Françoise Marie De Bourbon
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Françoise Marie de Bourbon (''Légitimée de France''; 4 May 1677 1 February 1749) was the youngest illegitimate daughter of King Louis XIV of France 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 ...
'', Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan. At the age of 14, she married her first cousin Philippe d'Orléans, the future
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
of France during the minority of Louis XV. Through two of her eight children, she became the ancestress of several of Europe's Roman Catholic monarchs of the 19th and 20th centuries—notably those of Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and France. Françoise Marie wielded little political influence. In 1718, she participated in the botched
Cellamare Conspiracy The Cellamare conspiracy of 1718 ( French: ''Conspiration de Cellamare'') was a conspiracy against the Regent of France, Philippe d'Orléans (1674–1723) that aimed to depose him of his position and place Philip V of Spain as the new regent of Fr ...
, during which the conspirators orchestrated to oust her husband as regent in favour of her brother Louis-Auguste, Duke of Maine.


Early life (1677–1692)

Françoise Marie was born in 1677 at the Château de Maintenon, owned since 1674 by
Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon Françoise d'Aubigné (27 November 1635 – 15 April 1719), known first as Madame Scarron and subsequently as Madame de Maintenon (), was a French nobility, French noblewoman and the second wife of Louis XIV, Louis XIV of France from 1683 until ...
, the governess of
Madame de Montespan Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise of Montespan (5 October 1640 – 27 May 1707), commonly known as Madame de Montespan (), was a French noblewoman and the most celebrated maîtresse-en-titre, royal mistress of King Lou ...
's illegitimate children by King
Louis XIV 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 ...
. She and her younger brother, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse were cared for by Madame de Monchevreuil, Madame de Colbert, and Madame de Jussac under Mme. de Maintenon's supervision, as their mother was ostracised from court eventually. As a child, she also went to
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 ...
to visit her parents occasionally.


''Mademoiselle de Blois''

On 22 November 1681, when she was four and a half years old, Louis XIV
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 ...
Françoise Marie and gave her the
courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...
of ''Mademoiselle de Blois'', a style once held by her older half-sister Marie Anne de Bourbon, a legitimised daughter of the king by
Louise de La Vallière Françoise-Louise de La Baume Le Blanc, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours (6 August 1644 – 6 June 1710) was a French nobility, French noblewoman and the Royal mistress, mistress of King Louis XIV of France from 1661 to 1667. La Vallière ...
. Louis XIV did not mention his daughter's mother in the act of legitimisation because Madame de Montespan was still married to the Marquis de Montespan, who might have counter-claimed paternity and custody of his wife's children. By the time of her birth, her parents' relationship was coming to an end because of Madame de Montespan's possible involvement in the '' Affaire des poisons''.Hilton, Lisa, ''Athénaïs: The Real Queen of France'', p. 187 Her older siblings Louis Auguste and Louise Françoise had been legitimised on 19 December 1673 by
letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...
registered at the ''
Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...
''. Her younger brother, Louis Alexandre, was legitimised at the same time as she and received the title of ''comte de Toulouse''. She remained close to him and their older brother, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, ''Duc du Maine'', for her entire life. However, she never had closeness to her legitimate half-brother, Louis, Dauphin of France. She inherited her mother's beauty, such that Madame de Caylus commented that Françoise was “''naturally timid and glorious'' and was a ''little beauty with a beautiful face and beautiful hands; completely in proportion''.” She took pride in her royal ancestry and the royal blood of the
House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...
that she inherited from her father. Later, it was joked that she would “remember she was a '' daughter of France'', even while on her ''chaise percée.''” Fraser, Lady Antonia, ''Love and Louis XIV'', Nan A. Talese, 2006, pp. 279, 282, 284 The Marquis d'Argenson said she was very like her mother, but had also Louis XIV's orderly mind, failing of injustice, and that of his harshness.


