Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon (1757–1824)
Encyclopedia
Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon (5 October 1757 – 10 March 1824) 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. She constructed the Hôtel de Mademoiselle de Condé, named after her.
in 1757, Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon was the third and last child of Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé and his wife, born Charlotte de Rohan (1737–1760), the daughter of Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise
. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon
, she was born a princesse du sang
; this entitled her to the style of Her Serene Highness
.
At court, she was known as Mademoiselle de Condé and in some sources is styled as princesse de Condé.
A descendant of le Grand Condé
, Louise Adelaïde was the aunt of last duc d'Enghien. She was also a second cousin of the future revolutionary, Philippe Égalité
. An first cousin was the Charles Alain, Prince of Guéméné
, son of her aunt Victoire de Rohan, princesse de Guéméné.
Louise Adélaïde was supposed to marry her distant cousin Charles Philippe, comte d'Artois
, but the marriage fell through; Charles later married Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy and eventually became King Charles X of France during the Bourbon Restoration
.
Her mother died at the Hôtel de Condé
died after a long illness as reported by the Duke of Luynes; at the time, Louise Adélaïde was just three years of age. As a result, Louise Adélaïde was raised by her great-aunt, Henriette Louise de Bourbon
(1703–1772).
Henriette was the Benedictine abbess of Beaumont-lès-Tours (a former commune of Indre-et-Loire
). Due to her convent education, almost all of Louise Adélaïde's youth was spent in a religious setting. Her education was completed at the royal abbey of Bernardine Panthémont, located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris at the time. In 1780, Mademoiselle de Condé requested permission to leave the convent of Panthémont. It was at this time that she built the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé for her personal use, her father still retaining the grand Palais Bourbon
built by his grandmother, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon
, as his principal residence in Paris. Considerations of rank prevented her from marriage. In 1786, she was appointed Abbess of Remiremont. She did not, however, visit Remiremont more than three times during her period in office
In 1789, she fled to Belgium to escape the first stages of the French Revolution
. In 1802, in Poland, she took the veil, returning to Paris in 1816 to found a religious institution. She was later the Lady of Saint Pierre and Metz and Cetera, lordships she held in her own right.
Her father died in 1818. Louise Adélaïde died quietly in Paris six years later in 1824. Six months after her death, her former suitor, the comte d'Artois, succeeded to the French throne as King Charles X
.
She was buried at the Abbaye Saint-Louis de Limon, Vauhallan
.
NOTE:The above Anne Julie Adélaïde de Melun was the younger sister of Louis de Melun, Duke of Joyeuse; he was the ecret husband of Louise Adélaïde's great aunt Marie Anne de Bourbon (1697–1741); Louis de Melun's wife was Armande de La Tour d'Auvergne - the eldest grand daughter of Marie Anne Mancini
; she was also a great great great grand daughter of Charlotte de La Mothe-Houdancourt
, the governess of Louis XV
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
. She was the last Remiremont
Remiremont
Remiremont is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Inhabitants are called Romarimontains.-Geography:Remiremont is located on the Moselle, close to its confluence with the Moselotte, southeast of Épinal...
abbess and founded at the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
a religious community that became famous among French Catholics under the name of Bénédictines de la rue Monsieur. She constructed the Hôtel de Mademoiselle de Condé, named after her.
Biography
Born at the Château de ChantillyChâteau de Chantilly
The Château de Chantilly is a historic château located in the town of Chantilly, France. It comprises two attached buildings; the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s, and the Petit Château which was built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency...
in 1757, Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon was the third and last child of Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé and his wife, born Charlotte de Rohan (1737–1760), the daughter of Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise
Charles, Prince of Soubise
Charles de Rohan , duke of Rohan-Rohan, seigneur of Roberval, and marshal of France from 1758, was a military man, a minister to the kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, and a notorious libertine. The last male of his branch of the House of Rohan, he was also the great grandfather to the duc d'Enghien,...
. As a member 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...
, she was born 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...
; this entitled her to the style of 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...
.
At court, she was known as Mademoiselle de Condé and in some sources is styled as princesse de Condé.
A descendant 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...
, Louise Adelaïde was the aunt of last duc d'Enghien. She was also a second cousin of the future revolutionary, Philippe Égalité
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror...
. An first cousin was the Charles Alain, Prince of Guéméné
Charles Alain, Prince of Guéméné
Charles Alain de Rohan was a French nobleman and Prince of Guéméné. He died without any surviving descendants as his daughter died without children.-Biography:...
, son of her aunt Victoire de Rohan, princesse de Guéméné.
Louise Adélaïde was supposed to marry her distant cousin Charles Philippe, comte d'Artois
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
, but the marriage fell through; Charles later married Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy and eventually became King Charles X of France during the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
.
Her mother died at the Hôtel de Condé
Hôtel de Condé
The Hôtel de Mademoiselle de Condé, 12 rue Monsieur , has been referred to simply as the Hôtel de Condé, but this name can result in confusion, as it was also used for the main Paris seat of the princes of Condé. The building is also called the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé, since it was built for Louise...
died after a long illness as reported by the Duke of Luynes; at the time, Louise Adélaïde was just three years of age. As a result, Louise Adélaïde was raised by her great-aunt, Henriette Louise de Bourbon
Henriette Louise de Bourbon
Henriette Louise de Bourbon was a French Princess by birth and a member of the House of Bourbon...
(1703–1772).
Henriette was the Benedictine abbess of Beaumont-lès-Tours (a former commune of Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
). Due to her convent education, almost all of Louise Adélaïde's youth was spent in a religious setting. Her education was completed at the royal abbey of Bernardine Panthémont, located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris at the time. In 1780, Mademoiselle de Condé requested permission to leave the convent of Panthémont. It was at this time that she built the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé for her personal use, her father still retaining the grand 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:...
built by his grandmother, 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...
, as his principal residence in Paris. Considerations of rank prevented her from marriage. In 1786, she was appointed Abbess of Remiremont. She did not, however, visit Remiremont more than three times during her period in office
In 1789, she fled to Belgium to escape the first stages of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. In 1802, in Poland, she took the veil, returning to Paris in 1816 to found a religious institution. She was later the Lady of Saint Pierre and Metz and Cetera, lordships she held in her own right.
Her father died in 1818. Louise Adélaïde died quietly in Paris six years later in 1824. Six months after her death, her former suitor, the comte d'Artois, succeeded to the French throne as King Charles X
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
.
She was buried at the Abbaye Saint-Louis de Limon, Vauhallan
Vauhallan
Vauhallan is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Vauhallan are known as Vauhallanais.-References:** -External links:* * *...
.
Ancestry
NOTE:The above Anne Julie Adélaïde de Melun was the younger sister of Louis de Melun, Duke of Joyeuse; he was the ecret husband of Louise Adélaïde's great aunt Marie Anne de Bourbon (1697–1741); Louis de Melun's wife was Armande de La Tour d'Auvergne - the eldest grand daughter of Marie Anne Mancini
Marie Anne Mancini
Marie Anne Mancini, duchesse de Bouillon , was the youngest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes because their uncle was the king's chief minister, Cardinal...
; she was also a great great great grand daughter of Charlotte de La Mothe-Houdancourt
Madame de Ventadour
Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour was the governess of King Louis XV of France, great-grandson of King Louis XIV. She is credited with saving Louis XV from the ministrations of the royal doctors when he was ill as a child...
, the governess of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
Titles and styles
- 5 October 1757 – 10 March 1824 Her Serene Highness Mademoiselle de Condé