Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse

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Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse
June 6, 1678 – December 1, 1737

Portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud
Place of birth Palace of Versailles, France
Place of death Château de Rambouillet, France
Allegiance France
Service/branch Navy, Military
Years of service 1683–1737
Rank Admiral of France
Marshal of France
Governor of Bretagne
Governor of Guyenne
Secretary of State
Minister of the Navy
Battles/wars War of the Spanish Succession, Battle of Vélez-Málaga
Awards Chevalier des Ordres du roi , Chevalier de la Toison d’or

Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse (1681), duc de Penthièvre (1697), d'Arc, de Châteauvillain and de Rambouillet (1711), was born in the Palace of Versailles on June 6, 1678 and died in Rambouillet on December 1, 1737. He was the son of Louis XIV and his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. At the age of five, he became Amiral de France (Admiral of France). He was also the founder of the House of Bourbon-Toulouse.

Contents

[edit] Life

[edit] Early life

Born at the Palace of Versailles, Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon was the third son and youngest child of Louis XIV and the king's mistress, Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan.

He was put in the care of Mme de Monchevreuil along with his older sister Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, later duchesse d'Orléans.

[edit] comte de Toulouse

He was created comte de Toulouse in 1681 after he was legitimised, and, in 1683, at the age of five, an admiral of France. In February 1684, he became colonel of an infantry regiment named after him and in 1693 mestre de camp of a cavalry regiment. During the War of Spanish Succession, he was given the task of defending the island of Sicily.

In January 1689, he was named governor of Guyenne, a title which he exchanged for that of governor of Bretagne six years later. On January 3, 1696, he was created a Marshal of France, becoming commander of the Royal Armies the following year. In March 1714, he obtained the title of Grand Huntsman of France.

[edit] Military

He distinguished himself during the War of the Spanish Succession and inflicted a severe defeat on Admiral Rooke at the Battle of Málaga in 1704. After the death of his father in 1715, he kept aloof from the intrigues of his sister-in-law Anne-Louise-Bénédicte, duchesse du Maine.

Though his father had legitimised him and his three surviving siblings, and even declared his two sons by Madame de Montespan fit to eventually succeed him to the throne of France, this was not to be, as immediately after Louis XIV's death the Parlement of Paris reversed the king's will.

Unlike his brother, the duc du Maine, who was barred from the Conseil de Régence, Toulouse was not kept from a political role, and soon after, he was named Ministre de la Marine (Minister of the Navy) (more or less equivalent to the United States Secretary of the Navy), inheriting a seasoned staff in the ministry headed up by Joseph Pellerin.

He remained in this capacity until being succeeded by Joseph Fleuriau d'Armenonville in 1722, the same Fleuriau d'Armenonville who had sold him the castle of Rambouillet in 1706[1].

Marie Victoire de Noailles, the comtesse de Toulouse.
Marie Victoire de Noailles, the comtesse de Toulouse.

In 1717, the ministry erected a fort on the eastern border of the Louisiana Colony in North America and named it Fort Toulouse in honor of the comte. (That fort has been partially reconstructed adjacent to its original site near the city of Wetumpka, Alabama, in the United States.)

[edit] Marriage and Children

The wife of the comte de Toulouse was Marie Victoire de Noailles, a daughter of Anne Jules de Noailles, duc de Noailles. They were married on February 2, 1723 in Paris [2]. She was the widow of his elder half-brother's grandson, the marquis de Gondrin. They had one son:

Apart from this one legitimate child, the comte had two illegitimate children born before his marriage to Mlle de Noailles.

  • Louis-Alexandre de Sainte Foy (1720-1723)
  • Philippe-Auguste de Sainte Foy (1721-1795).

[edit] Later life

In 1693, he became a Chevalier des Ordres du roi (Order of the King) and a decade later in 1704 he became a Chevalier de la Toison d’or (Holder of the Golden fleece). He also later took full control of the French navy under his father.

After his mother's departure from court, the two often saw each other. His older sister Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, also made an attempt to become closer to their mother at the same time. Although Louise-Françoise and his younger sister, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, were bitter rivals, the comte was close to both. All three tried to avoid the court of their brother, the duc du Maine, and his ambitious and manipulative wife at château de Sceaux.

