Louise Henriette de Bourbon

Louise Henriette de Bourbon (20 June 1726 – 9 February 1759) was Duchess of Orléans and the mother of Philippe Égalité. By birth and marriage she held the prestigious rank of a Princess of the blood.

Background

Louise Henriette was born in Paris the only daughter of Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti and Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon. In her youth she was known at court as Mademoiselle de Conti and had been bought up in a convent. 

Marriage

One of Louise Henriette's cousins, Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, grandson of Louis XIV, had proposed marriage to her, but her mother's choice fell upon the Duke of Chartres. As a result on 17 December 1743, aged of seventeen, Louise Henriette married her second cousin Louis Philippe d'Orléans at Versailles. 

The Duke of Chartres' father, Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, known as the Pious, accepted her as she had had a religious upbringing however after a passionate beginning, Louise Henriette's scandalous behaviour caused the couple to break up. She later had an affair with the Count of Melfort after the birth of her son. Her son later said that he was in fact the illegitimate son of the Count of Melfort but this was ignored as he looked so much like his father.

Death

Louise Henriette died on 9 February 1759 at the age of thirty-two, with her husband and children at her side, at the Palais-Royal, the Orléans residence in Paris. Her premature death was a consequence, it was said, of her debaucheries.

After her death, her husband had several mistresses, ultimately finding the love of his life, the witty but married marquise de Montesson, whom he married after she became a widow.

Children

A daughter (13 July 1745 – 14 December 1745).
Philippe d'Orléans (13 April 1747, – 6 November 1793) married Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon and had children.
Bathilde d'Orléans (9 July 1750 – 10 January 1822) married Louis Henri, Prince of Condé and had children.

Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
20 June 1726 – 17 December 1743 Her Serene Highness Mademoiselle de Conti17 December 1743 – 4 February 1752 Her Serene Highness The Duchess of Chartres
4 February 1752 – 9 February 1759 Her Serene Highness'' The Duchess of Orléans

Category:House of Orléans
Category:1726 births
Category:1759 deaths
Category:Dukes and Duchesses of Chartres
Category:Dukes and Duchesses of Orléans
Category:House of Bourbon
Category:Dukes and Duchesses of Montpensier