Henriette Louise de Bourbon was a French Princess by birth and a member of the House of Bourbon.
Background
Henriette Louise was born at the Palace of Versailles the seventh child and fifth daughter of Louis III, Prince of Condé, and his wife, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon. Henriette Louise"s father was a grandson of le Grand Condé, and her mother was the eldest surviving legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Madame de Montespan. She grew up at Fontevraud Abbey.
Career
She was the abbess of Beaumont-lès-Tours Abbey. She was one of nine children. Henriette Louise was on a list of potential brides presented to King Louis XV. As a result, she was a princesse du Sang at court.
This rank allowed Henriette the style of Serene Highness.
From birth, she was known as Mademoiselle de Vermandois, Vermandois being a county that had long belonged to the House of Condé. On 14 January 1727, Henriette Louise took the veil at the Abbey of Beaumont-lès-Tours and became the abbess of the convent in 1733 at the age of thirty.
While abbess of Beaumont, she was known as, Her Serene Highness, Madame de Bourbon. Her mother died in 1743 at the Palais Bourbon.
The palace now houses the National Assembly of France.
As an abbess, Henriette Louise raised her great-niece, Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon (1757–1824). The young girl had lost her mother, Charlotte de Rohan, at the age of two. Louise Adélaïde later took the veil herself and became the abbess of Remiremont Abbey.
Titles and styles
15 January 1703 – 1733 Her Serene Highness Mademoiselle de Vermandois
1733 – 19 September 1772 Her Serene Highness Madame de Bourbon, Abbess of Beaumont-lès-Tours.
Membership
Henriette Louise was a member of the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the reigning House of Bourbon.