Louis de Bourbon (15 June 1709 – 16 June 1771) was a member of the cadet branch of the then reigning

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 ...

. He is known for leading French forces in Germany during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

where he took command in 1758 following the failed French Invasion of Hanover. He was unable to break through

Ferdinand of Brunswick Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

's Anglo-German army and capture

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. He was '' Count of Clermont'' from birth.

Biography

Louis was born on 15 June 1709 at 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 ...

. A prince of the blood, he was the third and youngest son of Louis de Bourbon, "Duke of Bourbon", Prince of Condé (1668–1710) and Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes (1673–1743), a legitimated daughter of King

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 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 ...

. He was also the great-grandson of

Louis, Grand Condé Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (8 September 1621 – 11 December 1686), known as (), was a French military commander. A tactician and strategist, he is regarded as one of France's greatest generals, particularly celebrated for his ...

, who died in 1687. A possible bride was his first cousin, Mademoiselle du Maine, but a union never materialised. From 1730, he was a lover of

Duchess of Bouillon There have been duchesses of Bouillon, Belgium, Bouillon, in present-day Belgium, since the tenth century. Lady of Bouillon Ardennes-Bouillon dynasty, ?-1100 :''Sold to the Bishopric of Liège'' House of La Marck, ?-1588 House of La Tour ...

, wife of

Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne Emmanuel-Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne, cardinal de Bouillon (24 August 1643 – 2 March 1715, Rome) was a French prelate and diplomat. Biography Originally known as the Duc d'Albret, he was the son of Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne ...

, mother of the future Princess of Beauvau. His eldest brother,

Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (Louis Henri Joseph; 18 August 1692 – 27 January 1740), was a French nobleman and politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1723 to 1726. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a '' p ...

, was the head of Condé family from 1710 until his death in 1740, and was

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 ...

's ''Premier Ministre'' (prime minister) from 1723 to 1726. He raised his nephew

Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé Louis Joseph de Bourbon (9 August 1736 – 13 May 1818) was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of '' Prince du Sang''. Youth Born on 9 August 1736 at Chantilly, Louis Jo ...

who was an orphan from 1741. "He was a curious character: prince of the blood, abbé f Saint-Germain-des-Prés">Saint-Germain-des-Prés.html" ;"title="f Saint-Germain-des-Prés">f Saint-Germain-des-Prés military officer, libertine, man of letters (or at least a member of the Academy), anti-Parlement, religious during his final years, he was one of the most striking examples (and one of the most amusing on certain days) and also one of the most shocking (although not at all odious), of the abuses and disparities pushed to scandal, under the Old Order, of pleasure and privilege." (Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve). The Comte de Clermont is perhaps best known to history as the fifth Grand Master (Masonic), Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of France, the supreme Masonic authority in France, which existed from 1728/29 to c.1773. According to some sources, the comte was elected and installed in that office in 1743 and retained the position until his death, and was succeeded by his cousin,

Louis Philippe d'Orléans 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 ...

, known as the Duke of Chartres, afterwards

Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans () was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King Philip VI for his yo ...

. But another source claims he was designated Grand Master in 1744 "but soon left the organization, abandoning his title to Lacorne, his dancing master."Dictionnaire de biographie française, eds. Prevost & d'Amat, Paris: Letouzey, 1959, vol. 8, p. 1491 Both the Cousin biography and the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

biography omit all reference to his Masonic activities. On 16 June 1771, Louis died at the age of 62, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France.

Ancestry

References

* Biographical file on th
Académie française website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis, Count Of Clermont 1709 births 1771 deaths House of Bourbon-Condé Counts of Clermont Royalty from Versailles 18th-century peers of France Members of the Académie Française