On the left bank of the Seine in Paris today, there is a world-famous Bourbon Palace, which is the seat of the French National Assembly (House of Commons). This magnificent palace was completed in 1726 and has been rebuilt and expanded many times. Now it has a building area of 124,000 square meters and more than 9,500 rooms. It’s hard to imagine that this famous building that played an important role in French history and political life was originally the illegitimate daughter of King Louis XIV-Louise Françoise de Bourbon (Louise Françoise). de Bourbon, June 1, 1673-June 16, 1743) presided over the construction. Domestic readers may be relatively unfamiliar with the experience of this "quasi-princess". This article will talk about some anecdotes about her.
Palace of Bourbon
Louise Françoise de Bourbon was born noble, is Louis XIV and his beloved mistress Françoise Atenais de Rochechoar (Françoise -The second daughter of Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, 1640-1707, the Marquise of Montespan (the eldest daughter had the same name but died young). It is said that Louise's name comes from her godmother Louise de La Vallière (Louise de La Vallière, 1644-1710), ironically, the latter was defeated by the Marquise of Montespan Rival. Louise is undoubtedly lucky, because Louis XIV has difficult heirs (he and the queen, the Spanish princess Marie, only the eldest son Louis lived to adulthood) and loves the Marquise of Montespan very much. Although she is an illegitimate daughter, she is three years old. It was recognized by Louis XIV and was given the royal family name "Bourbon". At the same time, the eldest brother of the same father and mother, Louis Auguste de Bourbon, was named Duke of Mann, and his second brother, Louis César, was named Earl of Vixen.
Portrait of the Marquise of Montespan, the mistress of Louis XIV,
Although there are many brothers and sisters (the marquise of Montespan and the king have 7 children), Louise inherited the beauty and wisdom of her parents, and has been fond of music and dance since childhood. When she was 18 years old, she played the main role in the ballet performed for the Prince of France, and was very much loved by Louis XIV. She was later honored as "Mademoiselle de Nantes" in the palace.
Portrait of Louise Francoise de Bourbon
May 25, 1685, Louise Francois, who was only eleven years old, married Louis III de Bourbon, who was five years older than her. The Duke of Bourbon, although the latter is a distant relative of Louis XIV, he has a noble status and is the grandson of the patriarch of the famous House of Condé in French history. Louis XIV generously bestowed Louise Françoise with a dowry of one million francs, just like treating a real French princess (compared to most princesses of Louis XV who died lonely because their father was unwilling to provide the dowry, Louise Can be called the lucky one). After marriage, because her husband was also called "Monsieur le Duc" (Monsieur le Duc) in the palace, Louise Françoise also became "Madame la Duchesse" (Madame la Duchesse).
The wedding of Louise Francois and Louis de Bourbon, an unknown painter, 1685.
Although there are many sisters, the only one who is really close to Louise Françoise is only the sister "Mademoiselle de Tours" (Mademoiselle de Tours), Louise Marie Ann, who died at the age of 6. Louise has strong self-esteem and often competes fiercely with other sisters. In 1692, Louise’s youngest sister, Françoise Marie de Bourbon, married Louis XIV’s nephew, Philippe d&39; Orléans (1674-1723). Philip's father was the second son of Louis XIII, King of France and Anne of Austria, the younger brother of Louis XIV. Although Louis III de Bourbon’s grandfather "Grand Condé" was hailed as one of the most outstanding military generals in France in the 17th centuryLouis III himself was promoted to lieutenant general by virtue of his military merits, but the Duke of Orleans was born more noble after all. Françoise Marie’s dowry doubled that of his sister, which made Louise François Vasi was very jealous, and the two sisters almost turned each other into enemies.
Francois Marie de Bourbon
1695 Around the time, Louise Francois and Prince de Conti (Prince de Conti) Francois Louis de Bourbon (François Louis de Bourbon) , 1664-1709) fell into a romantic affair. Embarrassingly, Prince Conte’s original match was Marie Thérèse de Bourbon (1666-1732), the sister of Louise’s husband, Prince Conte, and Prince Conte himself was the Prince of Conte. The elders-cousins. The most amazing thing is that it was the half-brother who had a close relationship with Louise—Louis de France (1661-1711) of France, the Grand Dauphin! The lovers met frequently in the Prince's villa on the outskirts of Meudon. It is said that the four daughters of Louise born in 1697 are the product of this relationship.
Louise’s husband, Prince Condé
Louise’s lover, Prince Conte
Louise Francois’ husband, Prince Condé, was not unconscious of this, but he was intimidated by his husband Louise XIV and the king. He had no choice but to be angry and dare not speak. To make matters worse, in the 18th century, Louis III gradually suffered from mental illness, which made him more powerless to interfere with his wife's derailment. On April 1, 1709, the old Prince of Condé passed away, Louis III succeeded as the new Prince of Condé, and Louise Francois was officially promoted to the Prince's wife. However, at this time, Louis's madness was quite serious, and he passed away in less than a year at the age of 42.
Louise Francois and her husband have nine children, all of whom have grown up. After the death of Louis III, Louise did not still use the title of Prince of Conde (Dowager Princess of Conde) but was called "Madame la Duhesse douairiere" during her widowhood. Her lover Prince Conte died a year ago. Louis seems to be "lonely."
Louise Francois widowed in mourning clothes, 1737, painted by Pierre Gobert.
In order not to stay away from the center of political power, Louise tried her best to maintain the relationship with the crown prince, and to compete with the sister Francoise who joined the "Orleans faction". However, the day was not fulfilled, and the crown prince suddenly passed away in 1711, making Louise's many years of hard work in vain. The new crown prince is her nephew Louis, Duke of Burgundy, and the new crown prince Mary Adelaide has a very bad relationship with Louise. However, in only two years, the prince and his wife died one after another, leaving only their young son Louis. Louis XIV died in 1715, and his great-grandson Louis XV was enthroned at the age of only 5 years. France needs a regent. This throne caused Louise's eldest brother, the Duke of Mann and her brother-in-law, the Duke of Orleans to compete fiercely. Louise unhesitatingly supported his brother to seize power, but the Duke of Orleans won the regent. This means that the little sister Francoise Marie, who has been at odds with Louise Francoise for many years, soars into the sky and becomes the most noble woman in the French Empire. This sisterhood fight finally settled, and Louise Francois was the loser.
Louise and her sister Mary (left)
After entering middle age, Louise Francois decided to live near her siblings and began to build the Bourbon Palace in 1722. Intriguingly, around the same time, she became the lover of the Marquis of Lasse. The Marquis of Lacey then spent a lot of money to build the Lacey Hotel next to the Bourbon Palace, and secretly built a corridor leading to the Bourbon Palace to facilitate the two to meet. Today, BourbonThe Palace is the seat of the French National Assembly, and the Lasse Palace is the residence of the Speaker.
On June 16, 1743, Louise Francois de Bourbon passed away at the Bourbon Palace at the age of 70. Despite the rough life, as the illegitimate daughter of the king, she enjoyed the glory and made a lot of love in her love scene, which is worth noting.
