Louis Charles de Bourbon, Count of Eu (15 October 1701 – 13 July 1775) was a grandson of

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

and his ''

maîtresse-en-titre The ''maîtresse-en-titre'' () was the official royal mistress of the King of France. The title was vaguely defined and used in the Middle Ages but finally became an acknowledged, if informal, position during the reign of Henry IV (), and c ...

'' Madame de Montespan. He was the last member of the legitimised house of ''Maine branch of the House of Bourbon, a

legitimised Legitimation, legitimization ( US), or legitimisation ( UK) is the act of providing legitimacy. Legitimation in the social sciences refers to the process whereby an act, process, or ideology becomes legitimate by its attachment to norms and val ...

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the Capetian dynasty.

Life

Born at his parents'

château de Sceaux The Château de Sceaux () is a grand Château, country house in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, approximately south-southwest of the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. Situated in a large park laid out by André Le Nôtre, partly in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, ...

near

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

on 15 October 1701, he was the youngest son of Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine, and his wife, Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon. He grew up with his elder brother, Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Prince of Dombes and his younger sister

Louise Françoise de Bourbon Louise most commonly refers to: * Louise (given name) Louise or Luise may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Songs * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 * "Louise", by The Yardbirds from the album '' Five Live Yardbirds'', 1964 * "Louis ...

(1707–1743), known as ''Mademoiselle du Maine''. Like his siblings he remained unmarried and childless all his life. On his father's death in 1736 he gained the title of ''

Duke of Aumale Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

''. He was also made Grand Master of the Artillery. a post that his father had also held. His elder brother was their father's main heir, but when he was killed in a duel in 1755 Louis Charles inherited his brother's estate. He was given his brother's governorship of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

and inherited his brother's many

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

x. Like his elder brother he was little seen at court and preferred to hunt on his estate of the Château d'Anet. In March 1762 he exchanged with

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), 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 maturity (then defi ...

the principality of the

Dombes The Dombes (; ) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the provinces of France, province of Burgundy (region), Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of France, department of Ain, and b ...

for the dukedoms of Gisors and the estates of Gretz-Armainvilliers and Pontcarré. Like his cousin, Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre, Louis Charles was popular as a result of his charitable donations. In 1773 he offered to sell the dukedom of Aumale, countship of Eu and the estate of Anet to Louis XV for 12 million '' livres''.This payment was never made as a result of the death of Louis XV in 1774; the lands were given back to Louis Charles and the deal was disregarded by

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

. They were later inherited by the Duke of Penthièvre Louis Charles died at Sceaux at the age of 73 in October 1775. As he was childless, he made his younger cousin the Duke of Penthièvre, son of Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse, his heir.

Ancestry

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Charles Of Eu, Count 1701 births 1775 deaths Princes of the Dombes Counts of Dreux House of Bourbon-Maine Dukes of Aumale 18th-century French philanthropists