Prince du Sang

A Prince of the Blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du Sang played a major role in determining court precedence during the "Ancien Régime", from the reign of King Henry IV of France onward to the reign of his great-great-great-great-great grandson, Charles X. A "prince du sang" or a "princesse du sang" had to be a legitimate member of the reigning House of Bourbon. In some European monarchies, but especially in the kingdom of France, this appellation was a specific rank in its own right, of a more restricted use than other titles.

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The rank of "prince du sang" is restricted to legitimate agnatic descendants. Those who held this rank were usually styled by their main peerage, but sometimes other styles were used, indicating a more precise status than "prince du sang".

Monsieur le Prince

This was the style of the First Prince of the Blood (French: "premier prince du sang", which normally belonged to the most senior (by primogeniture) male member of the royal dynasty who was not a brother, son, or male-line grandson of a king of France or of a dauphin (these dynasts were members of the "royal family" {"famille du roi"} and enjoyed higher rank and styles than the "princes du sang"). It carried with it various privileges, including the right to a household paid out of state revenues. The rank was held for life: the birth of a new, more senior prince who qualified for the position did not deprive the current holder of his rank. The style of "Monsieur le prince" was held for over a century by the Princes of Condé. Right to use of the style passed to the House of Orléans in 1709.

"First Princes of the Blood, 1465-1830"

"House of Valois"

* 1. Louis II, duc d'Orléans 1465-1498;
* 2. François, comte d'Angoulême 1498-1515.

"House of Bourbon-La Marche"

* 3. Charles IV, duc d'Alençon 1515-1525;
* 4. Charles III, duc de Bourbon should had been the first prince but he was banned from position for treason 1525-1527;
* 5. Charles IV de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme 1527-1537;
* 6. Antoine de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, later King of Navarre 1537-1562.

"House of Bourbon"

* 7. Henri III, King of Navarre 1562-1589;

"House of Bourbon-Condé"

* 8. Henri II de Bourbon, prince de Condé 1589-1646;
* 9. Louis II de Bourbon, prince de Condé 1646-1686;
* 10. Henri III de Bourbon, prince de Condé 1686-1709.

"House of Orléans"

* 11. Philippe II, duc d'Orléans 1709-1723, was entitled to the style, but did not use it;
* 12. Louis, duc d'Orléans 1723-1752;
* 13. Louis Philippe I, duc d'Orléans 1752-1785;
* 14. Louis Philippe II, duc d'Orléans 1785-1793;
* 15. Louis Philippe III, duc d'Orléans 1814-1830, who later ruled as King Louis Philippe of the French.

Madame la Princesse

This style was held by the wife of "Monsieur le Prince". The duchesses that were entitled to use it were:

*Françoise-Marie de Bourbon - wife of Philippe II d'Orléans
*Augusta Marie Jeanne de Bade - wife of Louis d'Orléans
*Louise Henriette de Bourbon-Conti - daughter of "Madame la Princesse de Conti Dernière Douarière" and wife of Louis Philippe I d'Orléans
*Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon wife of Louis Philippe II d'Orléans.
**She was the last holder of the style before the outbreak of the French Revolution.

Monsieur le Duc

This style was used for the eldest son of the Prince of Condé. Originally, the eldest son was given the title of duc d'Enghien, but that changed in 1709 when the Condé lost the rank of "premier prince". After that, the eldest son was given the title of duc de Bourbon, and his eldest son (the eldest grandson of the Prince of Condé in the male line) was given the title of duc d'Enghien.

* 1. 1689-1709 : Henri I, duc d'Enghien (1643-1709);
* 2. 1709-1710 : Louis I, duc d'Enghien (1668-1710);
* 3. 1710-1740 : Louis II Henri, duc d'Enghien (1692-1740);
* 4. 1740-1818 : Louis III Joseph, duc d'Enghien (1736-1818);
* 5. 1818-1830 : Louis IV Henri, duc d'Enghien (1756-1830).

