Louis César, Count of Vexin

French count; legitimized son of Louis XIV (1672–1683)

Louis César

Légitimé de France
Count of Vexin

Vexin, ca. 1675

Born| Louis César de Bourbon
(1672-06-20)20 June 1672
Château du Génitoy, France
Died| 10 January 1683(1683-01-10) (aged 10)
Paris, France
Burial|

Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, France

| Names

Louis César de Bourbon, Légitimé de France
Father| Louis XIV of France
Mother| Madame de Montespan

Louis César de Bourbon, Légitimé de France, Count of Vexin (Génitoy, 20 June 1672 – Paris, 10 January 1683) was a son of Louis XIV of France and his mistress Madame de Montespan. He was the Abbot of Saint-Denis and of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

## Birth

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Louis César, born at the château du Génitoy, was the second son born to Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. He was named after Julius Caesar,[1] as his older brother Louis Auguste de Bourbon had been named after Augustus and the later born Louis Alexandre de Bourbon was named after Alexander the Great.

Louis César was born at a time when the court was in mourning for Princess Marie-Thérèse of France, known as la petite Madame, who had died in March 1672.

## Upbringing

[edit]

Louis César would grow up with his older brother Louis-Auguste in the care of Madame Scarron in a house on the rue de Vaugirard in Paris. This house had been purchased by the king specifically for his illegitimate children. The next year, while his father was on a military tour at Tournai, he was joined by a sister, Louise Françoise de Bourbon, born in June; Louis César and his parents were present, as well as the Queen Marie Thérèse d'Autriche and Madame Scarron.

Scarron was greatly attached to Louis Auguste, far more than his siblings Louise Françoise and Louis César [citation needed]. On 19 December 1673, Louis XIV officially recognised his children with Montespan with Letters Patent from the Parlement de Paris. This made all these children Enfants Légitimés de France, Legitimate Children of France with the style of His Highness.[2]

With this legitimisation, Louis César received the title Count of Vexin, an ancient title dating from the 10th century. His brother became the duc du Maine[3] and his sister Mademoiselle de Nantes.

In the following two years, he was joined by two more siblings: Françoise Marie de Bourbon, born May 1677, and Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, born June 1678 at Clagny.

Around the time of Françoise Marie's birth, his mother was supposedly involved in the Affaire des Poisons which made her lose favour with the king. The king sought comfort with another mistress, Angélique de Fontanges. After that time, Louis César spent more time with his mother at her private residence, the Château de Clagny [citation needed].

## Health problems

[edit]

Vexin had a crooked spine since birth. This caused him to limp and was not helped by one of his shoulders being higher than the other. His father, who adored him, decided the child was to be destined for the church. His father bestowed the title of Abbot of Saint Denis on his son. The Royal Cathedral of Saint Denis, Cathédrale royale de Saint-Denis, was the traditional burial place of the kings of France since the 7th century and was one of the wealthiest churches in France.

Despite being the Abbot of Saint Denis, he was too young to carry out any duties and thus remained at the court of his father whilst under the care of Scarron. In 1674, another sister joined the family: Louise Marie Anne was born in November 1674 and was created Mademoiselle de Tours after her legitimisation in 1676.

The doctors at court tried to help with Louis-César's condition but failed using the awful treatments [example needed]. After such treatments, Louis César's general condition worsened after 1675. He was watched over by his mother and his maternal aunt, the marquise de Thianges. He would never be a strong child.

In 1678, it was thought that he may die; again he was "treated" but did not do anything other than keep him alive. His condition was so bad that he was bedridden for days at a time.

## Death

[edit]

Louis César died in Paris in 1683 at the age of 10, and was buried at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. His mother was distraught.

## Ancestry

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Ancestors of Louis César, Count of Vexin

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Henry IV of France

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| 4\. Louis XIII of France|

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| 9\. Marie de' Medici

| 2\. Louis XIV of France|

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| 10\. Philip III of Spain

| 5\. Anne of Austria|

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| 11\. Margaret of Austria

| 1\. Louis César, Count of Vexin|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Gaspard de Rochechouart, marquis de Mortemart

| 6\. Gabriel de Rochechouart, duc de Mortemart|

|  |  |
| 13\. Louise de Maure, comtesse de Maure

| 3\. Madame de Montespan|

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| 14\. Jean de Grandseigne, marquis de Marsillac

| 7\. Diane de Grandseigne|

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| 15\. Catherine de La Béraudière, dame de Villenon

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## References

[edit]

* Biography portal
* Europe portal

1. ^ Hilton, Lisa, Athénaïs:The Real Queen of France, p. 172
2. ^ ib. Spanheim, Ézéchiel, pp. 100–105, 323–327.
3. ^ even more ancient than Vexin, this title dated from the 6th century

* v
* t
* e

Enfants Légitimés de France

Children of Henri IV|

* César, Duke of Vendôme
* Catherine Henriette, Duchess of Elbeuf*
* Gaston Henri, Duke of Verneuil*

Children of Louis XIV|

* Marie Anne, Mademoiselle de Blois, Princess of Conti*
* Louis, Count of Vermandois*
* Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine*
* Louis César, Count of Vexin*
* Louise Françoise, Mademoiselle de Nantes, Duchess of Bourbon
* Louise Marie Anne, Mademoiselle de Tours*
* Françoise Marie, Mademoiselle de Blois, Duchess of Orléans
* Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse

