Françoise Marie De Bourbon - Louis XIV's Daughter With De Montespan

Françoise Marie de Bourbon was born at the Château de Maintenon on May 4, 1677. She and her younger brother, Louis-Alexandre, were the last two children born to the king's relationship with Madame de Montespan, before their relationship ended due to Madame de Montespan's involvement in the affair of the poisons. On November 22, 1681, Françoise Marie and Louis Alexandre were legitimized by Louis XIV. Her brother was then given the title of Count of Toulouse, while she herself was given the title of Mademoiselle de Blois, a title previously held by her elder half-sister Marie-Anne de Bourbon. After her legitimation, Françoise Marie was occasionally taken to court to visit her father. Françoise Marie was considered to be a beauty and is described as a naturally withdrawn and indolent person, who at the same time also took great pride in her position as the daughter of the king, which made her arrogant. She had a close relationship with her full brothers, Louis-Auguste and Louis-Alexandre, but was never close to her half-brother, Louis, le Grand Dauphin. Françoise Marie and her sister Louise-Françoise had a competitive relationship and often clashed over matters of rank, while sometimes uniting against their half-sister Marie-Anne. On February 1692, Françoise Marie married her cousin, the king's nephew Philippe II d'Orléans, who was known at the time as the Duc de Chartres and who was the son of Philippe d'Orléans and Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate. The king's sister-in-law, La Palatine, marked her disapproval of the marriage by turning her back on the king in public. Françoise Marie herself commented, I don't care if he loves me as long as he marries me. The marriage between Françoise Marie and Philippe was unhappy, but nonetheless eight children were born. Mademoiselle de Valois, who died before the age of one, Marie-Louise Elisabeth, who married Charlotte of France, Duc de Berry, Louise Adelaide, who pursued a religious life, Charlotte Aglaé, who married Francesco III d'Est, Duc de Modena, Louis, who married Margravine Johanna of Baden-Baden, Louise Elisabeth, who married Louis I of Spain, Philippine Elisabeth, who died unmarried, and Louise Dianne, who married Louis François de Bourbon. As Duchess of Chartres, Françoise Marie ranked as third highest lady at court. She tried to persuade Louis XIV to give her children a rank equal to the king's legitimate grandchildren, but the king refused because this would make court etiquette even more complicated. Philippe was known for his constant infidelity, neglecting Françoise Marie and ridiculing her moods by calling her Madame Lucifer, and during the first years of their marriage, Françoise Marie was often noted to be drunk. She also never established a good relationship with her mother-in-law, who could never forget that she had been born out of wedlock. While her husbands and siblings indulged in love and intrigue, Françoise Marie lived a quiet life of luxury without scandal. She is said to have spent most of her time laying on a sofa surrounded by lazy ladies-in-waiting, all of whom were chosen for being too unattractive to attract her husband. She was particularly close to her eldest son, while her relationship with her daughters was distant. When her mother, Madame de Montespan, died in 1707, she and her siblings were forbidden to mourn in public. In 1715, her father, Louis XIV, died and was succeeded by his five-year-old grandson. Her husband, as the king's eldest surviving legitimate relative, became the regent of France during the new king's minority. Françoise Marie thus automatically became the country's first lady. In practice, however, Françoise Marie seems to have left her representative duties as first lady of the realm to her daughter Marie-Louise Elisabeth, who was, among other things, hostess during Peter the Great's state visit. Françoise Marie herself still rarely left her couch, except when she visited her private country estate, the Château de Bagnolet, where she organized picnics and devoted herself to building work. In 1718, Françoise Marie took part in the failed Saint-Lamar conspiracy alongside her brother Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Duc de Maine. This was the only time she intervened in politics, and after the exposure of her participation during the conspiracy, she suffered no consequences for her betrayal. After her husband's death in 1723, Françoise Marie retired to the Château de Saint-Cloud. Her position as France's first lady was lost when Louis XIV married Marie Alesinska in 1725, and her rank diminished in importance each time a new daughter was born to the royal couple. Françoise Marie de Bourbon died on February 1, 1749. At that time, she was the only surviving child of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. She survived her husband by 26 years.