Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine (31 March 1670 – 14 May 1736) was an illegitimate son of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

and his

official mistress An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...

, Madame de Montespan. The king's favourite son, he was the founder of the semi-royal

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 ...

named after his title and his surname.

Biography

Louis-Auguste de Bourbon was born at the

Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a former royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the ''département'' of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the '' musée d'Archéologie nationale'' (N ...

on 31 March 1670. He was named ''Louis'' after his father''Athénaïs:The Real Queen of France'' by Lisa Hilton, p.153 and ''Auguste'' after the Roman Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. Immediately after his birth, Louis-Auguste was placed in the care of one of his mother's acquaintances, the widowed Madame Scarron, who took him to live in a house on rue de Vaugirard, near the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. His siblings, Louis-César, Louise-Françoise and

Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon, ''Légitimée de France'', Mademoiselle de Tours (Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, 18 November 1674 – Bourbon, 15 September 1681) was the illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV of France and his most famous '' Maîtresse-en-ti ...

were also brought there after their births. Their mother, living with the king at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, rarely saw her children, and Madame Scarron took the place of mother in Louis-Auguste's affections. One of his legs was shorter than the other and Scarron took him to consult, first, a famous

quack Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to: People * Quack Davis, American baseball player * Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian * Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist * Johannes Quack ...

at Antwerp and later to the waters of Bareges, a small town near the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

, whither they traveled incognito (she as the marquise de Surgeres). On 19 December 1673, when Louis-Auguste was three years old, Louis XIV legitimised his children by Montespan by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

registered by the Parlement de Paris. At this time, Louis-Auguste received the title of ''duc du Maine''. In 1674, at the age of four, Louis-Auguste and his siblings were officially introduced to the court at Versailles. In the same year, he was made a colonel-general of the Swiss Guards. Du Maine's greatest enemy at court became his father's sister-in-law, the

duchesse d'Orléans Duchesse (Duchesse satin) was a soft, heavy, and glossy satin cloth made in France. Weave Duchesse was produced with a satin weave with fine silk threads using a higher number of threads per square inch in the warp with at least seven float ...

, known at court as ''Madame''. In her famous correspondence describing life at Versailles, ''Madame'' claimed that du Maine was not the son of the king:

''I can readily believe that the comte de Toulouse is the King's son; but I have always thought that the duc du Maine is the son of Terme member of the court who was a false knave, and the greatest tale-bearer in the Court''

Louis XIV showered him with gifts and titles, and hired the best tutors for him. The maréchal du Luxembourg, a famous military strategist, was put in charge of the child's military training. Despite this, Louis-Auguste never became more than a mediocre soldier. He was made '' Grand Maître de France''. Pierre Drevet - Louis-Auguste de Bourbon

Pierre Drevet - Louis-Auguste de Bourbon

The king also blackmailed his cousin, the wealthy ''La Grande Mademoiselle'', into ceding some of her estates to du Maine in return for the liberation of her imprisoned lover, Antoine Nompar de Caumont, Duke of Lauzun. As a result, Louis-Auguste became the '' comte d'Eu'', sovereign Prince of the Dombes, and ''

duc d'Aumale The County of Aumale, later elevated to a duchy, was a medieval fief in Normandy. It was disputed between England and France during parts of the Hundred Years' War. Aumale in Norman nobility Aumale was a medieval fief in the Duchy of Normandy and ...

''. He also received the governorship of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) 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 ...

and was awarded the ''

Order of the Holy Spirit , status = Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Henry III of France , head_title = Grand Master , head = Disputed:Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou Jean, Count of Pari ...

''. In April 1684 du Maine represented the king at the wedding of the

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at ...

to du Maine's cousin,

Anne Marie d'Orléans Anne Marie d'Orléans (27 August 1669 – 26 August 1728) was Queen of Sardinia by marriage to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy. She served as regent of Savoy during the absence of her spouse in 1686 and during the War of the Spanish Succession. ...

. In 1688, Louis Auguste was made a ''capitaine général des galères'' (General of

Galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be u ...

s).

Marriage

Several potential brides were considered for him, including his first cousin, Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, the only daughter of his uncle, ''

Monsieur ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of respec ...

'' and his enemy, ''Madame'', who was horrified at the prospect of her daughter marrying a ''bastard''. However, the ''

Grand Condé Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

'', a more distant relative of the king but still France's '' premier prince du sang'', was willing to overlook the discrepancy in social status. So du Maine was allowed to choose among the three unmarried daughters of Condé's son, the

duc d'Enghien Duke of Enghien (french: Duc d'Enghien, pronounced with a silent ''i'') was a noble title pertaining to the House of Condé. It was only associated with the town of Enghien for a short time. Dukes of Enghien – first creation (1566–1569) The ...

