Francoise Maria de Bourbon

Chateau de Maintenon 63 km from Paris, where Francoise Maria was born

Francoise-Marie was born May 4, 1677 in the Château de Maintenon , ^[2] which was owned, starting in 1674, by Madame Maintenon , teacher of illegitimate children, Madame Montespan from King Louis XIV.

Francoise-Marie, as well as her younger brother Louis-Alexander , were brought up by Madame Monshevreuy, Colbert and Jussac. In her childhood, she was brought to Versailles from time to time to see her parents.

Like her older sister, Louise Francoise , she inherited the beauty of her mother. In her memoirs, Madame de Quelus writes that Francoise-Marie was “shy and charming from birth”, as well as “a little beauty with a beautiful face and beautiful hands; fully proportionate. ” ^[3] From her mother, she also inherited the notorious family wit Mortemarov . It should be noted that she was especially proud of her monarchal origin and the fact that she inherited the blood of the Bourbons from her father. After reaching adulthood, people will play a trick on her, saying that she “always remembered that she was a princess, even sitting in her chair” ^[4] ( fr. Chaise percée ).

Childhood Mademoiselle de Blois

Francoise Marie was legalized by King Louis XIV on November 22, 1681 at the age of 4.5 and received the courtesy title of Mademoiselle de Blois , who had previously been worn by her older half-sister, Marie Anna de Bourbon , the legalized daughter of King Louis XIV and Louise de Lavalier . The act of legitimization did not mention her mother’s name, as Madame Montespan was officially married to the Marquis de Montespan , who could claim the legal rights of his wife’s child from Louis XIV.

Her older brother and sister, Louis-Auguste and Louise Francoise, were legalized on December 19, 1673 , of which there was a letter of merit issued by the Paris Parliament .

Simultaneously with Francoise Marie, her younger brother Louis-Alexander was legalized, who received the title of courtesy Count of Toulouse . She remained friendly with him all her life, as well as with her older brother Louis-Auguste . She did not often spend time with her sister Louise Francoise or half-brother Great Dauphin .

Despite the fact that after a scandal with poisoning , the king’s disposition towards Madame Montespan sharply waned, he continued to give gifts to the official favorite and provided the future of Francoise Maria, his youngest daughter, arranging for her a favorable marriage.

Marriage

King Louis XIV chose for his husbands for Francoise Maria his nephew and her cousin Philip, Duke of Chartres (in the future - French Regent Philip II of Orleans), the only son of his brother Philip I of Orleans . This decision of the king was a shock to the mother of the groom, Princess Palatinsky , whose prejudice against the many illegitimate children of Louis XIV was well known. ^[5] Upon learning that her young son agreed to this marriage, she struck him in the presence of the entire court, ^[6] and turned her back to the king, bowing before her in a respectful bow. ^[7]

On the occasion of the marriage of young people, King Louis XIV transferred the Palais-Royal Palace in Paris to the property of the groom's parents - Philip of Orleans and his wife, Princess Palatinsky. Until that time, the Orleans used the palace as a residence, but did not own it. ^[8] At first this palace was called the Palais-Cardinal ( Cardinal Palace ) and was transferred to the crown in 1642 by the will of Cardinal Richelieu who built it. King Louis XIV also promised the groom a high military position and ordered the extradition of 100,000 livres from the treasury to the favorite of the groom's father, Chevalier de Lorrain .

Having learned about the identity of her future spouse, Francoise-Marie remarked, “I don’t care if he loves me; the main thing is to marry him. ” ^[9]

The dowry of Francoise Marie, promised by her father Louis XIV, amounted to more than 2 million livres, which was 2 times the dowry of her older sister Louise-Francoise, paid during her marriage to the Conde . This difference has caused a huge hostility between the two sisters. ^{[10] The} promised dowry was paid only after the end of the Augsburg League war in 1697. ^[11] Louise-Francoise, trying to express her dissatisfaction with the size of the dowry, did not come to the engagement of her younger sister, which took place on February 17 the day before the wedding. ^[12]

The wedding of 14-year-old Francoise Maria and 17-year-old Philip, Duke of Chartres, occurred on February 18, 1692 ^[2] in the chapel of the Palace of Versailles . This chapel existed until 1710, after which the construction of the Hercules salon began in its place. The wedding ceremony was conducted by Cardinal de Bouillon , a representative of the Latour d'Auvergne dynasty. Seven years earlier, in 1685, Cardinal de Bouillon refused to participate in the wedding of the Duke of Bourbon with Louise Francoise (the elder sister of Francoise Marie and another illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV) and therefore was sent into exile. However, he was called back from the exile for the wedding of Francoise Maria and the Duke of Chartres. After the wedding ceremony, a gala dinner was held at the Mirror Gallery of Versailles, which was attended by all the princes of blood and princesses. Among the guests of the ceremony were also present the ousted king of England and his wife . At the ceremony for the newlyweds to go to bed, the Queen of England was honored to present her nightgown to the new Duchess of Chartres.

