Henriette Louise de Bourbon
Encyclopedia
Henriette Louise de Bourbon (Henriette Louise Marie Françoise Gabrielle; 15 January 1703 – 19 September 1772) was a French Princess by birth and a member of the House of Bourbon
. She was the abbess of Beaumont-lès-Tours
Abbey.
the seventh child and fifth daughter of Louis III, Prince of Condé
, and his wife, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon
. Henriette Louise's father was a grandson of le Grand Condé
, and her mother was the eldest surviving legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France
and his mistress, Madame de Montespan
. She grew up at Fontevraud Abbey
. She was one of nine children.
Henriette Louise was on a list presented to King Louis XV of potential brides. The list also contained the names of Henriette Louise's future sister-in-law, Caroline of Hesse-Rotenburg
, and Princess Anne Charlotte of Lorraine
, a future aunt of Queen Marie Antoinette
and abbess of Remiremont
. Henriette Louise's name had been placed on the list by her brother, the duc de Bourbon, who was Louis XV's chief minister at the time. Along with his mistress, Madame de Prie
, the duke wanted to make his sister the queen in the hope of being able to influence the young king. Henriette Louise, however, did not want to marry the king at all, saying that she instead wanted to follow a religious path in life like her cousin Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans
.
Henriette Louise was a member of the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the reigning House of Bourbon
. As a result, she was a princesse du Sang
at court. This rank allowed Henriette the style of Serene Highness
. Since birth, she was known as Mademoiselle de Vermandois, Vermandois being a county which had long belonged to the House of Condé.
She owned the lands of Montond, which she acquired in 1710, and sold to her sister Louise Anne in 1732.
On 14 January 1727, Henriette Louise took the veil at the Abbey of Beaumont-lès-Tours and became the abbess of the convent in 1733 at the age of thirty. While abbess of Beaumont, she was known as, Her Serene Highness
, Madame de Bourbon.
Beaumont-lès-Tours had previously been under the control of her second cousin, Gabrielle, daughter of Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart
, older brother of Madame de Montespan.
Her mother died in 1743 at the Palais Bourbon
. The palace now houses the National Assembly of France.
As an abbess, Henriette Louise raised her great-niece, Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon
(1757–1824). The young girl had lost her mother, Charlotte de Rohan
, at the age of two. Louise Adélaïde later took the veil herself and became the abbess of Remiremont Abbey
.
Henriette Louise died at the Abbey of Beaumont-lès-Tours, having outlived all her siblings apart from the Princess of Conti, and was buried there on January 8.
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
. She was the abbess of Beaumont-lès-Tours
Beaumont-lès-Tours
Beaumont-lès-Tours, in the Indre-et-Loire department of France, is a former commune in the Touraine, near the large town of Tours.It was famed for its large religious institution, the Benedictine Abbey of Beaumont-lès-Tours, once the home of Henriette Louise de Bourbon, Abbess of...
Abbey.
Biography
Henriette Louise was born at the Palace of VersaillesPalace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
the seventh child and fifth daughter of Louis III, Prince of Condé
Louis III, Prince of Condé
Louis de Bourbon, , was Prince of Condé for less than a year, following the death of his father Henry III, Prince of Condé in 1709...
, and his wife, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon
Louise-Françoise de Bourbon
Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the eldest surviving legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan. She was said to have been named after her godmother, Louise de La Vallière, the woman that her mother had replaced as the king's...
. Henriette Louise's father was a grandson of le Grand Condé
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé
Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Condé was a French general and the most famous representative of the Condé branch of the House of Bourbon. Prior to his father's death in 1646, he was styled the Duc d'Enghien...
, and her mother was the eldest surviving legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and his mistress, Madame de Montespan
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise of Montespan , better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children....
. She grew up at Fontevraud Abbey
Fontevraud Abbey
Fontevraud Abbey or Fontevrault Abbey is a religious building hosting a cultural centre since 1975, the Centre Culturel de l'Ouest, in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in Anjou, France. It was founded by the itinerant reforming preacher Robert of Arbrissel, who had just created a...
. She was one of nine children.
Henriette Louise was on a list presented to King Louis XV of potential brides. The list also contained the names of Henriette Louise's future sister-in-law, Caroline of Hesse-Rotenburg
Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Rotenburg
Princess Caroline of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg was the consort of Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon.-Biography:Born at Rotenburg an der Fulda in Hesse, Germany, she was the daughter of Ernest Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg, head of the Roman Catholic branch of the House of Hesse, by his wife...
