Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon (2 November 1696 – 20 November 1750) was a French princess of the Blood and member of the courts of

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 ...

and his successor

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 ...

. She never married, but she had many illegitimate children.

Biography

Born at the Hôtel de Conti in Paris Louise Adélaïde was the youngest surviving daughter of

François Louis, Prince of Conti François Louis de Bourbon, ''le Grand Conti'' (30 April 1664 – 22 February 1709),

and his wife

Marie Thérèse de Bourbon Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French comp ...

. From birth, Louise Adélaïde was known by her style of ''Mademoiselle de La Roche-sur-Yon''. Her oldest sister was

Marie Anne de Bourbon Marie Anne de Bourbon, ''Légitimée de France'', born Marie Anne de La Blaume Le Blanc, by her marriage Princess of Conti then Princess Dowager of Conti, ''suo jure'' Duchess of La Vallière and of Vaujours (; 2 October 1666 – 3 May 1739) was ...

(1689–1720), future Princess of Condé; her oldest surviving brother was Louis Armand de Bourbon, the future

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 ...

. The year after her birth, her father was made the Titular ''King of Poland'' by

but later declined the offer due to his affections for 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 ...

, his mistress and daughter of the king. On 16 February 1707 she was baptised in the

Royal Chapel of Versailles The present 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 o ...

and named in honour of

Louis, Grand Dauphin Louis, Dauphin of France (1 November 1661 – 14 April 1711), commonly known as le Grand Dauphin, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV and his spouse, Maria Theresa of Spain. He became known as the Grand Dauphin after the birth ...

and Marie ''Adélaïde'', Duchess of Burgundy. In 1709, Mademoiselle de La Roche-sur-Yon lost her father and her brother succeeded as Prince of Conti. Her older sister married in 1713 at the age of 24; the groom was her maternal cousin

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 ...

. Louise Adélaïde never married, although in 1714 it was thought that she might marry Philip V. of Spain and in 1748, a marriage was projected with

Stanisław I Leszczyński Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

, former King of Poland At the death of her sister the Princess of Condé in 1720, Louise Adélaïde was given all property owned by the Princess – much to the annoyance of the Prince of Condé, ''Duke of Bourbon''. In 1732 her mother died having reconciled with her children – the Conti family had been estranged from their mother due to their father's behaviour. It was around this time that she purchased the Hôtel de Lauzun on the quai Malaquais from Geneviève Marie de Durfort, the widow of the Duke de Lauzun. At that time it became known as Hôtel de La Roche-sur-Yon and is shown with this name on the 1739

Turgot map of Paris The Turgot map of Paris () is a highly accurate and detailed map of the city of Paris, France, as it existed in the 1730s. The map was commissioned by Parisian municipality chief Michel-Étienne Turgot, drawn up by surveyor Louis Bretez, and eng ...

Death

Having outlived all her siblings and parents, Mademoiselle de La Roche-sur-Yon died in Paris at the age of 54. She was buried at the Carmel du faubourg Saint-Jacques cemetery, in the capital,

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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, Marquis d'Argenson noted in his memoirs: "Mademoiselle de la Roche-sur-Yon, princess of the blood, died last night of the smallpox. She was a good princess, and left many bastards."Argenson, René-Louis de Voyer, marquis d' (1857)
''Memoires et journal inedit du marquis d'Argenson, ministre des affaires etrangeres sous Louis XV'', vol. 3, p. 367
Paris: P. Jannet.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourbon, Louise Adelaide De 1696 births 1750 deaths Louise Adelaide Nobility from Paris Louise Adelaide 18th-century French people Burials at the Carmel du faubourg Saint-Jacques