Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, duchesse de Montpensier

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Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, (29 May 1627 – 5 April 1693) known as La Grande Mademoiselle, was the eldest daughter of Gaston d'Orléans, and his first wife Marie de Bourbon. One of the greatest heiresses in history, she died unmarried and childless, leaving her vast fortune to her cousin, Philippe of France.[1] After a string of proposals from various members of European ruling families, including Charles II of England,[2] Afonso VI of Portugal and Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy, she eventually fell in love with Antoine Nompar de Caumont and scandalised the court of France when she asked Louis XIV for permission to marry him, as such a union was viewed as a mésalliance. She is best remembered for her role in the Fronde, her role in bringing the famous composer Lully to the king's court,[3] and her Mémoires.

Biography

Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans[4] was born at the Palais du Louvre in Paris on 29 May 1627.[5] Her father was Gaston, Duke of Orléans, known as Monsieur, the only surviving brother of the then ruling King Louis XIII of France. Her mother, the 21-year-old Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier, the only member of the Montpensier branch of the House of Bourbon until the birth of her daughter, died five days after giving her birth, leaving the newly born Duchess of Montpensier heiress to her huge fortune, which included five duchies, the land of Auvergne and the sovereign Principality of Joinville, in the former province of Champagne.

As the eldest daughter of Monsieur, Anne Marie Louise was officially known as Mademoiselle from the time of her birth, and because she was the granddaughter of a King of France, Henry IV, her uncle Louis XIII created for her the new title of petite-fille de France ("Granddaughter of France"). She was baptised under the name of Anne Marie Louise in the Louvre Palace on 17 July 1636, at the age of nine.[6] Her godparents were her aunt, Anne of Austria and the Cardinal Richelieu.[6] During her life, la Grande Mademoiselle was godmother to nine children,[6] including Louis, Marquis of Brancas and Prince of Nisaro,[6] Louis (the third child of Adam Frans van der Meulen and his first wife),[6] Anne Marie d'Orléans[6] and Louis Alexandre, the first son of Alexandre Bontemps.[6] Until the birth in 1638 of her cousin, the future King Louis XIV, she was the most important child at the French royal court.

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Death and burial

Mademoiselle fell ill on 15 March 1693 with what appears to have been stoppage of the bladder. Lauzun asked to see her, but due to her pride, Mademoiselle refused to admit him. She died at the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris on Sunday, 5 April 1693.[34] As a "Granddaughter of France", the title she treasured so much, she was buried at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis outside Paris on 19 April, 1693. At her funeral, according to Saint-Simon, she was noted as being "the wealthiest single princess of Europe". Lying in state, the urn containing her entrails exploded mid-ceremony, which caused chaos as people fled to avoid the smell.[65] Eventually, the ceremony continued with the conclusion of it being "[...] another jest at the expense of Mademoiselle"