, and Princess Anne Charlotte of Lorraine
Princess Anne Charlotte of Lorraine
Anne Charlotte of Lorraine was the Abbess of Remiremont, Mons and Essen. She was the youngest daughter and the youngest of thirteen children of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, and his spouse Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans...
, a future aunt of Queen Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
and abbess of Remiremont
Remiremont Abbey
Remiremont Abbey was a Benedictine abbey near Remiremont, Vosges, France.-History:It was founded about 620 by Romaric, a lord at the court of Chlothar II, who, having been converted by Saint Ame, a monk of Luxeuil, took the habit at Luxeuil...
. Henriette Louise's name had been placed on the list by her brother, the duc de Bourbon, who was Louis XV's chief minister at the time. Along with his mistress, Madame de Prie
Jeanne Agnès Berthelot de Pléneuf, marquise de Prie
Jeanne Agnès Berthelot de Pléneuf, marquise de Prie , was a French noblewoman notable for her intriguing during the reign of Louis XV.She was the daughter of the rich but unscrupulous financier Étienne Berthelot de Pléneuf...
, the duke wanted to make his sister the queen in the hope of being able to influence the young king. Henriette Louise, however, did not want to marry the king at all, saying that she instead wanted to follow a religious path in life like her cousin Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans
Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans
Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans was the third daughter of Philippe d'Orléans, and Françoise Marie de Bourbon, a legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Madame de Montespan. She was Abbess of Chelles.-Biography:Marie Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans was born at the Palace of Versailles on...
.
Henriette Louise was a member of the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the reigning House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
. As a result, she was a princesse du Sang
Prince du Sang
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 was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
at court. This rank allowed Henriette the style of Serene Highness
Serene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
. Since birth, she was known as Mademoiselle de Vermandois, Vermandois being a county which had long belonged to the House of Condé.
She owned the lands of Montond, which she acquired in 1710, and sold to her sister Louise Anne in 1732.
On 14 January 1727, Henriette Louise took the veil at the Abbey of Beaumont-lès-Tours and became the abbess of the convent in 1733 at the age of thirty. While abbess of Beaumont, she was known as, Her Serene Highness
Serene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
, Madame de Bourbon.
Beaumont-lès-Tours had previously been under the control of her second cousin, Gabrielle, daughter of Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart
Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart
Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Duke of Mortemart was a French nobleman and member of the ancient House of Rochechouart. His father Gabriel de Rochechouart de Mortemart was a childhood friend of Louis XIII...
, older brother of Madame de Montespan.
Her mother died in 1743 at the Palais Bourbon
Palais Bourbon
The Palais Bourbon, , a palace located on the left bank of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concorde, Paris , is the seat of the French National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French government.-History:...
. The palace now houses the National Assembly of France.
As an abbess, Henriette Louise raised her great-niece, Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon
Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon (1757–1824)
Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon was a French nun. She was the last Remiremont abbess and founded at the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration a religious community that became famous among French Catholics under the name of Bénédictines de la rue Monsieur...
(1757–1824). The young girl had lost her mother, Charlotte de Rohan
Charlotte Élisabeth Godefride de Rohan
Charlotte de Rohan was a French aristocrat who married into the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the ruling House of Bourbon, during the Ancien Régime. She was Princess of Condé by her marriage...
, at the age of two. Louise Adélaïde later took the veil herself and became the abbess of Remiremont Abbey
Remiremont Abbey
Remiremont Abbey was a Benedictine abbey near Remiremont, Vosges, France.-History:It was founded about 620 by Romaric, a lord at the court of Chlothar II, who, having been converted by Saint Ame, a monk of Luxeuil, took the habit at Luxeuil...
.
Henriette Louise died at the Abbey of Beaumont-lès-Tours, having outlived all her siblings apart from the Princess of Conti, and was buried there on January 8.
Ancestry
Titles and styles
- 15 January, 1703 – 1733 Her Serene HighnessSerene HighnessHis/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
[variously] Mademoiselle de Vermandois - 1733 – 19 September 1772 Her Serene HighnessSerene HighnessHis/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
Madame de Bourbon, Abbess of Beaumont-lès-Tours