Father le Grand Conde Religion Roman Catholicism | Name Henri Prince | |
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Born 29 July 1643Paris, France ( 1643-07-29 ) Spouse Princess Palatine Anne of Bavaria Issue Marie Therese, Princess of ContiLouis, Prince of CondeAnne Marie, Mademoiselle de CondeLouise Benedicte, Duchess of MaineMarie Anne, Duchess of Vendome Mother Claire-Clemence de Maille | ||
Henri Jules de Bourbon (Paris, 29 July 1643 – Paris, 1 April 1709) was prince de Condé, from 1686 to his death. At the end of his life he suffered from clinical lycanthropy and was considered insane.
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Biography
Henri Jules was born to Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and his wife in 1643. He was five years younger than King Louis XIV. He was the sole heir to the enormous Condé fortune and property. His mother, Princess Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé was a niece of Cardinal Richelieu. He was baptised at the Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris on his day of birth. For the first three years of his life, while his father was duc d'Enghien, he was known at court as the duc d'Albret.
Upon the death of his grandfather, he succeeded to his father's courtesy title of duc d'Enghien. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was born a prince du sang with the style of Monsieur le Duc.
Throughout much of his life, Henri Jules was mentally unstable. He was a short, ugly, debauched and brutal man not only "repulsive in appearance", but "cursed with so violent a temper that it was positively dangerous to contradict him".
Trained as a soldier, in 1673, he was nominally put in charge of the Rhine front. This was in name only, though, because Henri Jules lacked the military skills of his father. He was well educated but had a malicious character. A possible bride who was considered for him at this time was his distant cousin, Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans, daughter of Gaston d'Orléans. However, a marriage did not materialise.
He eventually married the Princess Palatine Anne Henriette in the chapel of the Palais du Louvre, in Paris, in December 1663. The bride was the daughter of Edward, Prince Palatine. Her mother was the famous political hostess, Anna Gonzaga. The couple had ten children. The young princess was noted for her pious, generous and charitable nature. Many at court praised her for her very supportive attitude towards her disagreeable husband. Despite her good qualities, though, Henri Jules, who was prone to great rages, would often beat his quiet wife.
In addition, Henri Jules had an illegitimate daughter by Françoise-Charlotte de Montalais. The child, Julie de Bourbon, was known variously as Julie de Bourbon, Julie de Gheneni (anagram of Enghien, aka de Guenani) or Mademoiselle de Châteaubriant. She was legitimised in 1693 when she was twenty-five. She died on 10 March 1710, at the age of forty-three.
He was succeeded by his only son, Louis III, Prince of Condé.