Prince du Sang

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Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, who was known at court as Monsieur le Prince, by Joost van Egmont
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, who was known at court as Monsieur le Prince, by Joost van Egmont
The last Monsieur le Prince before the revolution: Husband of Madame la Princesse.
The last Monsieur le Prince before the revolution: Husband of Madame la Princesse.
Madame la Princesse.
Madame la Princesse.
Monsieur le Duc.
Monsieur le Duc.
Madame la Duchesse. She was the wife of Monsieur le Duc.
Madame la Duchesse. She was the wife of Monsieur le Duc.
Olympe Mancini, known as Madame la Comtesse at court.
Olympe Mancini, known as Madame la Comtesse at court.

A Prince of the Blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du Sang played a major role in determining court precedence during the Ancien Régime, from the reign of King Henry IV of France onward to the reign of his great-great-great-great-great grandson, Charles X. A prince du sang or a princesse du sang had to be a legitimate member of the reigning House of Bourbon. In some European monarchies, but especially in the kingdom of France, this appellation was a specific rank in its own right, of a more restricted use than other titles.

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[edit] Styles

The rank of prince du sang is restricted to legitimate agnatic descendants. Those who held this rank were usually styled by their main peerage, but sometimes other styles were used, indicating a more precise status than prince du sang.

[edit] Monsieur le Prince

This was the style of the First Prince of the Blood (French: premier prince du sang, which normally belonged to the most senior (by primogeniture) male member of the royal dynasty who was not a brother, son, or male-line grandson of a king of France or of a dauphin (these dynasts were members of the "royal family" {famille du roi} and enjoyed higher rank and styles than the princes du sang). It carried with it various privileges, including the right to a household paid out of state revenues. The rank was held for life: the birth of a new, more senior prince who qualified for the position did not deprive the current holder of his rank. The style of Monsieur le prince was held for over a century by the Princes of Condé. Right to use of the style passed to the House of Orléans in 1709.

First Princes of the Blood, 1465-1830

House of Valois

House of Bourbon-La Marche

House of Bourbon

House of Bourbon-Condé

House of Orléans

[edit] Madame la Princesse

This style was held by the wife of Monsieur le Prince. The duchesses that were entitled to use it were:

[edit] Monsieur le Duc

This style was used for the eldest son of the Prince of Condé. Originally, the eldest son was given the title of duc d'Enghien, but that changed in 1709 when the Condé lost the rank of premier prince. After that, the eldest son was given the title of duc de Bourbon, and his eldest son (the eldest grandson of the Prince of Condé in the male line) was given the title of duc d'Enghien.

[edit] Madame la Duchesse

This style was used for the wife of Monsieur le Duc. The most famous holder of this honorific was:

[edit] Monsieur le Comte

This address was used by the head of the most junior branch of the House of Bourbon, the comte de Soissons. The comtes de Soissons, like the Princes of Conti, descended from the Princes of Condé. The line started in 1566 when the Soissons title was given to Charles de Bourbon-Condé, the second son of Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé, the first Prince of Condé.

The first Prince had three sons:

The Soissons title was acquired by the first Prince of Condé in 1557 and was held by his descendents for two more generations:

The 2nd comte de Soissons died without an heir, so the Soissons title passed to his younger sister, Marie de Bourbon-Condé, the wife of Thomas-François, Prince of Savoy-Carignan,, a member of the House of Savoy. She became known as Madame la Comtesse de Soissons. On her death, the title passed first to her second son, Joseph-Emmanuel, Prince of Savoy-Carignan (1631-1656), and then to her third son, Eugène-François, Prince of Savoy-Carignan. He married Olympe Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. She was known as Madame la Comtesse de Soissons[1] like her mother-in-law. On his death, the title went to his eldest son, Louis-Thomas, Prince of Savoy-Carignan, who was the older brother of the famous Austrian general, François-Eugène, Prince of Savoy-Carignan. The Soissons title became extinct upon the death of Eugène-Jean-François de Savoie-Carignan in 1734. The title reverted to the French Crown.

[edit] Madame la Comtesse

This style was used by the wife of Monsieur le Comte. The best example of this is:

[edit] Other

[edit] Madame la Princesse Douarière

Madame la Princesse de Conti Dernière Douarière.
Madame la Princesse de Conti Dernière Douarière.

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:

Note: this style was not a traditional style by right but was simply a means the court used to distinguish between the three widows who held the title of Princesse de Conti at the same time.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Nancy Mitford, The Sun King, 1966, p.87

[edit] See Also


Kingdom of France
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