. He chose Louise Bénédicte, ''Mademoiselle de Charolais'', over her sisters, Anne Marie, ''Mademoiselle de Condé'' and Marie Anne, ''Mademoiselle de Montmorency'' (later duchesse de Vendôme). Mademoiselle de Condé was quite upset, as she had her heart set on marrying du Maine:

''Monsieur le Prince had three daughters for him u Maineto choose from, and an extra quarter of an inch of stature made him prefer the second. All three were extremely small; the eldest nne Mariewas beautiful, and full of sense and wit. The incredible constraint, to say the least of it, in which the strange temper of ''Monsieur le Prince'' kept everyone who was subject to his yoke, made the choice of her sister a cause of bitter heartburning to her''

On 19 May 1692, Louis-Auguste and Anne Louise Bénédicte were married in a ceremony at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. Presided over by the Cardinal de Bouillon, the guest of honour was the exiled

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

. Madame de Montespan, who had fallen out of favour with the king after the ''Affaire des Poisons'', did not attend her son's wedding. The duc du Maine received a gift of one million ''

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 g ...

'' from his father at his wedding. His bride was given a hundred thousand livres in cash, with clothes and jewels worth an additional two hundred thousand ''livres''. The marriage proved unhappy. Louise Bénédicte felt disgraced by her marriage to a ''légitimé de France'' and was often unfaithful. As the groom and bride were both physically handicapped (Louise Bénédicte had a bad right arm and Louis had a lame leg), people at court snickered:

''Voici l'union d'un boiteux et d'une manchote. Ah, le beau couple!'' (Behold the union of a cripple and a penguin. Ah, the beautiful couple!)

Nonetheless, the couple eventually had three children who grew to adulthood. Their daughter, baptised at Versailles on 9 April 1714, was known as ''Mademoiselle du Maine'' and named Louise-Françoise de Bourbon. In 1707, Madame de Montespan died, and the duc du Maine inherited a large portion of her fortune, including the

château de Clagny The Château de Clagny was a French country house that stood northeast of the Château de Versailles; it was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart for Madame de Montespan between 1674 and 1680. Although among the most important of the private r ...

, built for her by his father near the château at Versailles. Unlike his younger siblings, the duke did not express any emotion or remorse at the loss of his mother, as he considered Madame de Maintenon to have been more of a mother to him throughout his youth.

''Prince du Sang''

In July 1714, pressed by Maintenon, Louis XIV raised Louis-Auguste and his younger brother, the

comte de Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroundin ...

, to the rank of '' princes du sang'', and compelled the ''Parlement of Paris'' to acquiesce to their being placed in the line of succession to the French throne, following all of the legitimate lines of the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

. In August 1715, Louis XIV's health deteriorated drastically. On 22 August, he was unable to attend a troop parade in the gardens of Versailles, and he ordered the duc du Maine to take his place at this event. This public display of the Maine's "promotion" greatly concerned his rival, the duc d'Orléans.

Cellamare Conspiracy

On 1 September 1715, Louis XIV died and was succeeded by his great-grandson Louis, Duke of Anjou as

Louis XV 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 reache ...

. The little boy was the grandson of Du Maine's late half-brother Louis, Grand Dauphin. The old king's last will and testament gave the regency to both his nephew the duc d'Orléans and the 45 year old duc du Maine. However, the next day, the duc d'Orléans ensured the annulment of Louis XIV's will in the Parlement de Paris. Displeased with Orléans' actions, Louis-Auguste, pressured by his ambitious wife, joined in the Cellamare Conspiracy in the hope of transferring the regency to the young King

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mo ...

, who was the uncle of the boy king Louis XV and a half nephew of du Maine. The plot was named after Antonio del Giudice, Prince di Cellamare, the Spanish ambassador to the French court. After the conspiracy was discovered, du Maine was arrested and imprisoned in the fortress of

Doullens Doullens (; pcd, Dourlin; former nl, Dorland) is a commune in the Somme department, Hauts-de-France, France. Its inhabitants are called ''Doullennais'' and ''Doullennaises''. Geography Doullens is situated on the N25 road, in the northern p ...

, and his wife was exiled to

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlie ...

. In 1720, the couple was pardoned by the Council of the Regent and was allowed to return to court. After their release from imprisonment in 1720, Louise Bénédicte made an effort to reconcile with her husband, whom she had talked into joining the plot. She remarked:

''I owe a full and rightful explanation to M. le Duc du Maine which is more precious to me than my own liberty or life''

After their release, Louis-Auguste and his wife led a more subdued, compatible life at the château de Sceaux, bought by Louis XIV for du Maine, where his wife created a little court attended by popular literary figures of the day. They also had a new home in Paris. On 27 December 1718, before their exile, he and his wife had purchased an unfinished house in Paris on the rue de Bourbon (now rue de Lille) from his wife's sister,

Marie Thérèse de Bourbon Marie Thérèse de Bourbon (1 February 1666 – 22 February 1732) was the titular Queen consort of Poland in 1697. She was the daughter of the Prince of Condé. As a member of France's reigning House of Bourbon, she was a '' princesse du sang''. ...

. It was originally designed by the architect

Robert de Cotte Robert de Cotte (1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of Jules Har ...