Marriage

Madame de Maintenon was a childless widow who, as the king's
morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...
wife from the mid-1680s, promoted her charges' interests, scandalising the court by securing the marriage of Mlle de Blois to the king's only legitimate nephew, Philippe d'Orléans in 1692. Then known by his father's
subsidiary title A subsidiary title is a title of authority or title of honour that is held by a royal or noble person but which is not regularly used to identify that person, due to the concurrent holding of a greater title. United Kingdom An example in the Uni ...
, Duke of Chartres, he was the son of Philippe de France, ''Duc d'Orléans'', known, as the king's only brother, as ''Monsieur''. The ''mésalliance'' between bastard and legitimate blood royal disgusted Philippe's mother, Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, who harbored well-known prejudice against her brother-in-law's bastards. Upon learning of her son's acquiescence to the betrothal, she slapped him in front of the court, then turned her back on the king who had bowed in salutation to her. She remained an enemy to her daughter-in-law and indifferent to her grandchildren by her. On the occasion of the marriage between their respective children, Louis XIV gave to his brother the
Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre Palace, Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Ca ...
in which the Orléans had resided, but had not owned.Dufresne, Claude, ''les Orléans'', CRITERION, Paris, 1991, pp. 77–78. It was the ''Palais Cardinal'' previously, but
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
, its builder, bequeathed it to the crown upon his death in 1642. Louis XIV also promised an important military post to the Duke of Chartres and gave 100,000
livres Livre may refer to: Currency * French livre, one of a number of obsolete units of currency of France * Livre tournois, one particular obsolete unit of currency of France * Livre parisis, another particular obsolete unit of currency of France * F ...
to the Duke of Orléans' favourite, the '' Chevalier de Lorraine''. Upon being informed of the identity of her future husband, Françoise remarked:
''Je ne me soucie pas qu'il m'aime, je me soucie qu'il m'épouse.'' ("I care not that he love me, but that he marries me")
Françoise and Philippe d'Orléans married on 18 February 1692 in the chapel of the
Palace of 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 ...
. Cardinal de Bouillon - a member of the
House of La Tour d'Auvergne A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
- conducted the service. In 1685, the Cardinal de Bouillon had refused to take part in the marriage of the Duke of Bourbon and Françoise's sister, ''Mademoiselle de Nantes'', and, as a result, had been sent into exile, but he was recalled to marry Françoise and the Duke of Chartres. After the ceremony, a banquet was given in the
Hall of Mirrors The Hall of Mirrors () is a grand Baroque architecture, Baroque style gallery and one of the most emblematic rooms in the royal Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. The grandiose ensemble of the hall and its adjoining salons was intended to ...
with all the princes and princesses of the blood in attendance.The Unruly Daughter of the Regent
/ref> Other guests included the exiled
James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...
and his consort,
Mary of Modena Mary of Modena (; ) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James VII and II. A devout Catholic, Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was t ...
. At the newlyweds' bedding ceremony later that evening, Queen Mary handed the new Duchess of Chartres her night shirt. Madame de Montespan had not been invited to the wedding of her daughter. As her new husband was a legitimate grandson of a king, Françoise assumed the rank of '' petite-fille de France'' ("Grand-Daughter of France"), and was addressed as ''
Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of a ...
''. Furthermore, the newlyweds traveled and lodged wherever the king did, dined with him, and were entitled to armchairs in his presence.Spanheim, Ézéchiel, pp. 87, 100–105, 313–314, 323–327. As the new ''duchesse de Chartres'', Françoise Marie was next in precedence behind only the Duchess of Burgundy and her own mother-in-law, the Duchess of Orléans. From her father, Françoise Marie received a dowry of more than two million livres, twice the sum bestowed on her older sister, Louise, who had married Louis, Duke of Bourbon, first prince of the blood royal, whose rank was deemed substantially lower than that of the king's nephew. This difference led to animosity between the sisters. The dowry was not to be paid until the
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
ended.Pevitt, Christine, Philippe, Duc d'Orléans: Regent of France, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1997, pp. 41, 43, 56 Around 1710, the proud
Duke of Saint-Simon Duke of Saint-Simon (; ) was a title in the Peerage of France and later in the Peerage of Spain. It was granted in 1635 to Claude de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, Claude de Rouvroy, comte de Rasse.. The title's name refers to the seigneury that wa ...
, a friend of Philippe d’Orléans, wrote an account describing Françoise Marie:
'' every way majestic; her complexion, her throat, her arms, were admirable; she had a tolerable mouth, with beautiful teeth, somewhat long; and cheeks too broad and too pendant, which interfered with, but did not spoil her beauty. What disfigured her the most were her eyebrows, which were, so to speak, peeled and red, with very little hair; she had, however, fine eyelashes, with well-set, chestnut-coloured hair. Without being humpbacked or deformed, she had one side larger than the other, which caused her to walk awry; and this defect in her figure indicated another, which was more troublesome in society and which inconvenienced herself.''
Her mother-in-law wrote the following in her memoirs:
''all the ladies in waiting have made her believe that she did my son honour in marrying him; and she is so vain of her own birth and that of her brothers and sisters that she will not hear a word said against them; she will not see any difference between legitimate and illegitimate children.''Translated memoirs of the Duchess of Orléans
Not long after their marriage, Philippe ridiculed his wife's bad temper openly and nicknamed her ''Madame Lucifer''. Her mother-in-law said that during the early years of the Chartres marriage, Françoise was as "drunk as drunk" three to four times a week. The union, despite open discord, produced eight children, several of whom later married into other European royal families during the Regency of her husband for the young King
Louis XV of France 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 ...
. Françoise Marie was so annoyed at her children not being recognised as grandchildren of a king that Saint-Simon wrote:
''The duchesse d'Orléans had a head filled with fantasies that she could not realise... Not content with the modern rank of Granddaughter of France, which she enjoyed through her husband, she could not bear the idea that her children were only Princes of the Blood and dreamed up a rank for them that was betwixt and between...great-Grandchildren of France.''


