Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine

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Louis Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine, 1695
Louis Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine, 1695

Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine ( March 31, 1670 - May 14, 1736) was a legitimised son of the French King Louis XIV and his Maîtresse-en-titre, the well known Madame de Montespan (1640-1707). With his wife, Anne-Louise-Bénédicte de Bourbon-Condé he was the founder of the semi-royal House of Bourbon du Maine - named after his title and his surname.

Contents

[edit] Life

[edit] Early Life

Louis-Auguste de Bourbon was born at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on March 31, 1670. He was placed in the care of his mother's friends, the widowed Madame Scarron. Named Louis after his father[1] and Auguste after the famous Roman Emperor Augustus[2] (A similar naming process was used with his brothers Louis-César and Louis-Alexandre). As his mother was often occupied with her court duties, she rarely saw her children. As a result, it was Madame Scarron who was to become Louis-Augusts mother in all but name.

In December 1673 at the age of 3, he was legitimised by his father and was given the title of duc du Maine. His younger sister, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (b 1673) was also legitimised at the same time and was given the title of Mademoiselle de Nantes.

Some time after his birth, his father bought a house in the capital on rue de Vaugirard, near the Palais du Luxembourg, in a wooded suburb of the city. He was placed there with his siblings Louis César de Bourbon, comte de Vexin (b 1672) and Mademoiselle de Nantes. Another sister was born before Louis-Auguste, but she died before Mlle de Nantes was born. The children were then joined by a new sister in 1674 with the birth of Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon, who was later given the name Mademoiselle de Tours.

Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan and four of her children: Mademoiselle de Nantes, comte de Vexin, Mademoiselle de Tours and the duc du Maine (wearing red)
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan and four of her children: Mademoiselle de Nantes, comte de Vexin, Mademoiselle de Tours and the duc du Maine (wearing red)

The duchesse d'Orléans, sister-in-law of Louis XIV and famous court writer, believed that du Maine was not the son of the king:

I can readily believe that the comte de Toulouse is the King's son; but I have always thought that the duc du Maine is the son of Terme [member of the court], who was a false knave, and the greatest tale-bearer in the Court[3]

[edit] Versailles

In 1674, at the age of four, he was officially introduced to the royal court of his father along with his other siblings and their governess, who was initially disliked by his father. In the same year he was made the Colonel Général des Suisses et Grisons (Colonel-General of the Swiss Guards). He was also made the Grand Maître de France which was laster held by his future brother-in-law.

To the court, it was quickly becoming obvious that Louis-Auguste was the king's favourite son. He showered him with gifts and titles. Louis-Auguste was given the best tutors, one of whom was the famous military strategist, the maréchal du Luxembourg, who was put in charge of the child's military training. Louis-Auguste, however, was never to be a good soldier. In 1680, the king made him an official Prince de Bourbon, giving him an even more legitimate status at court.

More gifts came. His parents managed to bribe the vastly wealthy Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, duchesse de Montpensier, into giving him some of her many titles in return for her imprisoned lover's return to court. The duc du Maine as a result known became the comte d'Eu and the sovereign prince de Dombes. In addition, he later received the title of duc d'Aumale. Along with the governorship of Languedoc, he was awarded the Ordre du Saint-Esprit at Versailles . His cousin, Philippe Charles d'Orléans, was awarded the same decoration on the same day. Philippe Charles was later to order the imprisonment of Louis-Auguste when he became the regent of France after the death of Louis XIV..

In 1688, Louis-Auguste was made a général des galères (General of Galleys). He served under the style of capitaine-général des galères. The year before his marriage, his estranged mother left the court to lead a religious life in a convent. As a result, the magnificent apartments at Versailles she had occupied were given to her uncaring son, who was later seen throwing his mother's unwanted furniture out of the window![4]

[edit] Marriage

As all of his legitimised siblings had married into very prominent families, it was decided that he too should make a prestigious marriage. It was suggested that he marry either his first cousin, Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, the only unmarried daughter of his uncle, Monsieur, or a granddaughter of the prince de Condé. Élisabeth Charlotte was spared from the social disgrace of marrying a social inferior, as a marriage to an illegitimate person was considered by the court. The prince de Condé, however, was willing to overlook the discrepancy in social status as he simultaneously had several eligible granddaughters who needed to marry and was desperate to curry favor with the king.

