Françoise-Marie de Bourbon

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Upon being informed of her future husband, Françoise-Marie knew the marriage was destined not to be happy. She remarked,

"I dont care if he loves me; just as long as he marries me." ["Love and Louis XIV" by Lady Antonia Fraser]

Dowry

From her father, Françoise-Marie received a dowry of over two million livres, twice as much as her older sister, Louise-Françoise, had earlier received on her marriage to the duc de Bourbon. This difference led to a great deal of animosity between the sisters. The main gift of the king to his youngest daughter was the Palais Royal. The king deeded the palace, which had been the grace-and-favour city residence of the duc's parents for years, over to the new couple as a wedding present. The palace became the main residence of the duc de Chartres and his wife. His parents preferred to spend most of their time at their lavish country estate, the Château de Saint-Cloud.

As her new husband was a grandson of King Louis XIII, Françoise-Marie became a Granddaughter of France. As such, she took precedence over her illegitimate siblings at all court gatherings. After her marriage in 1692, Françoise-Marie was next in precedence behind only the Duchess of Burgundy, and her own mother-in-law, Elizbeth, the second Duchess of Orleans, called "Madame" .

After her father-in-law (and uncle) Philippe de France died in 1701, she received precedence over her mother-in-law and became the second most highly ranked lady in France, yielding only to the Duchess of Burgundy, the wife of the king's eldest legitimate grandson.

Children

Wedded on January 9 1692 in the Chapel of the Palace of Versailles, Françoise-Marie's marriage was as she had earlier predicted not successful . Some time after the wedding, her frustrated husband openly ridiculed her bad temper by calling her "Madame Lucifer" [ [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7oise_Marie_de_Bourbon_%281677-1749%29] ] . Their union, however, even if rather badly mismatched, did eventually produce eight children. Many of them were to marry into various prominent families in Europe under the Regency of her Husband for the young Louis XV. The couples first child, "Mademsoielle de Valois" was born at the Château de Marly in 1695; the couples last child, Louise Diane was born in 1716;

*Mademoiselle de Valois (17 December 1693 – 17 October 1694)
**Died in Childhood
*Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orléans (20 August 1695 – 21 July 1719).
**"Mademoiselle d'Orléans"
**Married Charles, duc de Berry.
**Had issue but no descent.
*Marie Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans (13 August 1698 – 10 February 1743).
**"Mademoiselle de Chartres" then after 1710 "Mademoiselle d'Orléans"
**Was "abesse de Chelles" from 1719-1734
*Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans (20 October 1700 – 19 January 1761).
**"Madmoiselle de Valois" then "Mademoiselle de Blois III"
**Married Francis III, Duke of Modena.
*Louis d'Orléans (4 August 1703 – 4 February 1752).
**Became the Duke of Orléans on the death of his father in 1723.
**Grand father of Philippe Égalité.
*Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans (11 December 1709 – 16 June 1742).
**"Madmoiselle de Montpensier"
**Married Louis I, King of Spain, the son of her mother's nephew Philippe de Bourbon, duc d'Anjou. Had no issue.
*Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans (18 December 1714 – 21 May 1734).
**"Madmoiselle de Beaujoulais"
**Was engaged to the future Charles III of Spain
*Louise Diane d'Orléans (27 June 1716 – 26 September 1736).
**"Mademoiselle de Chartres"
**Married Louis François I de Bourbon, prince de Conti, the grandson of her mother's sister, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon.
**Was the mother of Louis François II de Bourbon, prince de Conti, the last prince de Conti.

Later on her mother-in-law (after 1701, the dowager duchesse d'Orléans) wrote the following in her memoirs:

"all the femmes de chambre have made her believe that she did my son honour in marrying him; and she is so vain of her own birth and that of her brothers and sisters that she will not hear a word said against them; she will not see any difference between legitimate and illegitimate children" [Translated memoirs of the Duchess of Orléans]

Gallery

Later years

While her husband occupied himself with his various mistresses, she lived a quiet life without scandal unlike her amorous sisters, the princesse de Conti and the duchesse de Bourbon, and dramatic older brother, the duc du Maine.