The mother of the bride, the former official favorite of King Madame Montespan , who had been living in a Paris monastery for almost a year, was not invited to her daughter’s wedding ceremony.

The married life of the young was full of contention. Soon after his marriage, Philip openly ridiculed the heavy character of his wife, giving her the nickname of Madame Satan . Her mother-in-law recalled that in the early years of marriage, Francoise-Marie drank up to unconsciousness 3-4 times a week. ^[13]

A friend of her husband and the famous memoirist, Duke of Saint-Simon , wrote about her in about 1710:

... majestic in every way; her face, neck and hands were amazing; she had an acceptable mouth and beautiful, but slightly large teeth; her cheeks were a little too big, but that did not spoil her beauty. The big drawback was her eyebrows, rare and red, with almost no hair; however, she had beautiful eyelashes, thick, chestnut-colored. She did not slouch, but one half of her body was larger than the other, because of which her gait was crooked; and this defect in her figure indicated a different circumstance that caused more serious troubles in society, and which troubled herself.

Original text

in every way majestic; her complexion, her throat, her arms, were admirable; she had a tolerable mouth, with beautiful teeth, somewhat long; and cheeks too broad and too pendant, which interfered with, but did not spoil her beauty. What disfigured her the most were her eyebrows, which were, so to speak, peeled and red, with very little hair; she had, however, fine eyelashes, with well-set, chestnut-colored hair. Without being humpbacked or deformed, she had one side larger than the other, which caused her to walk awry; and this defect in her figure indicated another, which was more troublesome in society and which inconvenienced herself.

- Saint-Simon , Memoirs

Ambition of the “Granddaughter of France”

Since her husband was the legitimate grandson of King Louis XIII of France, Francoise-Marie received the status of France’s granddaughter ( French petite-fille de France ), and Your Royal Highness was supposed to contact her. Moreover, the newlyweds were allowed, traveling, to stop for the night in the same place with the king, to eat with him, and they were awarded the right to occupy chairs with armrests in the presence of the king. ^[14] As a result of the marriage of the Duchess of Chartres , Francoise-Marie, according to the seniority of her title, stood after the Duchess of Burgundy and her mother-in-law, Duchess of Orleans.

Of all her brothers and sisters, Francoise-Maria received the most advantageous marriage, with the exception of Dauphin , who in 1680 married his cousin Maria Anna of Bavaria .

In this marriage, 8 children were born, some of whom later, during the regency of the spouse of Francoise Marie, entered into marriage with other royal dynasties of Europe. Her Grace respected her children, because they were the children of the legitimate grandchildren of France . Francoise-Marie was very unhappy that her children were not recognized as the grandchildren of the king . On this occasion, Saint-Simon wrote:

The head of the Duchess of Orleans was full of fantasies that she could not realize ... Not satisfied with the existing status of the "Granddaughter of France", which she got through her husband, she could not accept the fact that her children had a lower status of "princes of blood". The status she invented was “middle to half” - her children were known as the “great-grandchildren of France.”

Original text

The duchesse d'Orléans had a head filled with fantasies that she could not realise ... Not content with the modern rank of Grand-daughter of France, which she enjoyed through her husband, she could not bear the idea that her children were only Princes of the Blood and dreamed up a rank for them that was betwixt and between; they were known as Great-Grandchildren of France ...

- Saint-Simon Arthur Goldhammer. Saint-Simon and the court of Louis XIV . - London: The University of Chicago Press, 2001 .-- P. 33.

Trying to solve this issue, Francoise-Maria even appealed to the king, his father, but he rejected her request, since he himself was the author of carefully built rigid subordinations in court etiquette.

