Laura Mancini (6 May 1636 – 8 February 1657) was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. She was the eldest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

as the ''

Mazarinettes The Mazarinettes were the seven nieces of Cardinal Jules Mazarin, (1639–1661), chief minister to the Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV of France from 1642 until his death. They were the daughters of the cardinal's two sisters, Laura Margheri ...

''. She married Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, grandson of King Henry IV and was the mother of the great general the

Duke of Vendôme Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

Biography

Laura was the eldest daughter of Baron Lorenzo Mancini, brother-in-law of Cardinal Mazarin through his wife Girolama Mazzarini. She received the name ''Vittoria'' honour of her paternal grandmother, Vittoria Capoccii. The eldest of ten children, through the influence of her uncle, the personal advisor of

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...

, Laura and her family were invited to France, leaving Rome in 1653 following the death of her father along with their cousins Laura and Anna Maria. The family resided in the Palais Royal in Paris, home of Queen Anne and her sons

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

and Philippe, Duke of Orléans. Laura's four sisters were: #

Olympe Olympe ( grc, Ολύμπη) ( sq, Olimpi) was an ancient city located in the territory of the Amantes, between northern Epirus and southern Illyria in classical antiquity. It is located in modern day Mavrovë, Vlorë County, Albania. History ...

(1638–1708) married Eugene Maurice, Count of Soissons, mother of the famous general

Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. He ...

. # Marie (1639–1715) first love of

, wife of Prince Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna. # Hortense (1646–1699) married

Armand Charles de La Porte de La Meilleraye Armand-Charles de La Porte, Duc de La Meilleraye (1632 – 9 November 1713), was a French general, who was Grand Master and Captain General of Artillery. Biography The son of Charles de La Porte (called "Marshal de La Meilleraye") and nephew ...

and mistress of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child o ...

. # Marie Anne (1649–1714) married Maurice Godefroy de la Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon, nephew of '' Turenne''. Coat of arms of Laura Mancini as Duchess of Mercœur

Coat of arms of Laura Mancini as Duchess of Mercœur

The Mancini also had three brothers: Paul (1636-1652), Philippe, Duke of Nevers (1641-1707), and

Alphonse Alphonse may refer to: * Alphonse (given name) * Alphonse (surname) * Alphonse Atoll, one of two atolls in the Seychelles' Alphonse Group See also *Alphons Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given n ...

(1644-1658). Originally engaged to Louis Charles de Nogaret de La Valette, Duke of Candale, son of the Duke of Épernon, the match did not take place and she was instead married to Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Mercœur. The young Louis was the son of the

, himself an illegitimate son of Henri IV of France and the famous ''

Gabrielle d'Estrées Gabrielle d'Estrées, Duchess of Beaufort and Verneuil, Marchioness of Monceaux (; 157310 April 1599) was a mistress, confidante and adviser of Henry IV of France. She persuaded Henry to renounce Protestantism in favour of Catholicism in 1593. L ...

''. Laura married Louis at the Palais Royal in the French capital on 4 February 1651 and was thus became Duchess of Mercœur. Having married a ''legitimised prince of the blood'', Laura was allowed the style of '' Serene Highness''. However, she had a lower rank than that of her cousin the

Princess of Conti The title of Princess of Conti was a French noble title, held by the wife of the Prince of Conti between 1582 and 1803 with an intermission between 1614 and 1654. Princesses of Conti First Creation Second Creation Notes {{Princesse ...

who had married a legitimate prince. The young duke was instantly enamoured with his wife and his affections were returned. Three sons followed in quick succession the eldest of which being a famous commander in the wars of the Grand Alliance and Spanish Succession. Laura died as a result of childbirth to Jules César, named after his grandfather and the Cardinal, in 1657. Born on 27 January, the Duchess died a fortnight later on 7 February. Buried in Paris, her husband retired from public life to become a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

, ensuring his children's upbringing to Laura's sister the Duchess of Bouillon.

Issue

Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, often simply called Vendôme (1 July 165411 June 1712) was a French general and Marshal of France. One of the great generals of his era, he was one of Louis XIV's most successful commanders in the War of ...

(1654–1712) married

Marie Anne de Bourbon Marie Anne de Bourbon, ''Légitimée de France','' born Marie Anne de La Blaume Le Blanc, by her marriage Princess of Conti then Princess Dowager of Conti, '' suo jure'' Duchess of La Vallière and of Vaujours (2 October 1666 – 3 May 1739) ...

and died childless. # Philippe, Duke of Vendôme (1655–1727) ''prieur de Vendôme'' died unmarried. #Jules César (1657–1660) died in infancy.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mancini, Laura 1636 births 1657 deaths Nobility from Rome Laura Italian socialites Italian emigrants to France Laura Duchesses of Vendôme Countesses of Dreux Deaths_in_childbirth 17th-century French nobility 17th-century Italian women 17th-century French women