 |
Sophie DawesEnglish adventuress, mistress, heiress
Date of Birth: 29.09.0179
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
- Biography of Sophie Dawes
- Marriage to Baron Adrien Victor de Feuchères
- A Deal with the Duke of Orléans
- The Mysterious Death of the Prince of Condé
- Exile and Death
Biography of Sophie Dawes
An English Adventurer, Mistress, Heiress, and Possible MurdererSophie Dawes, an English adventurer, mistress, heiress, and possible murderer, was born into a family of a fisherman-smuggler. She worked as a maid in Portsmouth and later as a maid in a London brothel on Piccadilly. In 1811, she met a client of the brothel, the exiled French prince, Louis-Henri, Duke of Bourbon, the last in the line of princes of Condé. Bourbon rented a house in London for Sophie and her mother and, after the Restoration, brought her to Paris and took charge of her education. The talented young woman quickly learned French, Greek, Latin, and acquired refined manners.
Marriage to Baron Adrien Victor de Feuchères
In 1818, Louis-Henri (who became the Prince of Condé after his father's death the same year) arranged for Sophie to marry Baron Adrien Victor de Feuchères, a major in the Royal Guard. Feuchères believed she was the illegitimate daughter of the prince and saw the marriage as an honor for himself. Thus, Sophie became a titled French noblewoman and gained fame in society due to her beauty and wit. However, when the deception was revealed in 1822, Baron Feuchères immediately sent his wife away and complained to Louis XVIII. The king ordered Sophie to be barred from court and publicly labeled her a prostitute. The Feuchères were formally divorced in 1827.
A Deal with the Duke of Orléans
During the reign of Charles X, Sophie's status improved, and her niece and nephew entered into advantageous marriages. This improvement was the result of a deal offered to her by the Duke of Orléans, Louis-Philippe, and his wife. Taking advantage of Baroness Feuchères' influence over the elderly Prince of Condé, they asked her to ensure that he bequeathed a significant portion of the family estate to their fourth son, the young Duke d'Omal. (The only son of Condé, born to his dissolved marriage with Louis-Philippe's aunt, Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon, the Duke of Enghien, had been executed by Napoleon I in 1804, leading to the family's eventual decline). The will was signed in July 1829, and by January 1830, Sophie had returned to the court of Charles X, and her nephew was granted the title of Baron. "In the end, we accept all kinds of scoundrels in our midst..." remarked the king's daughter-in-law, Maria Theresa.
The Mysterious Death of the Prince of Condé
Shortly after the July Revolution of 1830, which brought Louis-Philippe to the throne, on August 27, the 74-year-old Prince of Condé was found dead, hanging from a double scarf tied to a window handle in one of his castles in Saint-Leu. The official investigation concluded it was suicide. The majority of the real estate went to Baroness Feuchères, and a huge capital (60 million gold francs) with interest went to the young son of the new king. However, suspicions arose due to the testimony of servants, suggesting that the prince was not hanged, but killed by his own mistress. The main heir, with legitimist beliefs, the House of Condé, well-known for their opposition to the liberal Louis-Philippe, found the will favoring the son of the "king-killer" suspicious. It was believed that Sophie, in collusion with Louis-Philippe and the queen, had murdered the prince due to his attempts to escape her guardianship and change the will (or even flee the country). A more scandalous rumor circulated about the accidental death of the old man resulting from autoerotic asphyxiation. The prince's relatives on the female line, the Princes of Rohan, contested the will in court but lost the case at all levels. Criticisms of the king were made during the trial. Accepting the inheritance greatly damaged the reputation of Louis-Philippe.
Exile and Death
The hatred towards Baroness Feuchères was so intense that she was forced to leave France and return to London, where she died in 1840 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
