thumb|Portrait of Laura Mancini by Daniel DumonstierLaura Mancini, duchess of Mercoeur and Vendôme (1636 –
8 February 1657) was a niece of
Cardinal Mazarin. Her husband was
Louis II de Bourbon-Vendôme, grandson of
King Henry IV, by whom she became the mother of the great general
Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme.
She was born
Laura Vittoria Mancini and known as
Laure Victoire, or simply
Victoire, in France. She was named for her paternal grandmother, Vittoria Capoccii. After the death of their father, Baron
Michele Lorenzo Mancini, the sisters were brought from Italy to the France by their mother
Geronima Mazzarini. Her brother was
Cardinal Mazarin, who was the
chief minister for the young French king
Louis XIV. Geronima hoped that he could arrange good marriages for her daughters. The girls' beauty and success with Louis soon made them a center of attention.
Laura's four sisters were:
- Marie Anne Mancini (1649 - 1714) married Maurice Godefroy de la Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon, a nephew of the famous field marshal Turenne.
The Mancinis were not the only female family members that Cardinal Mazarin brought to the French court. The others were Olympia's first cousins, daughters of Mazarin's eldest sister. The elder,
Laura Martinozzi, married
Alfonso IV d'Este, duke of Modena and was the mother of
Mary of Modena, second wife of
James II of England. The younger,
Anne Marie Martinozzi, married
Armand, Prince de Conti. Altogether, the seven girls were referred to as the
Mazarinettes.
The Mancini also had three brothers:
Paul,
Philippe, and
Alphonse.
Laura married
Louis II de Bourbon-Vendôme; they had three children.
- Philippe (1655 - 1727), called le prieur de Vendôme
- Jules César (1657 - 1660)
She died of complications following the birth of her third child, at the age of 21. The child, Jules César, died three years later. Her husband never remarried; he entered the church and became cardinal. Her two surviving sons were raised by their aunt,
Marie Anne Mancini, who was only a few years older than her nephews.
Category:Italian socialitesCategory:French people of Italian descentCategory:1636 birthsCategory:1657 deathsde:Laura Mancinifr:Laure Manciniit:Laura Vittoria Mancinija:ラウラ・マンチーニpl:Laura Mancinipt:Laure Manciniru:Манчини, Лаура