When his mother died in 1707, he and his sisters mourned in private as any public display at court was forbidden by his father and Mme de Maintenon, who had replaced their mother in the king's affections.

Close to death in 1714, Louis XIV made a point in his will to state that if the line of his legitimate children died out the throne of France could be inherited by his illegitimate sons, the duc du Maine and the comte de Toulouse. This also meant that the two could assume the role of regent for the new five year old king, Louis XV, if necessary[citation needed].

The decision was reversed after the death of Louis XIV when Louis-Alexandre's cousin, Philippe II, duc d'Orléans, had the Parlement de Paris void the will. The duc d'Orléans as a result became the sole regent of France.

The Château de Rambouillet

[edit] Death

The comte de Toulouse died at the château de Rambouillet on December 1, 1737. He was buried in the village 12th century Saint-Lubin church. On September 30, 1766, the comtesse died at the Hôtel de Toulouse, the Parisian mansion the comte had bought from Phélypeaux, marquis de La Vrillière, in 1712[3]. She too was buried in the family crypt in the Rambouillet church.

On November 25, 1783, after having sold Rambouillet to his cousin Louis XVI, their son, the duc de Penthièvre, in a long procession, transferred the bodies of his parents, his wife and their six children to the Collégiale Saint-Étienne de Dreux [4], [5]. [6]

[edit] Legacy

Upon the comte's death, the duc de Penthièvre, succeeded his father in his posts and titles. He was the founder of the House of Bourbon-Penthièvre, which followed that of Bourbon-Toulouse. Because of the marriage of Mlle de Penthièvre to the duc de Chartres, the future duc d'Orléans, the comte de Toulouse is an ancestor of the modern House of Orléans, which also descends from Toulouse's two surviving full sisters.

[edit] Siblings

Dark-haired Louise-Françoise de Bourbon on the right with her younger sister, blonde Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, on the left
Dark-haired Louise-Françoise de Bourbon on the right with her younger sister, blonde Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, on the left

[edit] Paternal legitimate half-siblings

[edit] Paternal illegitimate half-siblings

[edit] Maternal legitimate half-siblings

  • Marie-Christine de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1663 - 1675)
    • Died while in the country with her father the marquis de Montespan
  • Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin, marquis d'Antin (1665 - 1736)
    • Louis Antoine later was given the title of duc d'Antin.

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] References

  1. ^ G. Lenotre, Le Château de Rambouillet : six siècles d'histoire, Calmann-Lévy, collection « Châteaux : décors de l'histoire », Paris, 1930, 256 p. Réédition : Denoël, Paris, 1984, 215 p.
  2. ^ Marie Victoire Sophie de Noailles, comtesse de Toulouse
  3. ^ The mansion had been built in 1635 by the royal architect François Mansart. It is now the seat of the Banque de France.
  4. ^ http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapelle_royale_de_Dreux
  5. ^ Chroniques paroissiales - DREUX - DREUX (2eme partie)
  6. ^ In 1793, the duc de Penthièvre was also buried in the Collégiale Saint-Étienne family crypt, which was violated by a revolutionary mob the following November. Rebuilt in 1816 by his daughter, the duchesse d'Orléans, the new chapel was named "Chapelle royale de Dreux" after her son, Louis-Philippe became King of the French in 1830. It is now the necropolis for the royal Orléans family.

[edit] Notes

[edit] Titles

Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse
Born: June 6 1678 Died: December 1 1737
French nobility
Preceded by
New Creation		 comte de Toulouse
1681–1737		 Succeeded by
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre
Preceded by
Marie Anne de Bourbon		 duc de Penthièvre
1697–1737		 Succeeded by
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre
Preceded by
New Creation		 duc de Châteauvillain
1703–1737		 Succeeded by
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre
Preceded by
New Creation		 duc de Damville
1711–1719		 Succeeded by
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre
Preceded by
Philippe de Bourbon-Vendôme		 duc de Vendôme
1712–1737		 Succeeded by
Louis-Stanislas-Xavier de Bourbon
Preceded by
New Creation		 duc d'Arc
1711–1737		 Succeeded by
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre
Political offices
Preceded by
Jérôme Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain		 Minister of the Navy
1683–1737		 Succeeded by
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre
Preceded by
Louis de Bourbon, comte de Vermandois		 Admiral of France
1683–1737		 Succeeded by
Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, duc de Penthièvre