Duchess of Orléans (1701–1749)

In 1701, upon the death of his father, her husband became Duke of Orléans, head of the House of Orléans and inherited his father's estates. The new Duchess of Orléans acquired precedence over her mother-in-law, ranking second only to the Dauphine (Duchess of Burgundy). Her father-in-law had died of a stroke at Saint-Cloud following an argument with Louis XIV at Marly concerning the Duke of Chartres' flaunting his pregnant mistress, Marie-Louise de Séry, in front of Françoise. Nonetheless, the new Duke and Duchess of Orléans pursued a lavish lifestyle at the
Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre Palace, Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Ca ...
in Paris and the Château de Saint-Cloud, located some ten kilometers west of Paris. Among many other extravagances, they commissioned the renowned
Jean Bérain the Elder Jean Berain the Elder (1640 – 24 January 1711) was a drawing, draughtsman and designer, painter and engraver of ornament, the artistic force in the Royal office of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi where all the designs originated for court spectacle, ...
to design and decorate their private apartments at the Palais-Royal. While her husband led the debauched life of a womaniser, Françoise lived a quiet life without scandal, unlike her sisters, the
Princess of Conti The title of Princess of Conti was a French Nobility, noble title, held by the wife of the Prince of Conti between 1582 and 1803 with an intermission between 1614 and 1654. Princesses of Conti First Creation Second Creation Notes

