Louis César
Légitimé de France Count of Vexin
Vexin, ca. 1675
Born	Louis César de Bourbon (1672-06-20)20 June 1672 Château du Génitoy, France
Died	10 January 1683(1683-01-10) (aged 10) Paris, France
Burial	Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, France
Names Louis César de Bourbon, Légitimé de France
Father	Louis XIV of France
Mother	Madame de Montespan

Louis César de Bourbon,Légitimé de France, Count of Vexin (Génitoy, 20 June 1672 – Paris, 10 January 1683) was a son ofLouis XIV and hismistressMadame de Montespan. He was the Abbot ofSaint-Denis and ofSaint-Germain-des-Prés.

Louis César, born at the château du Génitoy, was the second son born to Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. He was named afterJulius Caesar,^[1] as his older brotherLouisAuguste de Bourbon had been named afterAugustus and the later bornLouisAlexandre de Bourbon was named afterAlexander the Great.

Louis César was born at a time when the court was in mourning forPrincess Marie-Thérèse of France, known asla petite Madame, who had died in March 1672.

Louis César would grow up with his older brother Louis-Auguste in the care ofMadame Scarron in a house on the rue de Vaugirard in Paris. This house had been purchased by the king specifically for his illegitimate children. The next year, while his father was on a military tour atTournai, he was joined by a sister,Louise Françoise de Bourbon, born in June; Louis César and his parents were present, as well as the QueenMarie Thérèse d'Autriche and Madame Scarron.

Scarron was greatly attached to Louis Auguste, far more than his siblings Louise Françoise and Louis César^{[citation needed]}. On 19 December 1673, Louis XIV officially recognised his children with Montespan with Letters Patent from theParlement de Paris. This made all these childrenEnfants Légitimés de France, Legitimate Children of France with the style ofHis Highness.^[2]

With this legitimisation, Louis César received the titleCount of Vexin, an ancient title dating from the 10th century. His brother became theduc du Maine^[3] and his sisterMademoiselle de Nantes.

In the following two years, he was joined by two more siblings:Françoise Marie de Bourbon, born May 1677, andLouis Alexandre de Bourbon, born June 1678 at Clagny.

Around the time of Françoise Marie's birth, his mother was supposedly involved in theAffaire des Poisons which made her lose favour with the king. The king sought comfort with another mistress,Angélique de Fontanges. After that time, Louis César spent more time with his mother at her private residence, theChâteau de Clagny^{[citation needed]}.

Vexin had acrooked spine since birth. This caused him to limp and was not helped by one of his shoulders being higher than the other. His father, who adored him, decided the child was to be destined for the church. His father bestowed the title of Abbot of Saint Denis on his son. TheRoyal Cathedral of Saint Denis,Cathédrale royale de Saint-Denis, was the traditional burial place of the kings of France since the 7th century and was one of the wealthiest churches in France.

Despite being the Abbot of Saint Denis, he was too young to carry out any duties and thus remained at the court of his father whilst under the care of Scarron. In 1674, another sister joined the family:Louise Marie Anne was born in November 1674 and was createdMademoiselle de Tours after her legitimisation in 1676.

The doctors at court tried to help with Louis-César's condition but failed using the awful treatments^{[example needed]}. After such treatments, Louis César's general condition worsened after 1675. He was watched over by his mother and his maternal aunt, themarquise de Thianges. He would never be a strong child.

In 1678, it was thought that he may die; again he was "treated" but did not do anything other than keep him alive. His condition was so bad that he was bedridden for days at a time.

Louis César died in Paris in 1683 at the age of 10, and was buried at theAbbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. His mother was distraught.

• 1672 births
• 1683 deaths
• 17th-century French nobility
• 17th-century Christian monks
• House of Rochechouart
• Illegitimate children of Louis XIV
• Counts of Vexin
• French abbots
• Burials at Saint-Germain-des-Prés (abbey)
• French royalty who died as children
• Sons of kings

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