Henriette Louise's father was a grandson of le Grand Condé, and her mother was the eldest surviving legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France and his mistress, Madame de Montespan.

Along with his mistress, Madame de Prie, the duke wanted to make his sister the queen in the hopes of being able to influence the young king.

[1] He described her as a beauty, and pointed out that her wish to become a nun was a testament of her virtue and pious nature; her age made it likely that she would be able to secure the succession by bearing children immediately, and her French nationally had the advantage that one did not have to trust a potentially less truthful foreign assurance about her looks and character.

[2] The Prime minister finally stated that her rank was sufficient, as she was as much as descendant of Louis XIV as was the Duke of Orléans, who stood in line to the throne.

[3] When the British princesses were ultimately removed from the list, Henriette-Louise was considered to be the final and natural choice, and she was given support of most members of the Royal Council.