...
and the
Duchess of Bourbon Lady of Bourbon House of Bourbon, 950–1218 House of Dampierre, 1228–1288 House of Burgundy, 1288–1310 :Beatrix of Burgundy, Dame de Bourbon, None Capetian House of Clermont, 1310–1327 Duchess of Bourbon First Creati ...
, and their older brother, the Duke of Maine. Though witty and charming, she preferred the company of Louise-Elvide, Duchess of Sforza, daughter of Françoise's aunt, Gabrièlle de Rochechouart de Mortemart. Her intimate circle included her other cousins, Marie Élisabeth de Rochechouart, Countess of Castries, who was also her lady-in-waiting, and the Duchess of Sforza's sister Diane-Gabrielle Damas de Thianges, Duchess of Nevers. Two days after her birthday in 1707, Françoise Marie lost her mother who had lived in seclusion since being banished from court in 1691. Her father forbade his legitimised children to wear mourning clothes for their mother, but they chose to decline attending court gatherings during the mourning period, with the exception of their eldest brother, the Duke of Maine, who inherited the entirety of his mother's vast fortune. Mitford, Nancy, ''The Sun King'', pp. 136, 165 In 1710 Louis XIV's youngest legitimate grandson, Charles, Duke of Berry, was still unmarried. It was suggested that he marry Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon, the daughter of Louise, Duchess of Bourbon. However, on 6 July 1710, Françoise secured the marriage of her eldest daughter, Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, to the duke, much to the annoyance of the Duchess of Bourbon. This marriage elevated Marie Louise Élisabeth to the rank of ''fille de France'', above princesses of the blood. On the death of his great-grandfather Louis XIV, in 1715, the five-year-old Dauphin became the new king of France as
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 ...
. Consequently, Françoise's older brother, the Duke of Maine, and her husband, the Duke of Orléans, experienced tension over who would be the regent during the minority of the new king. The ''
Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...
'' ruled in favour of her husband. As the wife of the ''de facto'' ruler of France, Françoise became the most important lady of the kingdom. During the
Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
, her husband increased her annual allowance to 400,000 livres. In March 1719, she acquired the château de Bagnolet near Paris and the estate passed to her son, Louis d'Orléans, ''Louis le Pieux,'' on her death''.'' Françoise Marie extended the small château under the direction of ''Claude Desgots'' who also worked at the duc du Maine's
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, ...
.


Family life

Her many daughters were rumoured to be promiscuous. Having become a widow, the Duchess of Berry accumulated lovers and hid several pregnancies. She almost died in labor early in 1719, having been denied the sacraments by the church and when she died on 21 July 1719, she was again pregnant. After the liaison of her favourite daughter, Charlotte Aglaé, with the libertine Louis François Armand du Plessis, duc de Richelieu was discovered, Françoise and her husband married her abroad swiftly. At the same time, the
Cellamare Conspiracy The Cellamare conspiracy of 1718 ( French: ''Conspiration de Cellamare'') was a conspiracy against the Regent of France, Philippe d'Orléans (1674–1723) that aimed to depose him of his position and place Philip V of Spain as the new regent of Fr ...
was uncovered. Government authorities arrested and imprisoned The Duke and Duchess of Maine and the Cardinal de Richelieu for their involvement in the plot temporarily. Earlier, Françoise had tried to marry either Louise Adélaïde or Charlotte Aglaé to the Duke of Maine's son, Louis Auguste, Prince of Dombes, but both refused their cousin. In 1721, she arranged for two of her other daughters, Louise Élisabeth, and Philippine Élisabeth, to marry into the royal family of Spain. Louise Élisabeth was to marry the Infante Luis Felipe of Spain, heir to the throne, while Philippine Élisabeth was to marry Luis Felipe's younger half-brother, the
Infante Carlos Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...
. Both marriages took place but that of Philippine Élisabeth was annulled and she returned to France. She died at the château de Bagnolet in 1734. After her husband died in December 1723, Françoise retired to Saint-Cloud. In 1725, Françoise Marie saw the marriage of her cousin, the young King
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 ...
, to the Polish princess
Marie Leszczyńska Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska (), was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of St ...
, diminishing her precedence at court, as did the births of their daughters. Unlike the other princesses of the blood, The Dowager Duchess of Orleans respected and got along well with Queen Marie and even organized parties in her honor at Francoise's Chateaus de Chaillon, Bagnolet and St.Cloud in 1736, 1740, 1743, 1744, and 1745, continuing until her death in 1749, which the Queen herself attended. In return, Marie Leczinska visited her palaces, talked to her in private, and followed her advice on etiquette regularly. As it turned out, the second of the king's eight daughters, Madame Henriette, fell in love with Françoise Marie's grandson,
Louis Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...
, then the ''duc de Chartres''.
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 ...
would not, however, allow the marriage because he did not want the House of Orléans to come too close to the throne of France. Afterwards, it fell upon the dowager duchess to find her unwed grandson a suitable bride. At the direction of her son, Françoise Marie negotiated with her niece, Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon, for her grandson to marry Louise Élisabeth's attractive daughter, Louise Henriette de Bourbon. This marriage united a grandchild of Françoise Marie with a grandchild of her sister and enemy, the Duchess of Bourbon. Françoise Marie lived to see, in 1747, the birth of their great-grandson, the future Philippe Égalité. The next of her daughters to marry was the youngest. Louise Diane, the favourite of Madame, was engaged to the young Louis François de Bourbon, ''Prince of Conti'', whom she married at Versailles. Louise died in childbirth at the Château d'Issy. Louise Diane's only surviving child was the last
Prince of Conti Prince of Conti (French: ''prince de Conti'') was a French noble title, assumed by a cadet branch of the princely house of Bourbon-Condé. History The title derives its name from Conty, a small town in northern France, c. 35 km southwest ...
, who would later marry Princess Maria Fortunata of Modena. Maria Fortunata was one of the daughters of the wayward Charlotte Aglaé, Françoise Marie's most difficult daughter. She returned from Modena in a self-imposed exile many a time and Françoise Marie and her son Louis chose to ignore her when she did. She returned to
Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...
in 1737 as the Sovereign Duchess Consort.