Duchess of Orleans

In 1701, after the death of the “only brother of the king” Philip I of Orleans , his 27-year-old son and husband of Francoise Marie inherited the title of Duke of Orleans , as well as all the other titles and estates of his father, thus becoming the head of the Orleans home . The new Duchess of Orleans in the court subordination was ahead of her mother-in-law and became the second woman in the kingdom, second only to Dauphine , Duchess of Burgundy. Philip of Orleans died in the castle of Saint-Cloud after a heated quarrel in Marley with King Louis XIV about the inadmissibility of open walks in front of Francoise-Marie of the young Duke of Chartres, along with his pregnant favorite, Maria-Louise de Sery. ^[15] Philippe, her father-in-law and uncle, did not have tender feelings for Francoise-Marie.

The new Duke and Duchess of Orleans led a luxurious life in the Palais-Royal Palace in Paris, as well as in the castle of Saint-Cloud , located 10 kilometers west of Paris. The personal apartment of the Duke and Duchess in the Palais Royal was designed and decorated by the titled Jean Beren .

While her husband led the licentious life of a big woman-lover, Francoise-Maria lived without gossip, very quietly, in contrast to her sister Louise Francoise and older brother Louis-Auguste . Witty and charming, she preferred the company of her cousin, the Duchess of Sforza, ^[16] who was the daughter of Gabriela , the elder sister of Madame Montespan . Other cousins ​​also entered her inner circle. Her maid of honor was Countess Castries , nee Marie Elizabeth de Rochechoir, daughter of Madame Montespan's brother Louis Victor . Her honorary cavalier ( fr. Chevalier d'honneur ) was Earl of Castries . She was also close to another cousin Diana Gabriela Dama de Tianage, another daughter of Gabriela , the elder sister of Madame Montespan .

In 1703, at Versailles, Francoise-Marie gave birth to a son, who subsequently continued the Orleans dynasty. ^[2] She already had her fifth child, and the first boy. When Louis XIV was informed of the birth of this child, the king gave him the name Louis (presumably in his honor) and honored him with a maintenance, the size of which usually corresponded to the status of the First Prince of Blood . Francoise Marie and Louis subsequently always were close to each other. Francoise-Marie's mother-in-law often complained that her grandson went to his mother more than to his father.

In 1707, shortly after her 30th birthday, Francoise-Marie lost her mother, Madame Montespan, who, since her official departure from Versailles in 1691, has lived in deep repentance in the convent of St. Joseph in Paris. Madame Montespan was the official favorite of King Louis XIV between 1667 and 1683 and bore him seven children, who are now forbidden by Louis XIV to mourn for his mother. However, trying to at least somehow honor the memory of the mother, the three youngest children, the Duchess of Orleans, the Duchess of Bourbon and the Count of Toulouse, stopped appearing at court. Их самый старший брат, герцог Мэнский, напротив с трудом скрывал радость от смерти матери, с которой никогда не был близок. Он был её главным наследником и получил всё её огромное состояние, а также шато Кланьи , дворец рядом с Версальским дворцом, где в 1678 году на свет появился последний внебрачный ребёнок мадам Монтеспан, Луи-Александр, граф Тулузы . ^[17]

После того как в 1709 году скончался принц Конде , титул Первый принц крови официально перешёл от дома Конде к Орлеанскому дому . Поэтому её муж, герцог Орлеанский, получил право на почётное обращение Месье принц . А сама Франсуаза-Мария соответственно получила право титуловаться как Мадам принцесса . ^[18] Однако, эти стили никогда не использовались.

Такой переход титула от дома Конде к Орлеанскому дому существенно обострил неприязнь между Франсуазой-Марией и её старшей сестрой, Луизой-Франсуазой, которая теперь стала принцессой Конде , и после этого носила титул Мадам герцогиня до своей смерти в 1743 году, ^[19] и по-прежнему была известна как герцогиня Бурбонская.

В пылу соперничества за титулы и богатство со своей старшей сестрой, Франсуаза-Мария особенно сильно заботилась о более выгодных браках своих детей. К 1710 году самый младший законный внук короля Людовика XIV, 23-летний Карл Беррийский , оставался не женат. Предполагалась его женитьба на Луизе Елизавете , дочери Луизы-Франсуазы. Франсуаза-Мария сделала всё, чтобы помешать этому браку, и упрочить свои связи с французским престолом. 6 июля 1710 года она обеспечила брак своей старшей дочери Марии Луизы Елизаветы Орлеанской с Карлом Беррийским, к неудовольствию своей сестры, герцогини Бурбонской . Этот брачный союз ещё больше усилил конфликт между двумя сёстрами, поскольку он принёс Марии Луизе Елизавете титул внучки Франции ; никто из детей Конде не сможет обладать этим титулом.