^* died without surviving issue

* v
* t
* e

House of Bourbon

Henry IV of France

| Spouse(s)|

* Margaret of Valois
* Marie de' Medici

|

Children|

* Louis XIII
* Elisabeth, Queen of Spain
* Christine, Duchess of Savoy
* Nicolas Henri, Duke of Orléans
* Gaston, Duke of Orléans
* Henrietta Maria, Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland

Siblings|

* Henri, Duke of Beaumont (1551–1553)
* Louis, Count of Marle (1555–1557)
* Madeleine (1556)
* Catherine, Duchess of Lorraine

Illegitimate children|

* César, Duke of Vendôme
* Catherine Henriette, Duchess of Elbeuf
* Alexandre, Chevalier de Vendôme
* Henri, Duke of Verneuil
* Gabrielle Angelique, Duchess of La Valette and Epernon
* Antoine, Count of Moret
* Jeanne Baptiste, Abess of Fontevraud
* Marie Henriette, Abess of Chelles

Grandchildren|

* Anne Marie Louise, Duchess of Montpensier
* Marguerite Louise, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
* Élisabeth Marguerite, Duchess of Alençon and Angoulême
* Françoise Madeleine, Duchess of Savoy
* Princess Marie Anne
* Jean Gaston, Duke of Valois
* Louis XIV
* Philippe, Duke of Orléans

Louis XIII

| Spouse(s)|

* Infanta Ana Maria Mauricia of Spain 3

|

Children|

* Louis XIV
* Philippe, Duke of Orléans

Grandchildren|

* Louis, Dauphin of France
* Princess Anne Élisabeth
* Princess Marie Anne
* Princess Marie Therèse, Madame Royale
* Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou
* Louis François, Duke of Anjou
* Marie Louise, Queen of Spain
* Philippe Charles, Duke of Valois
* Anne Marie, Queen of Sardinia
* Philippe Charles, Duke of Orléans
* Élisabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Lorraine

Great
grandchildren|

* Louis, Duke of Burgundy
* King Felipe of Spain
* Charles, Duke of Berry
* Louis, Duke of Orléans

Louis XIV

| Spouse(s)|

* Infanta María Teresa of Spain 3
* Françoise d'Aubigné, Marchioness of Maintenon

|

Children|

* Louis, Dauphin of France
* Princess Anne Élisabeth
* Princess Marie Anne
* Princess Marie Therèse, Madame Royale
* Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou
* Louis François, Duke of Anjou

Illegitimate
children|

* Marie Anne, Princess of Conti
* Louis, Count of Vermandois
* Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine
* Louis César, Count of Vexin
* Louise Françoise, Duchess of Bourbon
* Louise Marie Anne, Mademoiselle de Tours
* Françoise Marie, Duchess of Orléans
* Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse
* Louise, Baroness of La Queue

Grandchildren|

* Louis, Duke of Burgundy
* King Felipe V of Spain p
* Charles, Duke of Berry
* Louis Auguste, Prince of Dombes
* Louis Charles, Count of Eu
* Louise Françoise, Mademoiselle du Maine
* Louis Jean Marie, Duke of Penthièvre

Great
grandchildren|

* Louis, Duke of Brittany
* Louis, Duke of Brittany
* Louis XV
* Louis I of Spain 1
* Felipe of Spain 1
* Felipe of Spain 1
* Ferdinand VI of Spain 1
* Charles III of Spain 1
* Francisco of Spain 1
* Mariana Víctoria, Queen of Portugal 1
* Philip, Duke of Parma 1
* Maria Teresa Rafaela, Dauphine of France 1
* Luis, Count of Chinchón 1
* Maria Antonietta, Queen of Sardinia 1
* Charles, Duke of Alençon
* Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Alençon
* Louis Alexandre, Prince of Lamballe

Louis XV

| Spouse(s)|

* Maria Carolina Sophia Felicity Leszczyńska

|

Children|

* Louise Élisabeth, Duchess of Parma
* Princess Henriette
* Princess Louise (1728–1733)
* Louis, Dauphin of France
* Philippe, Duke of Anjou
* Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Louvois
* Princess Victoire
* Sophie, Duchess of Louvois
* Princess Thérèse
* Princess Louise (1737–1787)

Grandchildren|

* Princess Marie Therèse, Madame Royale
* Princess Marie Zéphyrine
* Louis, Duke of Burgundy
* Xavier, Duke of Aquitaine
* Louis XVI
* Louis XVIII
* Charles X
* Clothilde, Queen of Sardinia
* Princess Élisabeth

Illegitimate children
included|

* Charles de Vintimille
* Agathe Louise de Saint-Antoine
* Philippe, Duke of Narbonne-Lara
* Louis, comte de Narbonne-Lara

Louis XVI

| Spouse(s)|

* Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria 2

|

Children|

* Marie-Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême
* Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France
* Louis XVII
* Princess Sophie Hélène

Louis XVII

| Note|

* Louis had no children; he died aged 10 in 1795. His uncle, the future Louis XVIII, proclaimed himself regent but both titles were disputed.

* See Bourbon Restoration in France.

|

Louis XVIII

| Spouse(s)|

* Princess Marie Joséphine of Savoy

|

Charles X of France

| Spouse(s)|

* Maria Theresa of Savoy

|

Children|

* Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême
* Sophie, Mademoiselle
* Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry
* Marie Thérèse, Mademoiselle d'Angoulême

Grandchildren|

* Princess Louise Élisabeth
* Prince Louis
* Louise Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Parma
* Henri, Count of Chambord

Notes
1 also an Infante or Infanta of Spain
2 also an Archduchess of Austria
3 both
p Philip was the first Bourbon king of Spain, the country's present ruling house.
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