Father Louis de Bourbon Signature | Religion Roman Catholicism Name Elisabeth de | |
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Born September 5, 1705
Hotel de Conde, Paris, France ( 1705-09-05 ) Died 15 April 1765(1765-04-15) (aged 59)
Paris, France Burial Carmel du faubourg Saint-Jacques, Paris, France Mother Louise-Francoise de Bourbon | ||
Elisabeth Alexandrine de Bourbon (Elisabeth Therese Alexandrine; 5 September 1705 – 15 April 1765) was a French princess of the blood and a daughter of Monsieur le Duc. Her father was the grandson of the Grand Conde and her mother, Madame la Duchesse was the eldest surviving daughter of Louis XIV of France and his Maitresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan.
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Biography
Elisabeth Alexandrine was born in Paris in 1705, she was one of nine children and her parents' youngest daughter. Named in honour of her older sister Louise Elisabeth and her uncle Louis Alexandre de Bourbon (Count of Toulouse), she was known by her second name of Alexandrine.
From birth, she was known at court as Mademoiselle de Gex but would later take on the courtesy title of Mademoiselle de Sens. She was known as Mlle de Sens most of her life. As a princesse du sang, Alexandrine was addressed with the style of Her Serene Highness.
Like most of her sisters, she would never marry. She was considered as a possible bride for her older cousin, Louis d'Orleans, but her aunt, the proud Duchess of Orleans, wanted a more prestigious bride for her son. Elisabeth Alexandrine was never to play a very prominent political role. She was, however, a great friend of the king's mistress, the famous Madame de Pompadour, who had been introduced at court by Alexandrine's older sister and namesake, Louise Elisabeth.
Like her older sister, Louise Anne, she owned much land and many private residences outside of the capital. In 1734, she bought the Hotel de Noirmoutier on the rue de Grenelles in Paris. She also bought much land surrounding the hotel and considerably enlarged the property. In 1744, she bought the estates and lordships of Villegenis and Igny. She remodelled the chateau de Villegenis in 1755.. The cost of the remodelling was 430,000 livres. To raise that sum, she sold the estate and seigneurie of Vallery, the traditional burial place of the Conde family, to M. and Mme. de Launay, for 280,000 livres. Francois Desportes, painter of the king's hunts, supplied large canvases for the appartements.
By the time of her death, she had accumulated a large fortune from the old pensions originally assigned to her cousin, Mademoiselle du Maine (1707–1743), the daughter of Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine and his wife, the famous salon hostess Louise Benedicte de Bourbon. Elisabeth Alexandrine died in Paris. Her nephew, Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Conde, was her heir. She was buried at the Carmelite Convent of the Faubourg Saint-Jacques in Paris.