Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Prince of Dombes (4 March 1700 in

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

– 1 October 1755 in

Palace of Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence ...

) was a grandson of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

and of his ''

maîtresse-en-titre The ''maîtresse-en-titre'' () was the chief royal mistress of the King of France. The title came into use during the reign of Henry IV of France, Henry IV and continued through the reign of Louis XV of France, Louis XV. It was a semi-officia ...

'' Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan. He was a member of the legitimised

House of Bourbon-Maine The House of Bourbon-Maine was a legitimate branch of the House of Bourbon, being thus part of the Capetian dynasty. It was founded in 1672 when Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine was legitimised by his father, King Louis XIV of France. H ...

Biography

Born at the Palace of Versailles on 4 March 1700, Louis-Auguste was the fourth child of Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, ''duc du Maine'' and of his wife,

Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. Given the title of ''prince de Dombes'' at his birth, he was the second child of his parents to hold the title.An older brother ''Louis Constantin de Bourbon'' (1695-1698) had held the title previously. Unlike his father, the prince de Dombes was of high military skill. Louis-Auguste served under the renowned military commander

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...

in the Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718). He also fought in the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other regional power, European powers widened in p ...

(1733–1738) and in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

(1740–1748). Upon the death of his father (to whom he was very close), on 14 May 1736 at the

Château de Sceaux The Château de Sceaux is a grand country house in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, approximately from the centre of Paris, France. Located in a park laid out by André Le Nôtre, visitors can tour the house, outbuildings and gardens. The Petit Château o ...

, he inherited the bulk of his wealth and his titles. He became Colonel General of the ''Cent-Suisses et Grisons'' (1710),

Governor of Languedoc This is the list of governors of Languedoc : Languedoc was a former province of France, which existed until 1789. * 1339–1345 : Jean de Marigny * 1352–1357 : John I, Count of Armagnac * 1357–1361 : Jean de Valois * 1361–1361 : Robert ...

(1737), Grand veneur de France and

Count of Eu Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(1736). In 1750, he gained the titles of ''prince d'Anet'' and ''comte de Dreux'', when his mother gave him both estates three years before she died. Little seen at the court of his cousin

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

, he preferred living at the

Château d'Anet The Château d'Anet is a château near Dreux, in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France, built by Philibert de l'Orme from 1547 to 1552 for Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II of France. It was built on the former château at the ...

, which he continued to embellish. In order to supply water for his gardens, he created a hydraulic system which he installed in the park of the domain near the river

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans (22 October 1700 – 19 January 1761) was Duchess of Modena and Reggio by marriage to Francesco III d'Este. She was the third daughter of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and his wife, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. Sh ...

, daughter of

Philippe II, Duke of Orléans Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to in French as ''le Régent''. ...

and Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, and another cousin,

Louise Anne de Bourbon Louise Anne de Bourbon, ''Mademoiselle de Charolais'' (23 June 1695 – 8 April 1758) was a French princess, the daughter of Louis III de Bourbon, Prince of Condé. Her father was the grandson of '' le Grand Condé'', while her mother, Louise Fr ...

, daughter of Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, the duc du Maine's younger sister. Louis-Auguste died on 1 October 1755, at the age of fifty-five, in a duel at

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

. His younger brother, Louis Charles, was his only heir.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Auguste Of Dombes, Prince 1700 births 1755 deaths People from Versailles Princes of the Dombes Counts of Dreux House of Bourbon-Maine 18th-century French people