Louis César, Count of Vexin

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

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, 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

Marquise de Montespanand her children, Count of Vexin sits on the bottom left, by Pierre Mignard, ca. 1678.

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 . 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.

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 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 .

Health problems

Especially since the boy was in very poor health: Count Vexin was a very frail infant and his tutor, Françoise Scarron, doubted how long he would live. Indeed, Count of Vexin was born with a deformity: a severe scoliosis of the spine. As a result, one of his shoulders was higher than the other and he would have been hunchbacked. His brother, the Duke of Maine, was also born with a deformity. The king gave the child to the Church and asked Pope Innocent XI for a dispensation so that his legitimate son could have an abbey. However, the sovereign Pope was pleased to condemn Louis XIV's dissolute lifestyle. As a result, Louis César was appointed abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, then abbot of Saint-Denis in 1679. Because of his young age, these positions were purely honorary.

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' determination to straighten his back tormented the child more than anything else and undoubtedly contributed to his declining health. In 1675, Louis César was confined to bed, watched over by his mother. Queen Maria Theresa even came to inquire about Count Vexin. Once again, it was feared that he would die. He survived, however, but in 1678 Louis-César's condition suddenly deteriorated. From then on, he barely left his bed and could not bear the light of day.

Madame de Montespan watched over her son for several months, the prince's room in darkness. Louis-César died on January 10, 1683, after a life of suffering. Madame de Caylus noted that little Count Vexin “lived only to prove by his weakness that he was happy to die.” However, Louis César's death was not due to a congenital defect, but perhaps due to the many treatments he had to undergo. Some have even suggested that his death was due to a brain infection, meningitis, a disease that would have affected other children of Madame de Montespan, who had died at a young age.

Death

Louis César died on 10 January in Paris in 1683 at the age of 10 and was buried at the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés on 13 January. Louis XIV ordered the court to mourn for six months.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Louis César, Count of Vexin

8. Henry IV of France 4. Louis XIII of France 9. Marie de' Medici 2. Louis XIV of France 10. Philip III of Spain 5. Anne of Austria 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 14. Jean de Grandseigne, marquis de Marsillac 7. Diane de Grandseigne 15. Catherine de La Béraudière, dame de Villenon