In 1701, her husband became the "duc d'Orléans" when his father died. He was now the head of the "House of Orléans". The new duc and duchesse lived a lavish lifestyle. In Paris, the couple resided in her father's wedding gift, the Palais-Royal. In the country, they took up residence in the Château de Saint-Cloud on the outskirts of the city, which the duc had inherited from his father.

In 1703, the duchesse gave birth to the couple's only son, who became the heir to the "House of Orléans". Two days after her birthday in 1707, Françoise-Marie lost her mother who had been in severe very severe penance since she left court in 1691. Her father had refused the duchesse d'Orléans, duchesse de Bourbon and comte de Toulouse to let them wear mourning; they all refused to go to any court gatherings as a mark of respect for the death of their beloved mother. However, her eldest brother, the duc de Maine, was hardly able to conceal his joy at the death of his mother.

"Madame la Princesse"

Upon the death of Henri III Jules de Bourbon-Condé in 1709, the rank of "Premier Prince du Sang" was transferred from the "House of Condé" to the "House of Orléans". As a result, Françoise-Marie's husband became entitled to use the style of "Monsieur le Prince" at court, and his wife became entitled to use the style of "Madame la Princesse".

This transfer in rank from the Condé to the Orléans greatly aggravated the rivalry between Françoise-Marie and her older sister, Louise-Françoise, who was now the princesse de Condé.

In competition with her older sister for wealth and status, Françoise-Marie was very eager to make sure that her children made better marriages than the children of her sister did. By 1710 the kings youngest grandson was still unmarried; it had been suggested that he marry Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé - the niece of Françoise-Marie. As a result Françoise-Marie tried to cement a closer relationship to the throne. On July 6, that year she secured the marriage of her eldest daughter, Marie Louise Elisabeth, to the duc de Berry. This occurred much to the annoyance of her sister.

After hearing about an affair between her favourite daughter, Charlotte Aglaé, and the promiscuous duc de Richelieu, she set about to find a suitable royal husband for that daughter as well. Charlotte Aglaé was later married to an Italian prince, the Duke of Modena and Reggio.

La Régence

At the death of her father Louis XIV in 1715, the five year old Louis XV became the king of France. There was tension about who should rule for the new king during his youth. Françoise-Marie's older brother, the duc du Maine, vied with her husband, Philippe II, duc d'Orléans, for the role. Her husband quickly won out. As a result, Françoise-Marie was now the wife of the de facto ruler of France and became one of the most important women in the kingdom.

During the period of her husband's regency, she was one of the most important women at court. Although occupied with his many mistresses, her husband increased her annual allowance, to 400,000 livres, as she had inherited her parents' notorious passion for free-spending. During this time, Françoise-Marie acquired the Château de Bagnolet in Paris, which she later gave to her son.

In 1721, two of her daughters were scheduled to marry into the Spanish royal family. Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, known at court as "Mademoiselle de Montpensier", was to marry Infante Luis Felipe of Spain, the heir to throne of Spain. Her other daughter, Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans, known at court as "Mademoiselle de Beaujolais", was to marry Infante Luis Felipe's younger half-brother, Infante Carlos of Spain. Both marriages occurred but the latter marriage was later annulled and Philippine Elisabeth returned to France and died at her mother's Château de Bagnolet in 1734.

After her husband's regency ended upon his death in 1723, she retired to Saint-Cloud. In 1724 her son married the daughter of her fathers former enemy; her new daughter-in-law was Margravine Auguste Marie Johanna of Baden-Baden. The next year her son would father Louis Philippe I d'Orléans who was titled duc de Chartres. Her daughter-in-law, known as "Jeanne de Bade" at court, died in 1726 after the birth of a daughter called "Lousie Marie d'Orléans".

The child would die two years later in 1728. As a result, when it came to the marriage of her grandson, it fell on her to help with finding a suitable bride. Her son, very religious, had chosen Louise Henriette de Bourbon-Conti - grand-daughter of Françoise-Marie's sister the princesse de Condé. The marriage was arranged by the mother of the bride Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé and Françoise-Marie.

