Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé

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A young Marie-Thérèse

Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé, princesse de Conti (February 1, 1666 - February 22, 1732[1]) was the daughter of the Prince de Condé and a Bavarian princess by birth. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, she was a Princesse du Sang. She, along with her husband, were the titular monarchs of Poland in 1697.

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[edit] Early Life

Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé, was born at the Hôtel de Condé in Paris on February 1 1666 to Henri Jules de Bourbon-Condé, then the duc de Bourbon and his wife Anne-Henriette von Simmern. On her mother's side she was descended from English royalty and the House of Nassau and on her fathers side from French royalty. She was the couple's first daughter to survive past the age of five. Given the honorary title of Mademoiselle de Bourbon she grew up with her mother and her siblings; some of them married before her, but always into other prominent familes:

[edit] Marriage

Three years after her brother married the king's daughter at Versailles, Marie-Thérèse was then betrothed to the head of the House of Bourbon-Conti, known as le Grand Conti. The wedding occured at the Chapel of the Palace of Versailles on January 22, 1688, before the assembled court. Marie was aged 22, quite old for marriage at the time. She then took the style of the princesse de Conti.

The bride was passionatly in love with her husband, but he had his attentions elsewhere. It was well known at court that he had had an affair with his wife's sister-in-law, the duchesse de Bourbon, but it had also been said that had also had homosexual tendancies and did not pay his lonely and pious wife much attention. Despite her husband's infidelities the couple had seven children, three of whom survived infancy:[2]

The Château de L'Isle-Adam

[edit] Children

She had a difficult relationship with her children and as a result lived quietly at the various Bourbon-Conti residences. She mainly resided at the Château de L'Isle-Adam. The family later reconciled after the death of the prince de Conti.

[edit] Queen of Poland

At the age of 31 (1697), Marie-Thérèse's husband was offered the Crown of Poland by Louis XIV. Before accepting on behalf of Marie-Thérèse, he went to Poland to inspect his possible new kingdom, while Marie-Thérèse stayed in France. As a result, during this time the lonely princesse de Conti, became the Titular Queen of Poland and her husband the king.[3] From a vote that was cast by the Polish people, her husband was the more popular candidate. Despite that, her husband returned at the end of the year after refusing, saying he did want to leave his homeland. The throne then went to the Elector of Saxony known as Augustus II the Strong; he was the father of Maurice de Saxe.

[edit] Princesse Douarière

In 1709, her husband died in Paris. In order to tell the wives of the various Princes of Conti apart after their deaths, the widows were given the name of Douarière or dowager and a number corresponding to when they lost their husband. After being widowed their full style would be Madame la Princesse de Conti 'number' Douarière. Between 1727 and 1732, there were three widowed Princesses de Conti. They were:

[edit] Later Life

The arms of the House of Bourbon-Condé

After the prince's death, she turned to building. She started to reconstruct the Parisian home of the Conti family, the Hôtel de Conti (sometimes called the "Palais Conti") on the Quai Conti, left bank of the Seine. She also did some building work at the nearby Hôtel de Seignelay.[4] The architect that she commisioned was the director of the Bâtiments du Roi, Robert de Cotte.

In 1713 her daughter, Marie-Anne, was married to the heir to her husband's old lover the princesse de Condé; she married the duc de Bourbon, commonly known as Monsieur le Duc. Her daughter thus became Madame la Duchesse. On the same day at Versailles, she saw her son, by then the prince de Conti in his own right, marry another child of the princesse de Condé, the beautiful Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé who then took the title that Marie-Thérèse had had for almost 30 years. In 1720, her daughter Marie-Anne died in Paris.

It was at the Hôtel de Conti, which she had redecorated, that Marie-Thérèse died at the age of 66. After her death, her son moved into another Paris palace; it was later given to her brother-in-law who had it demolished.

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Some others did not live long enough to be named.
  3. ^ Journal historique du règne de Louis XIV par le Marquis de Dangeau
  4. ^ Journal historique du règne de Louis XIV par le Marquis de Dangeau

[edit] Sources

[edit] Titles

Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé
Born: February 1 1666 Died: February 22 1733
French nobility
Preceded by
N/A		 Mademoiselle de Bourbon
1666–1688		 Succeeded by
N/A
French royalty
Preceded by
Marie Anne de Bourbon		 princesse de Conti
1688–1733		 Succeeded by
Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé
Royal titles
Preceded by
New Creation		 Madame la Princesse Douairière
1715–1733		 Succeeded by
Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé
Preceded by
as Queen Marie Casimire Louise de la Grange d'Arquien		 Titular Queen of Poland
1697		 Succeeded by
as Queen Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Languages