9 апреля 1714 года Франсуаза-Мария участвовала в крещении своей племянницы Луизы-Франсуазы де Бурбон (1707—1743), единственной дочери её старшего брата, герцога Мэнского . Девочка была названа в честь сестры и соперницы Франсуазы-Марии, герцогини Бурбонской, и носила почётный титул Мадемуазель дю Мэн . ^[20] Франсуазе-Марии помогал молодой Дофин , будущий король Людовик XV . ^[21]

После смерти Людовика XIV в 1715 году 5-летний Дофин становится новым королём Франции Людовиком XV . Было необходимо назначить регента на период малолетства нового короля и возникли крупные разногласия между старшим братом Франсуазы-Марии, герцогом Мэнским , и её супругом, герцогом Орлеанским , боровшимся за пост регента. Симпатии Парижского парламента были на стороне её мужа, который и был объявлен регентом. Будучи супругой де-факто правителя Франции, Франсуаза-Мария стала самой влиятельной женщиной в королевстве. В период регентства она правила двором и супруг повысил её годовое содержание до 400 000 ливров.

В марте 1719 года она купила шато Баньоле в коммуне Баньоле , восточном пригороде Парижа, и после её смерти имение унаследовал сын, Людовик Орлеанский. Франсуаза-Мария поручила ландшафтному архитектору Клоду Дего расширить имение. Дего, бывший племянником знаменитого садовника Людовика XIV, Андре Ленотра , уже работал над шато Со по заказу герцога Мэнского .

Семейная жизнь

Множество дочерей Франсуазы-Марии были известны своим легкомысленным поведением.

Мария Луиза Елизавета, герцогиня Беррийская, имела множество любовников и несколько беременностей. Овдовев, уже к 1719 году она была снова в тягости. Другая дочь, Шарлотта Аглая , имела связь с герцогом Ришельё . После того как эта связь была обнаружена, Франсуаза-Мария со своим супругом принялись искать подходящую партию для своей любимицы. Их выбор остановился на наследнике Моденского герцогства (будущем герцоге Модены ). В то же самое время был разоблачён Заговор Челламаре . За участие в этом плохо подготовленном заговоре герцог и герцогиня Мэнские были высланы из Парижа, а герцог Ришельё был арестован и на некоторое время помещён в Бастилию.

Франсуаза-Мария пыталась выдать замуж одну из своих дечерей — Луизу Аделаиду или Шарлотту Аглаю — за Луи-Огюста , принца Домба, старшего сына герцога Мэнского, но обе отказались от своего двоюродного брата.

В 1721 году были достигнуты брачные соглашения с испанским королевским домом в отношении двух других дочерей, Луизы Елизаветы и Филиппы Елизаветы . 11-летняя Луиза Елизавета должна была выйти замуж за испанского инфанта Луиса I , наследника испанского трона, а 6-летняя Филиппа Елизавета должна была выйти замуж за младшего сводного брата Луиса I, инфанта Карла . Состоялся только брак Луизы Елизаветы, но и тот был бездетным, позже аннулирован, и она вернулась во Францию.

В декабре 1723 года скончался супруг 46-летней Франсуазы-Марии и она удалилась в поместье Сен-Клу .

In 1724, her son Louis, the new Duke of Orleans , married Augustus of Baden-Baden , the daughter of one of the enemies of his father, Ludwig Wilhelm , Margrave of Baden-Baden. Among the applicants for this marriage were his cousin Elizabeth Alexandrina and two great princesses from Russia, the daughters of Peter I , Anna Petrovna and her sister Elizaveta Petrovna . But the son of Francoise Marie was rejected by the Russian court because of his title. Not being a son or grandson of France , Louis possessed the title of His Grace , while each of the Russian Grand Duchesses had a higher title of Her Imperial Highness .

In 1725, Francoise-Maria arranged the marriage of her cousin, the young king of France Louis XV , with the Polish princess Maria Leshchinsky . Being the Dowager Duchess of Orleans , she remained one of the most important ladies of the court. However, her position over time greatly weakened as the daughters appeared with the royal couple. The second of the eight daughters of the king, Madame Henrietta , was in love with the grandson of Francoise Maria, Louis Philippe of Orleans . ^[22] However, Louis XV did not approve of this marriage, because he did not want the Orleans home to approach the throne of France.

After this, the king persistently helped the Dowager Duchess to find a suitable pair for her grandson. At the direction of her son, Francoise-Marie discussed with her niece, Louise Elizabeth de Bourbon, the marriage of her grandson with her attractive daughter Louise Henrietta . This marriage finally united the grandson of Francoise-Marie with the granddaughter of her sister and rival Louise Francoise , the Duchess of Bourbon.

