In 1683, he assisted the Imperialists in Hungary, and while there, he wrote some letters in which he referred to King Louis XIV as le roi du théâtre; because of this, and because of an early engagement at the side of the Turks, in 1685, on his return to France, he was temporarily banished to Chantilly.
The bride was passionately in love with her husband, but his attentions focused elsewhere. It was well known at court that he was in love with his wife's sister-in-law, Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, wife of Louis III, Prince of Condé, who was the eldest legitimated daughter of King Louis XIV and his mistress, Madame de Montespan.[citation needed]Marie Anne de Bourbon, the daughter of Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, was thought to have been the fruit of this affair.[citation needed] It was also noted, however, that he had homosexual tendencies[2] and did not pay his wife much attention. He lived as a libertine, engaging in numerous love affairs with members of both sexes. His scandalous philandering and debaucheries caused tension and distance within the family, and earned him the nickname of le Grand Conti.[citation needed]
He failed to obtain military assistance from the Swiss, and by the King's command, yielded the disputed territory to Marie d'Orleans, although the courts of law had decided in his favour. In 1697, King Louis XIV offered him the Polish crown, and by means of bribes, the Abbé de Polignac secured his election.[3] On 27 June 1697, he was formally proclaimed as the King of Poland by Cardinal Radziejowski.
Conti started rather unwillingly for his new kingdom, probably, as the Duke of Saint-Simon remarks, owing to his affection for Louise-Françoise de Bourbon.[3] He departed on the Railleuse, under Captain Jean Bart, on 6 September 1697.[4]
When he reached Danzig, he found his rival Augustus II, Elector of Saxony, already in possession of the Polish crown. Conti returned to France, where he was graciously received by King Louis XIV, although Saint-Simon says the King was vexed to see him again. But the misfortunes of the French armies, during the earlier years of the War of the Spanish Succession, compelled the King to appoint Conti, whose military renown stood very high, to command the troops in Italy.[3]
On 4 February 1699, Conti purchased the Château d'Issy, a small French Baroque château on the outskirts of Paris, bought for the sum of 140,000 livres. The estate remained the property of the Princes of Conti until the Revolution of 1789, when it was confiscated as biens nationaux.
The Prince of Conti fell ill and died on 22 February 1709 at the Hôtel de Conti (quai Conti), his death calling forth exceptional signs of mourning from all classes.[3][1] He died from a combination of gout and syphilis. He was buried alongside his mother at his estate in L'Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise, near Paris.
^ Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 370. ISBN978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC165892922.