, but they had hired a new architect, , to enlarge and redesign it. It was completed before their return from exile and became known as the Hôtel du Maine (destroyed 1838).Robert Neuman (1994) ''Robert de Cotte and the Perfection of Architecture in Eighteenth-Century France'', Chicago/London: The University of Chicago Press, , pp. 142–143; Alexandre Gady (2008) ''Les Hôtels particuliers de Paris du Moyen Âge à la Belle Époque'', Paris: Parigramme, , pp. 313. The site of the former Hôtel du Maine is at 84–86 rue de Lille. This ''hôtel'' is not to be confused with his wife's later residence, also called the Hôtel du Maine (now the

Hôtel Biron The Hôtel Biron, known initially as the Hôtel Peyrenc-de-Moras and later as the Hôtel du Maine, is an ''hôtel particulier'' located at 77 rue de Varenne, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, that was built from 1727 to 1732 to the designs of t ...

), on the rue de Varenne. Louise Bénédicte tried on several occasions to marry off their children. First, she tried to marry their son and main heir,

Louis Auguste de Bourbon Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine (31 March 1670 – 14 May 1736) was an illegitimate son of Louis XIV and his official mistress, Madame de Montespan. The king's favourite son, he was the founder of the semi-royal House of Bourbon-Maine name ...

, to his first cousin Charlotte Aglaé, ''Mademoiselle de Valois'', daughter of du Maine's younger sister, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon. The young ''Mademoiselle de Valois'' refused, however. Later, Louise-Bénédicte tried to marry off ''Mademoiselle du Maine'' twice. First, she offered her daughter's hand to the duc de Guise, but that marriage never materialised. She then offered the girl to the widower, Jacques I, Prince of Monaco, who was often at Versailles. Despite offering a large dowry to each man, neither accepted. ''Mademoiselle du Maine'' eventually died in 1743, alone and single, at the age thirty-five. She was buried at the Église at Sceaux. It was at Sceaux that du Maine died on 14 May 1736 at the age of sixty-six, during the reign of his grandnephew Louis XV, by now a young man of twenty-six years. The

became extinct at the death of his eldest son, the prince de Dombes, in 1775. The large du Maine fortune was inherited by their cousin, the duc de Penthièvre, the only son of du Maine's younger brother, Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse.

Honours

* Legitimised (''légitimé de France'') 20 December 1673; * Duc du Maine (1673) and made ''colonel général des Suisses et Grisons'' 1674; * Captain of the Gardes Suisses 3 February 1674; * Colonel of the Regiment of Infantry of Turenne 13 August 1675; * Sovereign Prince of the Dombes and '' comte d'Eu'' 2 February 1681; * Governor of

29 May 1682; * ''Chevalier des Ordres du roi'' 2 June 1686; * ''Général des galères'' and

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

General of the Seas 15 September 1688; * '' Marechal de camp'' 2 April 1690; * Lieutenant général on 3 April 1692; * Wed Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, ''princesse du sang'' * Colonel of the regiment of the 'Royal-Carabiniers' 1 November 1693; *

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

1694; * Grand Master of the Artillery 10 September 1694; * '' Prince du sang'' 29 July 1714; * Superintendent of the education of

September 1715; * Stripped of the rank of ''prince du sang'' by the Regent,

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''. H ...

July 1717

Issue

*Mademoiselle de Dombes (

, 11 September 1694 –

, 26 September 1694). *Louis Constantin de Bourbon, Prince of the Dombes (Palace of Versailles, 17 November 1695 – Palace of Versailles, 28 September 1698). *Mademoiselle d'Aumale (Palace of Versailles, 21 December 1697 – Palace of Versailles, 22/24 August 1699). *

, Prince of the Dombes (Palace of Versailles, 4 March 1700 –

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 ...

, 1 October 1755). * Louis Charles de Bourbon, Count of Eu ( Château de Sceaux, 15 October 1701 – 13 July 1775). *Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Aumale (Palace of Versailles, 31 March 1704 – Château de Sceaux, 2 September 1708). *

Louise Françoise de Bourbon Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

, Mademoiselle du Maine (Palace of Versailles, 4 December 1707 – Château d'Anet, 19 August 1743).

References and notes

---- * ''This article is based on the present French ''Louis-Auguste de Bourbon'' article'' * Lewis, W.H., ''Louis XIV, the Sun King'', * Wolf, J. B., ''Louis XIV'', New York: Norton, 1968. * Lewis, W.H., ''Sunset of the splendid century; the life and times of Louis Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine, 1670–1736'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1955. *Hilton, Lisa, ''Athénaïs:The Real Queen of France''. * Fraser, Antonia (Lady), ''Love and Louis XIV''. * Freeman-Mitford, Nancy (The Hon.), ''The Sun King''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Auguste Of Maine, Duke 1670 births 1736 deaths 17th-century peers of France 18th-century peers of France Peers created by Louis XIV People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye Princes of the Dombes Dukes of Maine House of Rochechouart House of Bourbon People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans People of the Ancien Régime House of Bourbon-Maine Illegitimate children of Louis XIV Sons of kings