Louis Alexandre de Vermandois-Penthièvre

Louis Alexandre de Vermandois-Penthièvre (Louis Alexandre Joseph Stanislas; 6 September 1747 – Present) was the son and heir of Louis Jean Marie de Vermandois-Penthièvre, great grandson of -- by the king's legitimized son, --.
== Early Life ==
=== Adolescence ===
Louis Alexandre de Vermandois-Penthièvre was the only surviving son of the Duc de Penthièvre and became known as the Prince de Lamballe from birth. At the death of his older brother Louis Marie de Vermandois-Penthièvre, Louis Alexandre became the heir to the Penthièvre fortune. The young boy quickly discovered that he had the world at his feet as his wealth procured him anything he wanted and his rank protected him from any dire consequences of his actions. Already as a young man, his father worriedly watched Louis Alexandre fall into bad society. He had always been a restless person - even as a child. As an adolescent, he would often steal out of his father's château going no-one-knew-where. A story goes that his father had him followed but when the "spy" was noticed by Louis Alexandre, he threatened to beat him unless he convinced the worried Duc de Penthièvre that all was well. Naturally, with such a high-profile youth going astray, rumours began swirling - one had it that the prince had married a peasant girl he had encountered on his wanderings.
=== Education ===
As a Prince du Sang and heir to one of the greatest fortunes in France, Louis Alexandre received a prestigious education befitting his status. However, despite his privileged upbringing, he gained notoriety for his rebellious nature and penchant for womanizing.
== Marriage & Issue ==
=== Marriage ===
His father, le Duc de Penthièvre, chose his bride, the Italian born Princess Maria Teresa Louisa of Savoy. The wedding celebration lasted from 17 January 1767, until 27 January with feasts in Turin and Nangis. Prior to the wedding, Louis Alexandre, eager to see his future bride, went secretly where Maria Teresa was staying. He met her disguised as a simple country servant and offered her a bouquet of flowers in his "master's" name. During the wedding ceremony the next day, the princess was shocked to discover that the humble man from the previous day was in fact the prince himself. After the ceremony, for their honeymoon, Louis Alexandre and his bride stayed at the Château de Nangis. His father had specifically chosen Maria Teresa as his son's wife due to her renowned piety and beauty. However, after three months of happiness, Louis Alexandre, a jaded hedonist, soon tired of his young wife and resumed his life of débaucherie. He eloped with Mademoiselle de La Chassaigne, an opera dancer, five months into his marriage. At one point, Louis Alexandre gave away various pieces his wife's jewelry and diamonds to his many mistresses'.
=== Issue ===
The union between le Prince de Lamballe and his wife, la Princesse de Lamballe, remained childless, exacerbated by Louis Alexandre's infidelity, rumored disease, and his wife's avoidance of physical intimacy with him due to these concerns. Yet, Louis Alexandre sired multiple illegitimate children with numerous women, their identities and records remaining unrecorded due to his father's wishes.
== Infidelity ==
=== Mistresses ===
Louis Alexandre's quest for pleasure knew no limits, as he sought companionship among a plethora of women, including Mademoiselle de La Chassaigne, Mademoiselle de La Forêt, and Mademoiselle La Cour. In addition, he had a secret affair with la Duchesse d’Évreux, the legitimized daughter of François XV who later became his step-mother, and had an open favoritism towards la Princesse de Guéméné. Despite fathering numerous illegitimate children with different women, he showed a callous disregard for their existence, indifferent to the responsibilities imposed by his father, Duc d'Angoulême. His infidelity was exacerbated by his boredom with his wife, la Princess de Lamballe, as he sought excitement and novelty elsewhere, neglecting his marital vows and duties, ultimately deepening the strain on their relationship until their unofficial separation.
== Later Life ==
=== Illness ===
Louis Alexandre's lavish lifestyle, filled with excessive drinking, drug use, and promiscuity, quickly eroded his health. Early signs of syphilis emerged, indicating a decline in his well-being. Speculation arose about him contracting diseases from his frequent liaisons, worsening his spiral into debauchery and poor health.
=== Conseil du Roi ===
He served briefly as a Secretary of State for King François XV before His Majesty's death in 1775.