It was at the Château de Saint-Cloud that she died on February 1 1749. She was the last of her siblings to die and was therefore the last surviving child of Louis XIV. She had outlived her husband by twenty-six years and was survived by one daughter and one son, Charlotte Aglaé and Louis, duc d'Orléans.

Siblings

Françoise-Marie was the youngest daughter of Louis XIV and his mistress, Madame de Montespan. She and her siblings were very well known, partially because of their illegitimacy and partially due to their active social life in Paris.

While Françoise-Marie reigned supreme at the Palais-Royal in Paris, her older sister, Louise-Françoise, held court at the nearby Palais Bourbon. Their younger brother, Louis-Alexandre, meanwhile lived in the Hôtel de Toulouse opposite the Palais-Royal.

In all, Françoise-Marie had six full siblings. Only three, however, lived to maturity:
* Louise Françoise (1669-1672) - died in childhood.
* Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine (1670-1736)
** Married Anne-Louise-Bénédicte de Bourbon-Condé.
**Had issue but no surviving descendants. Was the founder of the house of Bourbon du Maine.
* 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) - died in childhood
* Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse (1678-1737) married Marie Victoire de Noailles.
**Founder of the House of Bourbon-Toulouse-Penthièvre
**The modern House of Orléans is also related to him through his granddaughter Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre who married Philippe Egalité and became the mother of Louis-Philippe.

Paternal legitimate half-siblings

*Louis de France (1661 - 1711
**The 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 who died before the age 5

Paternal illegitimate half-siblings

*Marie Anne de Bourbon, "Mademoiselle de Blois" (1666 - 1739)
**Eldest surviving daughter of Louis XIV and Louise de la Vallière
**Later wife to Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti and as such the princesse de Conti.
*Louis de Bourbon, comte de Vermandois (1667 - 1683)
**Eldest surviving son of Louis XIV and Louise de la Vallière
*Louise de Maison Blanche (1676-1718)
**Daughter of "Mlle des Oeillets" Married Bernard de Prez and had 11 enfants.

Maternal legitimate half-siblings

*Marie-Christine de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1663 - 1675)
**Died while in the country with her father the marquis de Montespan
*Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin, marquis d'Antin (1665 - 1736)
**Louis Antoine later was given the title of duc d'Antin.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Françoise-Marie de Bourbon
2= 2. Louis XIV of France
3= 3. Françoise-Athénaïs, Marchioness of Montespan
4= 4. Louis XIII of France
5= 5. Anne of Austria
6= 6. Gabriel de Rochechouart, Duke of Mortemart
7= 7. Diane de Grandseigne
8= 8. Henry IV of France
9= 9. Marie de' Medici
10= 10. Philip III of Spain
11= 11. Margaret of Austria
12= 12. Gaspard de Rochechouart, Marquis of Mortemart
13= 13. Louise de Maure, Countess of Maure
14= 14. Jean de Grandseigne, Marquis of Marsillac
15= 15. Catherine de La Béraudière, Lady of Villenon
16= 16. Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme
17= 17. Jeanne III of Navarre
18= 18. Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
19= 19. Johanna of Austria
20= 20. Philip II of Spain
21= 21. Anna of Austria
22= 22. Charles II of Austria
23= 23. Maria Anna of Bavaria
24= 24. René de Rochechouart, Seigneur de Mortemart
25= 25. Jeanne de Saulx de Tavannes
26= 26. Charles, Count of Maure
27= 27. Diane de Pérusse des Cars, Princess of Carency
28= 28. Pierre de Grandsaigne, Seigneur of La Flotte
29= 29. Françoise Baillard
30= 30. François de La Béraudière, Seigneur of Villechèze
31= 31. Anne Adrienne Frotier

References

Sources

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Further reading

* "Athénaïs:The Real Queen of France" by Lisa Hilton
* "Love and Louis XIV" by Lady Antonia Fraser

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