Enfants de Louis XIV
Legitimate and illegitimate children fathered, or rumoured to have been fathered, by Louis XIV.
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Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Duchesse d’Orléans
Françoise-Marie was the youngest illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. She was born 4 May 1677 at the château de Maintenon, but not given into care of Madame de Maintenon, because the Marquise was not happy the King and la Montespan were still sharing beds. She grew up in the care of the Mesdames de Monchevreuil,…
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Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, Duchesse de Bourbon et Princesse de Condé
Louise-Françoise was the fourth child born to Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Her birth, on 1 June in 1673, took place in slightly unusual surroundings. Madame de Montespan accompanied the King, along with the rest of the court, on a military tour through Flanders. Reaching Tournai, 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, Madame de Montespan was forced to halt…
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Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Comte de Toulouse
Born on 6 June in 1678, Louis-Alexandre was the youngest of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, and named after his papa and Alexander the Great. At the time of this last pregnancy, Madame de Montespan was already declining in favour, while her former friend the widow Scarron, who in the meanwhile entered the ranks of nobility as Marquise…
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Louise-Marie-Anne de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Tours
Louise-Marie, born at Saint-Germain on 18 November in 1674, was the third daughter and fifth child of Louis XIV and his mistress Madame de Montespan. Like her siblings, the little girl was given into care of the widow Scarron, who dotingly cared for her, and legitimised by her father in 1676. Louise-Marie thus became known at court under the…
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Louis César de Bourbon, Comte de Vexin
Born on 20 June in 1672, at the château du Génitoy, Louis-César, named after no-one less than Julius Caesar, was the second born son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Just like with his older brother, Louis-Auguste, the birth of Louis-César was kept as secret as possible in order to avoid Monsieur de Montespan claiming the child as…
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Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duc du Maine
Louis XIV’s favourite son was not his heir, the Dauphin, but one born in secrecy. It was the first son he had with his probably most famous mistress Madame de Montespan. Fearing the wrath of a horned hubby, la Montespan’s pregnancy was kept as secret as possible. It was the result of double-adultery and since there was the possibility…
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Philippe-Charles de France & Louis-François de France
After the births of Louis le Grand Dauphin, Anne-Élisabeth, Marie-Anne and Marie-Thérèse, Louis XIV and his wife Marie-Thérèse were blessed with two sons. Unfortunately, just like their sisters, both did not survive infancy. Philippe-Charles, born on August 5 in 1668 at Saint-Germain, received the title Duc d’Anjou upon his birth. Said title was until this point carried by his…
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Anne-Élisabeth de France & Marie-Anne de France
After the Dauphin was born in 1661, Louis XIV and his wife Marie-Thérèse became the parents of two daughters. Both of them died in infancy. Anne-Élisabeth de France, named after her grandmothers Anne d’Autriche and Élisabeth de France, was born at the Louvre on November 18 in 1662. A bit over a month later, on December 30, the little…
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Marie-Anne de Bourbon, Princesse de Conti
Born on 2 October 1666 to Louis XIV and his mistress Louise de La Vallière, Marie-Anne was immediately taken out of the arms of her mother and trusted into those of Marie Charron, the wife of Finance Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Like her birth, this transition happened in total secrecy. Marie-Anne was the fourth child of the couple, but all…
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Marie-Thérèse de France, Madame Royale
The fourth child and third daughter of Louis XIV and his wife Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche died two months after her fifth birthday. Born at the château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, like her father, on 2 January in 1667, as a fille de France -daughter of France- Marie-Thérèse carried the last-name of de France. As the oldest daughter of the King, she also…
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Louis de France, le Grand Dauphin
Heir of a King, but never King himself, yet father of a King. Louis de France, born on 1 November in 1661, was the first-born son of Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche and the only of their children to reach adulthood. To celebrate the birth of his heir, the Sun King hosted a lavish party called the Le Grand Carrousel. He…
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Dame Louise de Maisonblanche
Louise-Marie-Antoinette-Josèphe-Jeanne de Bourbon-Maisonblanche was born on June 17 in 1676 as daughter of Philippe de Maisonblanche, Captain of the Guards/Cavalry, and his wife Gabrielle de La Tour. This was the official version at least. The girl, her name being shortened to Louise de Maisonblanche, was actually the daughter of Claude de Vin des Œillets, a lady-in-waiting and companion of Madame…
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Louis de Bourbon, Comte de Vermandois
Louis de Bourbon was born at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 2 October 1667 as youngest of five illegitimate children of Louis XIV and Louise de La Vallière. His three older brothers already died before his birth, Charles de La Baume Le Blanc in 1665, and Louis and Philippe de La Baume Le Blanc in 1666. Louis, named after his…
