Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre

Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon (16 November 1725 – 4 March 1793) was the son of Louis Alexandre de Bourbon and his wife Marie Victoire de Noailles.Dumont de Montigny, The Memoir of Lieutenant Dumont, 1715-1747: A Sojourner in the French Atlantic (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012), p. 435 He was also a grandson of Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Madame de Montespan. From birth he was known as the Duke of Penthièvre. He also possessed many titles inherited from his father and was the richest man in France during his lifetime. He was later the father in law of Philippe Égalité. Though his father was an illegitimate son of a king the young duke was still known as and given the rank of a Prince of the blood. A majority of his vast fortune had been inherited via La Grande Mademoiselle.  Hen was also famous for his incredible generosity to the poor of the time. He also owned the land where the future Royal Chapel of Dreux would be built.

Marriage and children
In 1744 Penthièvre married Princess Maria Teresa Felicitas d'Este of Modena,Virginia G. Sully, 'The Princesse de Lamballe',  Peterson's Magazine, Vol. C, No. 4 (Philadelphia, 1891), p. 320 (1726-1754), the daughter of Francesco d'Este, the Duke of Modena and Reggio, and his first cousin, Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans. The young couple occupied a suite of apartments at Versailles which had previously been occupied by their joint ancestor Madame de Montespan. These apartments were used by the duke and his family until the reign of Louis XVI of France when the space was given to Mesdames, the new king's spinster aunts.

The couple had seven children, only two of whom survived infancy:
 Louis Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Rambouillet (, 2 January 1746 – 13 November 1749) died young.
 Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, "Prince of Lamballe" (6 September 1747 – 6 May 1768), married Princess Marie Louise of Savoy, Mademoiselle de Carignan and had no children.
 Jean Marie de Bourbon (Hôtel de Toulouse, Paris, 17 July 1748 – Hôtel de Toulouse, Paris, 19 May 1755), 'Duke of Châteauvillain died young.
 Vincent de Bourbon, Count of Guingamp (22 June 1750 – 14 March 1752) died young.
 Marie Louise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Penthièvre (18 October 1751 – 26 September 1753) died young.
 Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, Mademoiselle d'Ivoy and later Mademoiselle de Penthièvre (13 March 1753 – , 23 June 1821), married Philippe d'Orléans and had issue.
 Louis Marie Félicité de Bourbon (29 April 1754 – 30 April 1754) died young.

The Duchess of Penthièvre died after her last childbirth in 1754. Very badly hurt by the loss of his young wife, the duke never married again despite the sister of his dead wife, Princess Matilde being suggested as a possible candidate to marry. The widower refused.

Titles and styles
16 November 1725 – 4 March 1793 His Serene Highness The Duke of Penthièvre.

 References 

Further reading



Other websites

Category:1725 births
Category:1793 deaths
Category:House of Bourbon