Death

Françoise died on 1 February 1749 at the Palais-Royal after a long illness, aged 71. She was the last surviving child of Louis XIV and outlived her husband by twenty-six years. Her children Charlotte Aglaé and Louis, Duke of Orléans, survived her. She was buried at the Church of ''Madeleine de Traisnel'' (''Église de la Madeleine de Traisnel'') in Paris, an old
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
church at 100 Rue de Charonne, on 6 February. Her heart was taken to the
Val-de-Grâce The Val-de-Grâce (; Hôpital d'instruction des armées du Val-de-Grâce or HIA Val-de-Grâce) was a military hospital located at 74 boulevard de Port-Royal in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was closed as a hospital in 2016. History ...
. At present, in the
Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...
of the
British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...
, there exists a miniature portrait by the Venetian painter
Rosalba Carriera Rosalba Carriera (12 January 1673 – 15 April 1757) was an Italians, Italian Rococo painter. In her younger years, she specialized in portrait miniatures. Carriera would later become known for her pastel portraits, helping popularize the medium ...
of Françoise. She poses as
Amphitrite In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; ) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and her consort is Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Under the influence ...
.


Issue

#Mademoiselle de Valois (17 December 1693 – 17 October 1694); died in infancy. # Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans (20 August 1695 – 21 July 1719); married Charles of France, Duke of Berry. Had no surviving issue (all children died in infancy). #
Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans Louise Adélaïde d'Orléans (Marie Louise Adélaïde; 13 August 1698 – 10 February 1743) was the second daughter of Philippe d'Orléans and Françoise Marie de Bourbon, a legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Madame ...
(13 August 1698 – 10 February 1743); became a nun and Abbess of Chelles. Died unmarried and without issue. # Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans (22 October 1700 – 19 January 1761); married
Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena Francesco III d'Este (Francesco Maria; 2 July 1698 – 22 February 1780) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1737 until his death. Biography He was born in Modena, the son of Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena, and Duchess Charlotte of Brunswic ...
. Had issue. # Louis d'Orléans (4 August 1703 – 4 February 1752); married Margravine Johanna of Baden-Baden. Had issue. # Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans (11 December 1709 – 16 June 1742); married Louis I of Spain. No issue. # Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans (18 December 1714 – 21 May 1734); died unmarried. No issue. #
Louise Diane d'Orléans Louise Diane d'Orléans (27 June 1716 – 26 September 1736) was Princess of Conti from her marriage to Prince Louis François, Prince of Conti, Louis François in 1732, until her death in childbirth. She was the youngest child of Philippe II, ...
(27 June 1716 – 26 September 1736); married Louis François de Bourbon. Had issue.


Ancestry


References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourbon, Francoise Marie de 1677 births 1749 deaths 17th-century French women 18th-century French women Francoise Marie Francoise Marie Francoise Marie French princesses French duchesses Francoise Marie House of Rochechouart People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans People from Eure-et-Loir Spouses of prime ministers of France Illegitimate children of Louis XIV Daughters of kings