| Louis Alexandre | |
|---|---|
| Légitimé de France Comte de Toulouse | |
.jpg) Toulouse byHyacinthe Rigaud, 1708 | |
| Born | 6 June 1678 Versailles,France |
| Died | 1 December 1737(1737-12-01) (aged 59) Château de Rambouillet, France |
| Burial | 25 November 1783 Chapelle royale de Dreux, France |
| Spouse | Marie Victoire de Noailles |
| Issue Detail | Louis Jean Marie, Duke of Penthièvre |
| House | Bourbon |
| Father | Louis XIV |
| Mother | Madame de Montespan |
.svg)  Coat of arms of Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse | |
Louis Alexandre de Bourbon (6 June 1678 – 1 December 1737), alegitimated prince of the blood royal, was the son ofLouis XIV and of his mistressFrançoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. At the age of five, he became grand admiral of France.[1]
Born at theChâteau de Clagny inVersailles, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon was the third son and youngest child of Louis XIV born out-of-wedlock with Madame de Montespan. At birth, he was put in the care ofMadame de Montchevreuil along with his older sisterFrançoise-Marie de Bourbon.
Louis Alexandre was createdCount of Toulouse in 1681 at the time of his legitimation, and, in 1683, at the age of five, grand admiral. In February 1684, he became colonel of an infantry regiment named after him and in 1693mestre de camp of a cavalry regiment. During theWar of the Spanish Succession, he was given the task of defending Sicily. In January 1689, he was named governor ofGuyenne, a title which he exchanged for that of governor ofBrittany six years later. On 3 January 1696, he was created amarshal of France, becoming commander of the royal armies the following year. During theWar of the Spanish Succession he commanded the French fleet at theBattle of Vélez-Málaga in 1704.[2]
Though his father had legitimated him and his three surviving siblings, and even declared his two sons by Madame de Montespan fit to eventually succeed him to the throne of France, this was not to be, as immediately after Louis XIV's death theParlement of Paris reversed the king's will.
Unlike his brother,Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine, who was barred from the regency council, Toulouse was not kept from a political role, and soon after, he was named (minister of the Navy), inheriting a seasoned staff headed byJoseph Pellerin. He remained in this capacity until being succeeded byJoseph Fleuriau d'Armenonville in 1722, the same Fleuriau d'Armenonville who had sold him the castle of Rambouillet in 1706.[3]
The proposal of his marriage toCharlotte de Lorraine,Mademoiselle d'Armagnac, member of acadet branch of theHouse of Guise had met with the categorical refusal of Louis XIV.[4]
On 2 February 1723, the comte de Toulouse marriedMarie Victoire de Noailles, a daughter of theAnne Jules, duc de Noailles, in a private ceremony in Paris.[5] She was the widow ofLouis de Pardaillan de Gondrin (1688-1712), his nephew, son of his half-brotherLouis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin, whose mother wasMadame de Montespan. The marriage was kept secret until the death of theregent.
He and his sisters tried to avoid the court and the intrigues[6] of their brother, the duc du Maine, and his wifeAnne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, the duchess, at theChâteau de Sceaux.
Shortly before his death in 1715, Louis XIV added a codicil to his will stating that if all legitimate members of theHouse of Bourbon, both those descended from Louis and more distant kinsmen, died out, the throne of France could be inherited by the duc du Maine and the comte de Toulouse. The decision was reversed after the death of Louis XIV when Louis Alexandre's cousin,Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, as the new regent, had theParlement de Paris void that portion of the will.
The comte de Toulouse died at theChâteau de Rambouillet on 1 December 1737. He was buried in the village 12th century Saint-Lubin church. On 30 September 1766, the countess died at theHôtel de Toulouse, the Parisian mansion not far from theLouvre which the count had bought from Phélypeaux, marquis de La Vrillière, in 1712.[7] She too was buried in the family crypt in the Rambouillet church.
Upon the count's death, the duc de Penthièvre succeeded his father in his posts and titles. Because of the marriage ofMademoiselle de Penthièvre toLouis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, the comte de Toulouse is an ancestor of the modernHouse of Orléans, which also descends from Toulouse's two surviving full sisters.
| Ancestors of Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Toulouse, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse Born: 6 June 1678 Died: 1 December 1737 | ||
| French nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New Creation | Comte de Toulouse 1681–1737 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Duc de Penthièvre 1697–1737 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by New Creation | Duc deChâteauvillain 1703–1737 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by New Creation | Duc deDamville 1711–1719 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Duc de Vendôme 1712–1737 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by New Creation | Duc d'Arc 1711–1737 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of the Navy 1683–1737 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Admiral of France 1683–1737 | Succeeded by |