Madame la Duchesse

This style was used for the wife of "Monsieur le Duc". The most famous holder of this honorific was:

*Louise-Françoise de Bourbon - The illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV and his most famous mistress, Madame de Montespan, she was married in May 1685, to Louis III, Prince of Condé, then known by the courtesy title of duc de Bourbon. Since his style at court was "Monsieur le Duc" because he was the duc de Bourbon, she became known as "Madame la Duchesse".

Monsieur le Comte

This address was used by the head of the most junior branch of the House of Bourbon, the comte de Soissons. The comtes de Soissons, like the Princes of Conti, descended from the Princes of Condé. The line started in 1566 when the Soissons title was given to Charles de Bourbon-Condé, the second son of Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé, the first "Prince of Condé".

The first Prince had three sons:

* 1. Henri de Bourbon-Condé, second Prince of Condé;
* 2. Charles de Bourbon-Condé, first Count of Soissons and the founder of the "House of Bourbon-Soissons";
* 3. François de Bourbon-Condé, first Prince of Conti but the Conti title lapsed upon his death in 1614 without legitimate heirs. It was later revived in 1629 for Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti, the second son of Henry II, Prince of Condé.

The Soissons title was acquired by the first Prince of Condé in 1557 and was held by his descendents for two more generations:

* 1. Charles de Bourbon-Condé, 1st comte de Soissons
* 2. Louis de Bourbon-Condé, 2nd comte de Soissons

The 2nd comte de Soissons died without an heir, so the Soissons title passed to his younger sister, Marie de Bourbon-Condé, the wife of Thomas-François, Prince of Savoy-Carignan,, a member of the House of Savoy. She became known as "Madame la Comtesse de Soissons". On her death, the title passed first to her second son, Joseph-Emmanuel, Prince of Savoy-Carignan (1631-1656), and then to her third son, Eugène-François, Prince of Savoy-Carignan. He married Olympe Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin. She was known as "Madame la Comtesse de Soissons" [Nancy Mitford, "The Sun King", 1966, p.87] like her mother-in-law. On his death, the title went to his eldest son, Louis-Thomas, Prince of Savoy-Carignan, who was the older brother of the famous Austrian general, François-Eugène, Prince of Savoy-Carignan. The Soissons title became extinct upon the death of Eugène-Jean-François de Savoie-Carignan in 1734. The title reverted to the French Crown.

Madame la Comtesse

This style was used by the wife of "Monsieur le Comte". The best example of this is:

* 1. Olympe Mancini.

Other

Madame la Princesse Douarière

In order to tell the wives of the various Princes of Conti apart after their deaths, the widows were given the name of "Douarière" or dowager and a number corresponding to when they lost their husband. After being widowed their full style would be "Madame la Princesse de Conti 'number' Douarière". Between 1727 and 1732, there were three widowed Princesses de Conti. They were:

*Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666-1739), the illegitimate daugter of Louis XIV and Louise de La Vallière; she was the wife of Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti. She was known as "Madame la Princesse de Conti Première Douarière" as she was the first to be widowed in 1685. The title went to husband's younger brother, François Louis, Prince of Conti.
*Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé (1666-1732), the wife of François Louis, Prince of Conti; she was known as ""Madame la Princesse de Conti Seconde Douarière" after losing her husband in 1709.
*Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon-Condé (1693-1775), the wife of Louis Armand II de Bourbon, prince de Conti, the son and successor of François Louis, Prince of Conti. She was the daughter of "Monsieur le Duc" and "Madame la Duchesse". After her husband died in 1727, she was known as "Madame la Princesse de Conti Troisième/Dernière Douarière".

"Note: this style was not a traditional style by right but was simply a means the court used to distinguish between the three widows who held the title of Princesse de Conti at the same time."

References

ee also

* Dauphin
* Madame Royale
* Monsieur
* Madame
* Fils de France
* Petit-Fils de France
* First Prince of the Blood
* Prince of the Blood