69-year-old Francoise Marie found the birth of their son in 1747, the future Philippe Egalite . ^[2]

The next to marry her youngest daughter. Louise-Diana , the favorite of her grandmother, the Princess of Palatine , was engaged to the 15-year-old with the young Louis Francois, Prince of Conti , whose wedding took place in Versailles in 1732. Louise died in second birth in the Chateau d'Issy . The only child of Louise-Diana became the last Prince of Conti , who later married the Princess of Modena Maria Fortunata . The bride was the daughter of the wayward Charlotte Aglaia.

Charlotte Aglaya was the most difficult child of Francoise Maria. She repeatedly returned to France from Modena to the so-called voluntary exile, and Francoise-Marie with her son Louis did not pay attention to her. She returned back to Modena in 1737 when she became the sovereign duchess of Modena .

Recent years

In 1739, at the age of 72, the older half-sister of Francoise Marie, Marie-Anna de Bourbon , the Dowager Princess Conti, died. Three years later, in 1742, her fourth daughter, Louise Elizabeth , died in the Parisian Luxembourg Palace . The funeral ceremony of Louise Elizabeth was held in the Paris church of Saint-Sulpice . Oddly enough, the funeral took place in the same church, where in 1663 the mother of Francoise Marie and the Marquis de Montespan joined a legal marriage. The bishop of the church was Louis Charles de Saint-Albin , the illegitimate son of the husband of Francoise Maria.

Her second daughter, Louise Adelaide , died of smallpox in February 1743 in Paris, having served 15 years with Abbess Schelle ; 4 months later, in June 1743, the sister and rival of Francoise Marie, the Dowager Duchess de Bourbon, died in the Bourbon Palace in Paris.

In December 1744, at Versailles, the oldest granddaughter of Francoise Marie, Princess of Modena married the wealthiest man in France, the Duke of Pentève ; Pentevre was the only legitimate son of the younger brother of Francoise Marie, Count of Toulouse . As a result of this marriage, Francoise-Marie became the great-great-grandmother of the French King Louis-Philippe I.

Francoise Marie is the great-grandmother of Louis Alexandre de Bourbon , Prince of Lamballe , wife of one of the closest friends of Queen Marie Antoinette , Princess Maria Louise of Savoy , better known as Princess de Lamballe .

Francoise-Marie died on February 1, 1749 in Paris at the Palais Royal after a long illness. She was the last living child of King Louis XIV. She survived her husband for 26 years. Her two children lived on - Charlotte Aglaya and Louis, Duke of Orleans. She was buried on February 6 in the Parisian church of Madeleine of Trennel ( FR Église de la Madeleine de Tresnel ), the old Benedictine church on Rue de Charonne . The trainel was near her beloved Chateau Bagnolet . Her heart was transferred to the Val de Grace , considered the family crypt of the Orleans House.

1. Mademoiselle de Valois ( December 17, 1693 - October 17, 1694 ); died in infancy.
2. Maria Louise Elizabeth of Orleans ( August 20, 1695 - July 21, 1719 ); married Carl, Duke of Berry (had heirs).
3. Louise Adelaide of Orleans ( August 13, 1698 - February 10, 1743 ); Abbess Schell.
4. Charlotte Aglaia Orleans ( October 20, 1700 - January 19, 1761 ); married Francesco III d'Este (had heirs).
5. Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Orleans ( August 4, 1703 - February 4, 1752 ); married Augustus of Baden-Baden (had heirs).
6. Louise Elizabeth of Orleans ( December 11, 1709 - June 16, 1742 ); married Louis I , the future king of Spain (without heirs).
7. Philip Elizabeth of Orleans ( December 18, 1714 - May 21, 1734 ); (without heirs).
8. Louise Diana of Orleans ( June 27, 1716 - September 26, 1736 ); married Louis Francois, Prince of Conti (had heirs).

• Antonia (Lady) Fraser. Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King. - Orion, 2008 .-- 512 p. - ISBN 0297857924 .
• Claude Dufresne. Les Orléans. - Criterion, 1991 .-- 413 p. - ISBN 2903702578 .
• Christine Pevitt. Phillipe, Duc D'Orléans: Regent of France . - Pgw, 1997 .-- 366 p. - ISBN 0871136953 .
• Ézéchiel Spanheim. Relation de la cour de France en 1690 . - Mercure de France, 1973. - 427 p.

•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to Francoise-Maria de Bourbon