Anne-Marie-Victoire de Bourbon-Condé and then Marie Anne de Bourbon-Condé (later duchesse de Vendôme) were first considered but Louis-Auguste said he preferred a younger sister, Anne-Louise-Bénédicte de Bourbon-Condé, known at court as Mademoiselle de Charolais.

In 1692 Louis-Auguste married Anne-Louise-Bénedicté (1676-1753), who was the daughter of the duc d'Enghien and Anne of Bavaria, a daughter of the well known political hostess, Anna Gonzaga. The wedding took place at the Palace of Versailles without the groom's mother being present.

[edit] Children

The feast of Dido and Aeneas: Allegorical portrait of the du Maine Family 1704. His wife can be seen on the right in the white dress. In front of her are the comte d'Eu and duc d'Aumale. The prince des Dombes is to the left

The duc and duchesse du Maine had seven children, all of whom died without leaving any children or possible heirs to the House of Bourbon du Maine. Only three survived infancy but all of their children were:

The marriage was very unhappy. His wife (called Louise-Bénédicte) was, in her eyes, disgraced with having to marry a légitimé de France and as a result was a deliberate source of embarrassment to her husband. She was often unfaithful[5]. As the groom and his wife were both lame, Louise-Bénédicte had a bad right arm and Louis had a lame leg, the court said:

Here is the union of a lame and a one-armed; What a beautiful couple![6]

[edit] Later Life

In 1707, his mother died, and he inherited a large portion of her fortune. He received the Château de Clagny which had been built for her by his father near Versailles. In the same year, his daughter, Louise Françoise de Bourbon-Maine, known as Mademoiselle de Maine, was born. He loved her intensely just as he did his two sons.

[edit] Prince du Sang

In the summer of 1714, Louis XIV placed Louis-Auguste and his younger brother, the comte de Toulouse, in direct line of succession to the throne of France, in case the legitimate line of the House of Bourbon should die out.

This controversial decision was made because three heirs to the throne had died in a single year, leaving only one legitimate candidate with an unquestionable claim to the throne, the king's great-grandson, the infant duc d'Anjou.

After the duc d'Anjou, the succession was questionable. The two main candidates were King Philip V of Spain, who was a grandson of Louis XIV and uncle to the duc d'Anjou, but who had renounced his claim to the French throne by treaty so that he could succeed to the throne of Spain, and Philippe II d'Orléans, duc d'Orléans, who was Louis XIV's nephew and, by the King of Spain's renunciation, Louis' next male heir, but whose accession could be challenged by Spain.

His wife.
His wife.

Louis XIV hoped to continue his own line on the French throne and prevent civil war by means of legitimising his illegitimate children. However, the legitimate French princes, such as the prince de Condé and the duc d'Orléans, were not happy to see the illegitimate sons of Louis XIV come between them and the throne.

In August 1715, King Louis' health deteriorated drastically. On August 22, the king was unable to attend a troop parade in the gardens of Versailles, and he ordered the duc du Maine take his place at this event. This public display of the duc's "promotion" greatly concerned the duc d'Orléans and his family, the House of Orléans.

[edit] The Cellamare Conspiracy

On September 1, 1715, the king died. His last will and testament gave the regency to both the duc d'Orléans and the duc du Maine. However, the next day, the duc d'Orléans ensured the annulment of Louis XIV's will in the Parlement de Paris.

Displeased with the duc d'Orléans' actions, Louis-Auguste (and his very ambitious wife) joined in the Cellamare Conspiracy in the hopes of transferring the regency to King Philip V of Spain who was also the uncle of the young king. The plot was named after the Spanish ambassador to the French court. Unfortunately for du Maine and his wife, the conspiracy was discovered. The duke was arrested and imprisoned in the fortress of Doullens . His wife was exiled to Dijon.

