| Louis François II de Bourbon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince of Conti | |||||
 Portrait byAuguste de Châtillon afterLouis Petit, 1774 | |||||
| Prince of Conti | |||||
| Reign | 2 August 1776 – 13 March 1814 | ||||
| Predecessor | Louis François | ||||
| Successor | none, title extinct | ||||
| Born | (1734-09-01)1 September 1734 Hôtel de Conti,Paris,France | ||||
| Died | 13 March 1814(1814-03-13) (aged 79) Barcelona,Spain | ||||
| Burial | 2 April 1844 Royal Chapel,Dreux, France | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
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| House | Bourbon-Conti | ||||
| Father | Louis François, Prince of Conti | ||||
| Mother | Louise Diane d'Orléans | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Louis François Joseph de Bourbon orLouis François II, Prince of Conti (French pronunciation:[lwifʁɑ̃swaʒozɛfdəbuʁbɔ̃]; 1 September 1734 – 13 March 1814), was the lastPrince of Conti, scion of acadet branch of theHouse of Bourbon, whose senior branches ruled France until 1848.
Louis was the only child of his parents and lived a secluded childhood at his father's chateau, after the death of his mother in 1736. He later married his first cousin, with the union producing no children. During the French Revolution he stayed in France until 1797 when he was exiled to Spain where he died in 1814, less than a month before his family were restored to the throne of France; with his death the house of Bourbon-Conti became extinct.
Born at theHôtel de Conti (quai Conti) in Paris, on 1 September 1734, and baptised in the presence of the French king and queen, he succeeded his father,Louis François I de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, as head of the most junior branch of the House of Bourbon in 1776. His mother wasLouise Diane d'Orléans, youngest daughter ofPhilippe II, Duke of Orléans,Regent of France during the minority of KingLouis XV of France.
From birth, he was known as thecomte de La Marche. His mother died on 26 September 1736, giving birth to a later child who did not survive. After her death, his father retired from theRoyal court to theChâteau de L'Isle-Adam, pursuing his love of hunting, although he would later emerge to have a distinguished military career.
On 17 May 1750, Louis François was made a knight of theOrder of the Holy Spirit atVersailles. During theSeven Years' War (1756–1763), he took part as amaréchal de camp in theBattle of Hastenbeck in July 1757, and in theBattle of Krefeld in June 1758.
He married his first cousin,Maria Fortunata d'Este, (1731–1803), fourth daughter ofFrancesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena and his wife,Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans, who was his mother's older sister; as such, Louis François Joseph was the first cousin ofPhilippe Égalité, through his father.
The marriage contract was signed inMilan on 3 January 1759 by the French ambassador to the court ofTurin. A wedding by proxy took place in Milan on 7 February of the same year and was celebrated in person on 27 February at Nangis-en-Brie in France. Maria Fortunata's father settled upon her a dowry of one millionlivres. In addition, upon her arrival in France her husband was given 150,000livres byLouis XV. The youngcomtesse de La Marche was presented to the king and the rest of the royal family on 5 March 1759 by theLouise Élisabeth de Bourbon, Dowager Princess of Conti, Louis François' paternal grandmother. In 1770 they were one of twelve couples invited to dine with the newlyweds,Louis XVI andMarie Antoinette, in theOpéra of the Palace of Versailles, which had been constructed for the royal wedding.
The couple never had children. Louis François Joseph had two illegitimate children, born in 1761 and 1767, byMarie Anne Véronèse, known asMademoiselle Coraline, previously a dancer at an Italian theatre. Among his other lovers was, notably,Anne Victoire Dervieux.
After the death of his father, he and his wife became officially separated on 12 June 1777, anticipating the extinction of the House of Bourbon-Conti. She retired to theChâteau de Triel. After fleeing France during the revolution, she travelled incognito as thecomtesse de Triel, dying in Venice on 21 September 1803.
Pierre Beaumarchais noted in the preface to his 1778 play,The Marriage of Figaro (which satirized the aristocracy) that it was thelate prince de Conti who requested the play be written, and Louis François Joseph's antics may have been the model for the misadventures of "Count Almaviva".
He took the side ofMaupeou in the struggle between thechancellor and theparlements, and in 1788 declared that the integrity of the constitution must be maintained. Heemigrated following theFrench Revolution, but refused to take part in plans for the invasion of France. He returned to his native country in 1790.
Arrested by order of theNational Convention in 1793, he was acquitted, but was reduced to poverty by the confiscation of his possessions. He afterwards received a pension. In 1797, however, theDirectoire decided to exile the last of the Bourbons. He was banished to Spain along with his few remaining relatives who still lived in France and had not already been killed in the revolution, includingBathilde d'Orléans, Duchess of Bourbon. Relegated to a place nearBarcelona, he lived in poverty. Refusing to share in the plots of theRoyalists, he lived an isolated existence in Barcelona until his death in 1814, whereupon thePrinces of Conti became extinct.
He was first buried at theIglesia de San Miguel in Barcelona prior to theBourbon Restoration. During the reign ofLouis Philippe I, he was removed from Saint-Michel and placed in theChapelle royale de Dreux on 2 April 1844.
| Ancestors of Louis François Joseph, Prince of Conti[1] |
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Conti, Princes of".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Media related toLouis François Joseph, Prince of Conti at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by | Prince de Conti 1776–1814 | Extinct |
Generations are numbered by descent fromCharles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme | ||
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*died without issue | ||
