Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon |
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| Duke of Penthièvre | |||||
Portrait by Jean-Marc Nattier
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| Born | 16 November 1725 Château de Rambouillet, France |
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| Died | 4 March 1793 (aged 67) Château de Bizy, Vernon, France |
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| Burial | Chapelle royale de Dreux | ||||
| Spouse | Princess Maria Teresa d'Este | ||||
| Issue Detail |
Louis Alexandre, Prince of Lamballe Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Orléans |
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| House | Bourbon | ||||
| Father | Louis Alexandre de Bourbon | ||||
| Mother | Marie Victoire de Noailles | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
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Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon (born November 16, 1725 – died March 4, 1793) was a French prince. He was the son of Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, the Count of Toulouse, and his wife Marie Victoire de Noailles. This made him a grandson of the famous French king, Louis XIV of France, and his mistress, Madame de Montespan.
From the day he was born, he was known as the Duke of Penthièvre. He also held many other important titles, including Prince of Lamballe, Duke of Rambouillet, and Count of Eu. He was also the father-in-law of Philippe Égalité, a key figure during the French Revolution.
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Life of Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon was born at the Château de Rambouillet, a grand castle in France. His father was the youngest son of King Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. His mother, Marie Victoire de Noailles, was a kind woman who helped raise the young King Louis XV after he lost his parents. Because of this, Louis Jean Marie became very close to King Louis XV, who was also his godfather.
Early Military Career and Royal Honors
When Louis Jean Marie was just twelve years old, his father passed away. He then took over his father's important military roles and titles. These included:
- Admiral of France (leader of the navy)
- Grand Master of France (a high-ranking court official)
- Grand Huntsman of France (in charge of royal hunts)
- Marshal of France (a top military rank)
- Governor of Brittany (a leader in a French region)
At age eight, he was made a maréchal de camp (a type of field marshal). The next year, he became a lieutenant général (lieutenant general). In 1740, he received the Order of the Golden Fleece from the King of Spain. Two years later, King Louis XV gave him the Order of the Holy Spirit. He fought bravely in battles like Dettingen (1743) and Fontenoy (1745).
Marriage and Family Life
Louis Jean Marie was one of the wealthiest men in Europe. This made him a very desirable person to marry, especially because he was so close to the French royal family.
In 1744, when he was nineteen, he married Princess Maria Teresa d'Este. She was the daughter of the Duke of Modena. The young couple lived in apartments at the Palace of Versailles. These apartments had once belonged to their shared ancestor, Madame de Montespan.
The Duke and Duchess of Penthièvre had seven children together. Sadly, only two of them lived past childhood:
- Louis Alexandre Joseph Stanislas de Bourbon, the Prince of Lamballe (1747–1768). He married Princess Marie Louise of Savoy but had no children.
- Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, who later became the Duchess of Orléans (1753–1821). She married Philippe d'Orléans and had children.
The Duchess of Penthièvre died in 1754 during childbirth, at the young age of 27. Her last child lived only a few hours. The Duke was heartbroken and never married again.
Life After His Wife's Death
After his wife passed away, the Duke spent less time at the royal court in Versailles. He preferred to live in his country homes, like the Château de Rambouillet and the Château de Sceaux. He spent most of his life helping others and giving to charity. During the French Revolution, he even offered safety to the poet Jean Pierre Claris de Florian at his home in Sceaux.
In 1791, he moved to the Château de Bizy in Vernon. His daughter joined him there in April 1791, after leaving her husband. The Duke was well-liked by the people because of his kindness and charity. This meant that the revolutionaries did not bother him.
However, other members of his family were not so lucky. In September 1792, his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Lamballe, was tragically killed. In January 1793, his cousin King Louis XVI was executed. Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon died on March 4, 1793, at Bizy. He did not live to see his daughter arrested in April 1793. His body was secretly taken to Dreux and buried in the family tomb. Later that year, during the Revolution, his family's graves were disturbed, and their remains were moved to a common grave.
Legacy and Wealth
The Duke of Penthièvre was one of the richest men in France during his time. He was well-known for his generous charitable acts. Much of his huge fortune came from the wealth of La Grande Mademoiselle, who was a cousin of King Louis XIV.
Inherited Estates and Properties
The Duke of Penthièvre inherited many grand estates, including the châteaux at Sceaux, Anet, Aumale, Dreux, and Gisors. These were part of the vast fortune he received from his ancestors.
He also inherited the Hôtel de Toulouse in Paris and the château de Rambouillet from his father. The Hôtel de Toulouse was the family's home in Paris. The Duke left it to his daughter, Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon.
Over the years, the Duke also bought other large properties:
- Château de Chanteloup, a huge castle in the Touraine region of France.
- Château d'Amboise, a famous castle in the Loire Valley.
- The Château at Châteauneuf-sur-Loire.
- The Château de La Ferté-Vidame.
Passing on the Fortune
Because his only son, the Prince of Lamballe, died before him in 1768, his daughter became the sole heir to his immense fortune. In 1769, she married the Duke of Chartres, who later became known as Philippe Égalité. After the French Revolution, she managed to get back some of her family's wealth. When she died in 1821, this fortune passed to the House of Orléans, her husband's family.
Family Burial Site
The lands of the County of Dreux were given to the Duke of Penthièvre by King Louis XVI. In 1783, after selling the château de Rambouillet to King Louis XVI, the Duke moved the bodies of his family members (his parents, wife, and six children) from Rambouillet to the Collégiale Saint-Étienne de Dreux. He himself was buried there in March 1793.
In November 1793, during the Revolution, a group of revolutionaries broke into the chapel. They removed the coffins and buried the remains of the Penthièvre family in a common grave nearby. In 1816, his daughter, Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, built a new chapel on the site of that grave. This chapel became the final resting place for members of the Bourbon-Toulouse-Penthièvre family. When her son, Louis-Philippe, became King of the French, the chapel was renamed the Chapelle Royale de Dreux. It now holds the remains of 75 members of the Bourbon and Orléans families.
Street in Paris
There is a street in Paris, near the famous Avenue des Champs Élysées, named after the Duke of Penthièvre. It is believed that a grand house at n° 11 Rue de Penthièvre was once where the Duke's grandson, the future King Louis-Philippe, lived when he was young.
See also
In Spanish: Luis Juan María de Borbón para niños