In 1720, the couple was pardoned by the Council of the Regent amd were allowed to return to court. Afterwards, Louise-Bénédicte made an effort to reconcile with her husband, whom she had practically forced to join the plot. She remarked:

I owe a full and rightful explanation to M. le Duc du Maine which is more precious to me than my own liberty or life[7]

[edit] Death

After his imprisonment, Louis-Auguste led a more subdued life, living at his famous Château de Sceaux where his wife (with whom he reconciled with later) had created a well known little court composed of popular literary figures of the day. The château had originally been bought by Louis XIV for his beloved son. It was at Sceaux that the duke died on May 14, 1736 at the age of sixty-six.

His eldest son, Louis Auguste II de Bourbon-Maine, who was given the title of prince de Dombes at his birth, continued the Bourbon du Maine line until its extinction in 1775. The large fortune that the du Maine family had amassed from royal gifts and the will of the la Grande Mademoiselle (1693), was later passed onto their cousins, the descendants of the duke's brother, the comte de Toulouse, the House of Bourbon-Penthièvre.

[edit] List of Honours

  • Born March 31 1670;
  • Legitimised (légitimé de France) December 20 1673;
  • Given the tile of duc du Maine (1673) and made colonel général des Suisses et Grisons 1674;
  • Captain of the Gardes Suisses February 3 1674;
  • Colonel of the Regiment of Infantry of Turenne August 13 1675;
    Arms of the House of Bourbon du Maine
  • Declared a Prince de Bourbon January 1680;
  • Declared prince de Dombes and comte d'Eu February 2 1681;
  • Declared governor of Languedoc May 29 1682;
  • Declared chevalier des Ordres du roi June 2 1686;
  • Named général des galères and the Lieutenant General of the Seas September 15 1688;
  • Marshal de camp April 2 1690;
  • Lieutenant général on April 3 1692;
  • Married Louise-Bénédicte;
  • Colonel of the regament of the 'Royal-Carabiniers' November 1 1693;
  • Made a Peer of France 1694;
  • Made Grand Master of the Atrillery September 10 1694;
  • Declared a Prince du sang July 29 1714;
  • Declared Superintendent of the education of Louis XV September 1715;
  • Stripped of teh rankd of prince du sang by his cousin the Régent de France July 1717;
  • Died May 14 1736

[edit] Siblings

Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan had seven children, only four of whom survived to adulthood. In addition to the duc du Maine, the other surviving children were :

Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan his mother
Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan his mother

[edit] Paternal legitimate half-siblings

[edit] Paternal illegitimate half-siblings

[edit] 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.

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] References

  1. ^ Athénaïs:The Real Queen of France by Lisa Hilton
  2. ^ Athénaïs:The Real Queen of France by Lisa Hilton
  3. ^ Memoirs of the duchesse d'Orléans
  4. ^ [http://enviedhistoire.canalblog.com/ duc du Maine
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ Voici l'union d'un boiteux et d'une manchote. Ah, le beau couple Place de Condé Site
  7. ^ Je dois une justification authentique à M. le Duc du Maine, qui me tient infiniment plus à coeur que ma liberté et que ma propre vie. etc Place de Condé site

[edit] Sources

[edit] Further Reading

[edit] Titles

Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine
Born: March 31 1670 Died: May 14 1736
French nobility
Preceded by
New Creation		 duc du Maine
1673–1736		 Succeeded by
Louis Auguste II de Bourbon-Maine
Preceded by
Charles Amédée de Savoie-Nemours		 duc d'Aumale
1695–1736		 Succeeded by
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre
Preceded by
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans		 comte d'Eu
1681–1736		 Succeeded by
Louis Auguste II de Bourbon-Maine
Royal titles
Preceded by
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans		 prince de Dombes
1682–1695		 Succeeded by
Louis Auguste II de Bourbon-Maine