Background
François was born in Louisiana Ferté-sous-Jouarre, in the Île-de-France region. Brought up within a highly protestant family, his mother died in 1564 followed by his father in 1569.
François was born in Louisiana Ferté-sous-Jouarre, in the Île-de-France region. Brought up within a highly protestant family, his mother died in 1564 followed by his father in 1569.
He was given the title of Marquis of Conti and between 1581 and 1597 was elevated to the rank of a prince. The title of Prince of Conti was honorary and did not carry any territorial jurisdiction. His father remarried Françoise d"Orléans, Mademoiselle de Longueville in 1565 and had a further three children, Charles, Count of Soissons being the only child to survive infancy.
In 1589 after the murder of Henri III he was one of the two princes of the blood who signed the declaration recognising Henri IV as king, and continued to support him even though he himself was mentioned as a candidate for the throne upon the death of Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon in 1590.
Conti"s first wife was Jeanne de Coesme, heiress of Bonnétable. The couple were married at the Palais du Louvre on 17 December 1581, Jeanne died in 1601 having had no children.
The couple were married at the Château de Meudon. She was only three weeks old.
He had an illegitimate son, Nicolas de Conti (d 1648), abbot of Gramont.
His widow followed the fortunes of Maria de" Medici, from whom she received many marks of favour, and was secretly married to François de Bassompierre, who joined her in conspiring against Cardinal Richelieu. Upon the exposure of the plot the cardinal exiled her to her estate at Eu, near Amiens, where she died. The princess wrote Aventures de la cour de Perse, in which, under the veil of fictitious scenes and names, she tells the history of her own time.
Marie de Bourbon (8 March 1610 – 20 March 1610) died in infancy.