bourbon (1663-1665) who died before Marie Annes birth; Philippe de Bourbon (1665-1666) who also died in infancy and a daughter (1666-1666) who died shortly after birth;

[edit] Paternal illegitimate half-siblings

By Madame de Montespan and Louis XIV:

• Louise Françoise (1669-1672).
• Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine (1670-1736) married Anne-Louise-Bénédicte de Bourbon-Condé;
  • had issue but no surviving descendants.
• Louise Françoise (1669-1672).
• Louis César de Bourbon, comte de Vexin, abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (1672-1683)
• Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes (1673-1743), married Louis III, Prince of Condé, became duchesse de Bourbon and later princesse de Condé
• Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Tours (1674-1681).
• Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Blois (1677-1749), married in 1692 the future regent Philippe II d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans (1674-1723);
  • upon her marriage, she assumed the title of duchesse de Chartres, then on the death of her father-in-law, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, she became the duchesse d'Orléans. Through her son, Françoise-Marie became the ancestor of Louis-Philippe I, king of the French and the modern House of Orléans.
• Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse (1678-1737) married Marie Victoire de Noailles.
  • the modern House of Orléans is also related to him through his grand-daughter Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre who married the future Philippe Égalité They were the parents of Louis-Philippe I, king of the French.

[edit] Paternal legitimate half-siblings

• Louis de France (1661-1711),
  • Dauphin of France from 1661 till his death in 1711.
• Marie-Thérèse de France (1667-1672),
  • the only legitimate daughter of Louis XIV to live older then the age of four. She was known as Madame Royale at court.
• 4 other children who all died in infancy.

[edit] Ancestry

v • d • e Ancestors of Marie Anne de Bourbon

8. Henri IV of France                       4. Louis XIII of France                             9. Marie de' Medici                       2. Louis XIV of France                                   10. Philip II of Spain                       5. Anne of Austria                             11. Margaret of Austria                       1. Marie Anne de Bourbon                                         12. -                       6. Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc, Seigneur de la Vallière                             13. -                       3. Louise de la Vallière                                   14. -                       7. Françoise Le Prévost                             15. -

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• [1] - french
• The Sun King by The Hon. Nancy Freeman-Mitford

[edit] Titles

Marie Anne de Bourbon House of Bourbon Born: October 2 1666 Died: May 3 1739
French nobility
Preceded by N/A	Mademoiselle de Blois I 1681–1692	Succeeded by Françoise-Marie de Bourbon
Preceded by Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme	duchesse de Penthièvre 1696–1697	Succeeded by Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse
Preceded by Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme	duchesse d'Étampes 1712–1718	Succeeded by Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé
Preceded by Louise de La Vallière	duchesse de la Vallière 1680–1698	Succeeded by Charles François de La Baume Le Blanc
French royalty
Preceded by Anne Marie Martinozzi	princesse de Conti 1680–1739	Succeeded by Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé
Royal titles
Preceded by New Creation	Madame la Princesse Douairière 1685–1739	Succeeded by Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé