Louis de Bourbon, comte de Vermandois

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Louis, Comte de Vermandois

Louis de Bourbon, comte de Vermandois , (born October 2, 1667 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye , † November 18, 1683 in Courtrai ), was an illegitimate son of King Louis XIV. In 1669, the king was legitimized at the same time he was appointed Admiral de France .

Le comte de Vermandois with his mother, Louise de La Vallière and his sister (painting by Pierre Mignard , before 1673)

Child of disgrace

Louis de Bourbon was the fourth child the king had with his mistress , the Duchess Louise de La Vallière . He was born when his mother had already fallen from grace - Madame de Montespan had ousted her from the side of the king - and was not recognized by the king until two years after his birth. Two brothers had been born before Louise was officially appointed mistress of the king and had died shortly afterwards. His sister, Mademoiselle de Blois, was a year older and had already been recognized in 1667.

Since the king, who in the meantime despised his former favorite but did not want to grieve his wife and feared the scandal that would have been caused by the child, initially ignored his son, even if he was the second of his male descendants, and only asked two years later, the letter of recognition (lettre patente) was issued . To this end, he revived the now extinct title of “Comte de Vermandois” and appointed the child Admiral of France. In doing so, he withdrew the navy from the influence of possibly not well-meaning nobles and kept the strings over them in hand.

The upbringing of the boy was entrusted to Madame Colbert, wife of Jean-Baptiste Colbert .

Liselotte of the Palatinate as Duchess of Orléans. Aunt and Guardian of the Comte de Vermandois. Portrait of Nicolas de Largillière (1656–1746), 1678 ( Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy )

In 1670, Louise de La Vallière probably had a miscarriage and began to turn more and more to religion. Four years later she entered the order of the Carmelites , whereupon the boy's aunt, Liselotte von der Pfalz , was appointed guardian.

Little Louis de Bourbon was also the regiment owner of the Maritime Regiment "de l'Amiral de France", which was transferred to the land forces in 1671 and renamed the Régiment de Vermandois .

Prince in disgrace

In 1680, the brother of King Philippe I de Bourbon, duc d'Orléans, created a homosexual brotherhood, the "Confrérie d'italianisants", to which several high-ranking nobles belonged. After the Louis de Bourbon, dauphin de Viennois , refused to join this club, the Duc d'Orleans looked for another favorite and found it in his 13-year-old nephew in 1681. The boy, described as naive, let himself be guided by his uncle and successfully looked for other courtiers who wanted to participate in this dissolute lifestyle. This also included a prince of the blood , François Louis de Bourbon, prince de Conti .

Louis XIV initially tolerated this because he hoped it would prevent political intrigue. After various scandals, however, the king stepped in and imposed severe penalties on the members of the brotherhood, from which his son was not spared. The young count was publicly reprimanded by his father and forced to reveal his cronies. In 1682 he was allowed to return to the royal court. Elisabeth-Charlotte had stood up to the king for her wards and had achieved that the young count could serve in the army in Flanders, in order to regain the king's grace.

Rehabilitation attempt

During the Reunion War in Flanders, the young count, contrary to the advice of his governor and the doctors, did not spare himself. During the siege of Courtrai led by Vauban he fell seriously ill. He couldn't recover from that. He died on November 18, 1683 at the age of only 16 and was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Vaast in Arras . The line of the Counts of Vermandois, which had been renewed for him, was thus extinguished again.

The title of "Amiral de France" was transferred to the five-year-old Louis-Alexandre, comte de Toulouse , the king's youngest son from the relationship with the Marquise de Montespan .

Siblings and half-siblings

  • Louis de France, "Grand Dauphin" (November 1, 1661 - April 14, 1711)
  • Anne Élisabeth de France (November 18, 1662 - December 30, 1662)
  • Marie Anne de France (November 16, 1664 - December 26, 1664)
  • Marie Anne de Bourbon , mademoiselle de Blois (October 2, 1666 - May 3, 1739)
  • Marie-Thérèse de France (January 2, 1667 - March 1, 1672)
  • Louis Auguste de Bourbon , duc du Maine (born March 31, 1670 - † May 14, 1736)
  • Philippe-Charles de France (born August 5, 1668 - † July 10, 1671), duc d'Anjou
  • Louis-François de France (June 14, 1672 - November 4, 1672), duc d'Anjou (1672)
  • Louis César de Bourbon, comte de Vexin (June 20, 1672 - January 10, 1683)
  • Louise Françoise de Bourbon , mademoiselle de Nantes (June 1, 1673 - June 16, 1743)
  • Louise Marie (12 November 1674 - 15 September 1681)
  • Françoise Marie de Bourbon , mademoiselle de Blois (* May 4, 1677 - February 1, 1749);
  • Louis Alexandre de Bourbon , comte de Toulouse (6 June 1678 - 1 December 1737)

literature

  • Eve de Castro: Les Bâtards du Soleil . éditions Olivier Orban, Paris 1987, ISBN 2-85565-384-3 .
  • Jean-Christian Petitfils: Louise de La Vallière . librairie Académique Perrin, Paris 1990, ISBN 2-262-00816-7 .
  • Claude Puzin: Louis de Bourbon ou le soleil maudit . Éditions TG, Paris 2007, ISBN 978-2-918444-39-8 .
  • Annie Pietri: L'allée de Lumière . Bayard Jeunesse, Paris 2008, ISBN 978-2-7470-2394-8 .

Footnotes

  1. ↑ At the instigation of his mother Anna of Austria to keep the official appearances
personal data
SURNAME Vermandois, Louis de Bourbon, comte de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vermandois, Louis de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Admiral of France, son of Louis XIV.
DATE OF BIRTH October 2, 1667
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint-Germain-en-Laye
DATE OF DEATH November 18, 1683
Place of death Courtrai