Princesses of the Blood and Sisters in Masonry
of such august personages in following the ideals and lessons of masonry . The question continually arose whether freemasonry was not just a superficial pastime for these people , breaking up the monotonous routine of Court balls , card games and idle conversation . The most enlightening exercise in the face of these reservations about the women ’ s sincerity is a close look at the three princesses of the blood who chose to link their names prominently with an organization that was technically illegal in France .
The Duchess de Bourbon was born Louise-Marie-Thérèse Batilde d ’ Orléans July 9 , 1750 , at the Palace of St . Cloud , the daughter of Prince Louis-Philippe d ’ Orléans , Duke d ’ Orléans , and Louise-Henriette de Bourbon-Conti . Few families in the country were more illustrious . In 1770 she was married to her cousin , a young man with as illustrious a background as her own . Louis Henri Joseph de Bourbon was the son of the Prince de Condé , prince of the blood , Peer and Grand Master of France , Duke d ’ Enghien and de Guise , Count de Clermont in Argonne , Governor and Lieutenant General for the King in his Provinces of Bourgogne and Bresse . The two cousins renewed their childhood acquaintance at Court , where the Duchess spent more and more time as she completed her education . The duke was totally enraptured with his cousin , who was nearing age twenty . He was fourteen . No one seemed to object to this age difference . The parents on both sides gave their blessing ; King Louis XV registered no apprehension ; and Pope Clement XIV granted a dispensation from the prohibition against marrying close relatives . 6
Shortly after the marriage , the fairytale dissipated . The Baroness d ’ Oberkirch of Strasbourg , who knew the family well and took many long confidence-sharing walks with the duchess , related in her memoirs that “ the passion of the Duke de Bourbon was too fiery to last for a long time ; it died out like a sudden short blaze .” 7 The duke began to find other women with whom to share his time . Shortly after the marriage , his child was born to a performer at the Opera , and the duke not only had the child baptized with the Bourbon name but , by order of the King , chose as the godparents the illustrious Mlle de Condé and the Prince de Soubise . 8 Perhaps even more devastating to the duchess were his numerous affairs with Court women , two from her own personal entourage . The duchess was driven to a jealous misery , and the two were legally separated by 1780 . Her only child , the Duke d ’ Enghien , born in 1772 after a painful and dangerous labor , was taken from her to be educated elsewhere and she saw him only at infrequent intervals . Although this experience of motherhood was common among elites of the period , it could still be , and often was , a psychologically painful one . It was during this trying time of her life that the Duchess de Bourbon became a freemason .
In analyzing the attraction this secret organization held for the duchess , we must consider several aspects of her life and character . The first was her unhappy marriage , the misery , frustration and loneliness she felt in her palaces . She described her feelings to the Baroness d ’ Oberkirch on one of their long walks : “ I loved my husband ; sometimes it seems that I still love
6
Comte Ducos , La mere du duc d ’ Enghien ( 1750-1822 ) ( Paris : Nourrit , 1900 ), p . 75 .
7
Baronne d ’ Oberkirch , Mémoires sur la cour de Louis XVI et la société française , avant 1789 , 2 vols . ( Paris : Gratiot , 1853 ) 2:19 .
8
Ibid ., 2:23-24
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