Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé

Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé, princesse de Conti (February 1 1666 - February 22 1732 [ [http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:JxG9hWiUjT0J:racineshistoire.free.fr/LGN/PDF/Bourbon-Conde-Conti.pdf+Marie-Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se+de+Bourbon-Cond%C3%A9&hl=fr&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=fr 403 Forbidden ] ] ) was the daughter of the Prince de Condé and a Bavarian princess by birth. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, she was a Princesse du Sang. She, along with her husband, were the titular monarchs of Poland in 1697.

Early life

Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé, was born at the Hôtel de Condé in Paris on February 1 1666 to Henri Jules de Bourbon-Condé, then the "duc de Bourbon" and his wife Anne-Henriette von Simmern. On her mother's side she was descended from English royalty and the House of Nassau and on her fathers side from French royalty. She was the couple's first daughter to survive past the age of five. Given the honorary title of "Mademoiselle de Bourbon" she grew up with her mother and her siblings; some of them married before her, but always into other prominent families:

*Her older brother Louis III de Bourbon-Condé married the natural daughter of the King, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon in 1685
*Her younger sister Anne-Louise-Bénédicte de Bourbon-Condé married her brother's brother-in-law, the duc du Maine, the favourite of Louis XIV's bastards, in 1692
*Another sister, Marie Anne de Bourbon-Condé, married in 1718 to the duc de Vendôme - great-grandson of Henry IV of France.

Marriage

Three years after her brother married the king's daughter at Versailles, Marie-Thérèse was then betrothed to the head of the House of Bourbon-Conti, known as "le Grand Conti". The wedding occurred at the Chapel of the Palace of Versailles on January 22 1688, before the assembled court. Marie was aged 22, quite old for marriage at the time. She then took the style of the "princesse de Conti".

The bride was passionatly in love with her husband, but he had his attentions elsewhere. It was well known at court that he had had an affair with his wife's sister-in-law, the duchesse de Bourbon, but it had also been said that had also had homosexual tendencies and did not pay his lonely and pious wife much attention. Despite her husband's infidelities the couple had seven children, three of whom survived infancy: [Some others did not live long enough to be named.]

Children

*Marie Anne de Bourbon-Conti (1689-1720), Mademoiselle de Conti;
*X (1693-1693) ;
*prince de La Roche-sur-Yon (1694-1698);
*Louis Armand II de Bourbon-Conti, prince de Conti (1695-1727), prince de Conti ;
*Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon-Conti, Mademoiselle de La Roche-sur-Yon (1696-1750);
*Mademoiselle d'Alais (1697-1699);
*Louis-François de Bourbon-Conti, comte d'Alais. (1703-1704).

She had a difficult relationship with her children and as a result lived quietly at the various Bourbon-Conti residences. She mainly resided at the "Château de L'Isle-Adam". The family later reconciled after the death of the prince de Conti.

Queen of Poland

At the age of 31 (1697), Marie-Thérèse's husband was offered the Crown of Poland by Louis XIV. Before accepting on behalf of Marie-Thérèse, he went to Poland to inspect his possible new kingdom, while Marie-Thérèse stayed in France. As a result, during this time the lonely princesse de Conti, became the Titular Queen of Poland and her husband the king."Journal historique du règne de Louis XIV par le Marquis de Dangeau"] From a vote that was cast by the Polish people, her husband was the more popular candidate. Despite that, her husband returned at the end of the year after refusing, saying he did want to leave his homeland. The throne then went to the "Elector of Saxony" known as Augustus II the Strong; he was the father of Maurice de Saxe.

Princesse Douarière

In 1709, her husband died in Paris. In order to tell the wives of the various Princes of Conti apart after their deaths, the widows were given the name of "Douarière" or dowager and a number corresponding to when they lost their husband. After being widowed their full style would be "Madame la Princesse de Conti 'number' Douarière". Between 1727 and 1732, there were three widowed Princesses de Conti. They were:

*Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666-1739), the illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV and Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc; she was the wife of Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti. She was known as "Madame la Princesse de Conti Première Douarière" 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, Prince of Conti; she was known as ""Madame la Princesse de Conti Seconde Douarière" 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 Douarière".

Later life

After the prince's death, she turned to building. She started to reconstruct the Parisian home of the Conti family, the Hôtel de Conti (sometimes called the "Palais Conti") on the Quai Conti, left bank of the Seine. She also did some building work at the nearby "Hôtel de Seignelay". The architect that she commissioned was the director of the Bâtiments du Roi, Robert de Cotte.

In 1713 her daughter, Marie-Anne, was married to the heir to her husband's old lover the princesse de Condé; she married the duc de Bourbon, commonly known as "Monsieur le Duc". Her daughter thus became "Madame la Duchesse". On the same day at Versailles, she saw her son, by then the prince de Conti in his own right, marry another child of the princesse de Condé, the beautiful Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé who then took the title that Marie-Thérèse had had for almost 30 years. In 1720, her daughter Marie-Anne died in Paris.

It was at the Hôtel de Conti, which she had redecorated, that Marie-Thérèse died at the age of 66. After her death, her son moved into another Paris palace; it was later given to her brother-in-law who had it demolished.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé
2= 2. Henry III Jules de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
3= 3. Countess Palatine Anne-Henriette of Simmern
4= 4. Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
5= 5. Claire Clémence de Maillé Brézé
6= 6. Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern
7= 7. Anna Gonzaga
8= 8. Henry II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
9= 9. Charlotte-Marguerite de Montmorency
10= 10. Urbain de Maillé, Marquis of Brézé
11= 11. Nicole du Plessis de Richelieu
12= 12. Frederick V, Elector Palatine
13= 13. Elizabeth Stuart
14= 14. Charles I, Duke of Mantua
15= 15. Catherine of Lorraine
16= 16. Henri I de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
17= 17. Charlotte de la Tremouille
18= 18. Henri I de Montmorency
19= 19. Louise de Budos
20= 20. Charles de Maillé-Brézé
21= 21. Jacqueline de Thévalle
22= 22. François du Plessis, Lord of Richelieu
23= 23. Suzanne de La Porte
24= 24. Frederick IV, Elector Palatine
25= 25. Louise Juliana von Orange-Nassau
26= 26. James I of England
27= 27. Anne of Denmark
28= 28. Louis Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers
29= 29. Henriette of Cleves
30= 30. Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne
31= 31. Henriette de Savoie-Villars

References

ources

*"This article has information from the present french [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_de_Bourbon-Cond%C3%A9 Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé] site
* [http://worldroots.com/foundation/families/robertdefrance1256desc4.htm| Genealogy]

Titles

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