| Louis-Henri
I (1692-1740)
Duc de Bourbon. His parents: Louis III and mademoiselle de Nantes. His sister: Louise-Elisabeth. His brothers: Charles comte de Charolais et Louis comte de Clermont. He was first married to Mademoiselle de Conti but it was his second marriage with Caroline de Hesse that produced an heir: Louis-Joseph |
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| After the
death of Louis XIV on 1Sep 1715, Condé became duc de Bourbon and
was appointed head of the council of regency by Philippe d'Orléans,
regent for King Louis XV. Nevertheless, he neglected his administrative
duties and occupied himself with financial speculations and hunting. In
1719 he took as his mistress the ambitious Marquise de Prie.
After the death of Orléans in December 1723, Condé, as the eldest prince of the blood, was made prime minister, but he remained under the influence of his mistress. On her advice he appointed Paris-Duverney as his financial adviser, whose attempts to increase taxes as well the planned repressive police measures caused much discontent. His aim, however, was to prevent the crown from
passing to the Orléans branch of the royal family in the event of
the death of the king Louis X whose health was not very good. Since the
Spanish infanta Maria-Anna, with whom Louis XV was engaged since 1721,
was too young to produce a royal heir, Condé cancelled that engagement
and managed to get the King married to Maria Leszczynska, daughter of a
dethroned Polish king. This caused the hostility of Spain and led to an
alliance between Spain and Austria. Louis-Henri plotted to get the dismissal
of the King's tutor Fleury, but in June 1726 Louis XV dismissed Condé
and made Fleury his minister.
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