Descended from both Louis XIV of France and his younger brother, Philippe of France, "Duke of Orléans", Bathilde was born a "princesse du sang" and baptised with the names "Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde". She was the youngest child of Louis Philippe d'Orléans and Louise Henriette de Bourbon. Bathilde was born at the Château de Saint-Cloud on 9 July 1750. 