People of the past were generally shorter than we are today; even so, some stood out due to their remarkably small figures. Four ladies at the court of Versailles were in just such a situation: the daughters of the Prince de Condé.
Marie Thérèse, Louise Bénédicte, Anne Marie and Marie Anne de Bourbon-Condé were princesses of the blood (princesses du sang) and unusually small - even as adults. Their height was quickly noticed which led some courtiers to refer to them as poupées du sang - dolls of the blood. This monicker has traditionally been traced back to the Duchesse de Bourbon. Others were less polite and called them simply "little black beetles" - a reference to their very dark eyes and hair.
Their diminutive height appears to have been hereditary. La Grande Mademoiselle was present at the marriage of their grandmother, Claire-Clémence de Maillé, and described her as very short. It had apparently been necessary to put her in elevated shoes (this was before the advent of high heels) for the occasion which caused her to trip in her dress. Also, their brother - Louis, Duc de Bourbon - was also quite short. He was 18 years old at the time of his marriage; nevertheless, both he and his bride were described as "marionettes" by the Marquis de Sourches.
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| Louise Bénédicte |
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| Marie Anne |
Naturally, such an obvious attribute as one's height was impossible to conceal - even with high-heeled shoes. Even their own father could not help but commenting on his children's remarkably short statures. According to the Duc de Saint-Simon, the Prince de Condé is said to have joked that if his family went on diminishing they would eventually disappear completely. Others could not help but add some vulgarity to the speculation and claimed that the princesses were so small because their mother had had "a dwarf" in her inner circle...
When the Duc du Maine became old enough, he wished to marry. Madame de Maintenon - who had been his governess - set about finding him an ideal wife. Initially, she was not keen on a marriage to one of the Condé-daughters. In a letter of 27 September 1691, the king's maitresse revealed her reasons for being apprehensive. As she wrote to the Abbess of Fontevrault, "... the daughter of Monsieur le Prince are mere dwarfs. Do you know of any others?"
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| Anne Marie who was passed over by the Duc du Maine |
Despite this, the Duc du Maine was eventually told to chose a wife from amongst the unwed daughters of the Prince de Condé. It is said that he chose Louise Bénédicte because she was slightly taller than her elder sister, Anne Marie. According to Madame, Louise Bénédicte was no taller than a child of 10 years. The rejection was hard on Anne Marie. Her health was not good and she soon declined rapidly; naturally, it was claimed that her death not long afterwards was caused by chagrin at the rejection.
It was even alleged that their height had prevented an otherwise advantageous match. The Italian Duke of Mantua had looked at both Anne Marie and Marie Anne as potential brides but as the duke was said to abhor very short women he was eventually abandoned the project. Of all the princesses the tallest also happened to be the eldest. Marie Thérèse, Princesse de Conti was still short but not quite as tiny as her younger sisters.
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| The tallest of the sisters, Marie Thérèse |
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