The first son had died in 1705, and in 1712 the second son, the duke of Brittany, as well as his father and mother, was carried off by a mysterious disease. Whatever happened to the children of Marie Antoinette? Marie-Louise O'Murphy (also variously called Mademoiselle de Morphy, La Belle Morphise, Louise Morfi or Marie-Louise… [4], Marie had been given advice by her father to always loyally stand by the Duke of Bourbon, to whom she owed her marriage and position, and it was a favor to the Duke that Marie made her first attempt to interfere in politics. She was a great lover of music and painting and the promoter of many artists. [4] After Louis fell seriously ill, there was a great fear that he would die before he had time to have an heir to the throne. [3] During this period in her life, Marie began speaking Swedish, with a Scanian accent. Cardinal Fleury accepted the choice as Marie posed no threat to him because of her lack of connections, while the Duke of Bourbon and Madame de Prie, precisely because she lacked any personal power base, expected her to be indebted to them for her position. Today, and in the future, I will feature the lives of various mistresses to Europe’s monarchs. Louis XV was born in the Palace of Versailles on 15 February 1710 during the reign of his great-grandfather Louis XIV. Louis was involved in several wars, including the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48) and the Seven Years War (1756-63). She is told that her parents are anxious to see her again, and she must meet them at the Spanish border. During the serious illness of Louis XV in Metz in August 1744, when he was believed to be dying, Marie was given his permission to join him, and was cheered by the supporting public along her journey, but when she arrived, he no longer wished to see her. One of Louis XIV’s mistresses bore more of his children than his wife Marie-Thérèse gave birth to six of the king’s children, but only one, Louis, survived past the age of five. Marie was the benefactor of the painter Jean-Marc Nattier, whom she commissioned in 1748 to paint the last portrait she ever sat for, an unusual one as it was informal. The French Ambassador in Madrid is forthwith entrusted with the unenviable mission of breaking the news to her father, the King of Spain. After the difficult birth of Princess Louise in 1737, which nearly took her life, Marie was advised by the doctors that another pregnancy may end her life, and from 1738, she refused Louis entrance to her bedroom. As OverSimplified says, “He was an incredibly weak man, and he knew it, he barely had the … In case of a mishap, conflicting claims between the King of Spain and French princes of the royal would tear France and all of Europe apart. Louis XV was the third son of the Duke of Burgundy and his wife Marie Adélaïde of Savoy. She had an elder sister, Anna Leszczyńska, who died of pneumonia in 1717.[2]. She also charms the royal family and courtiers, including the aging Princesse Palatine, mother of the Regent. The other royal marriage, between the Regent’s daughter and the heir to the Spanish throne, has turned into both a private and very public disaster. Four years later, she was engaged again, to the Prince of Brazil, heir of the throne of Portugal. Thus Louis Augustus was the King of France, Louis XV and his wife Marie Leszczynski grandson. It is only when the Infanta crossed the Bidassoa River, which marked the border between Spain and France, and she was separated from the woman who had attended her since birth, that she lost her composure and began crying. ", and became enthusiastic of the match, an episode which attracted some attention. The lovers of Louis were often given positions in the court of Marie, in order for them to have a permanent access and official excuse to remain at court, which placed Marie in a difficult position. [5] These years, Marie unsuccessfully tried to find out who the mistress was and did display her displeasure over the state of affairs, but the adultery had the support of Cardinal Fleury, because de Mailly was not interested in politics, and after the first years of the king's adultery, Marie became resigned to it. He was the father of three kings of France, Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X. [4] This incident led to Cardinal Fleury categorizing queen Marie as his opponent, and his decision to oust the ministry of the Duke of Bourbon. Louis XV burst into tears at the announcement, and the attendants had to insist long and hard before he whispered the expected “yes.”. Her other favorite lady in waiting was her Dame d'atour, Françoise de Mazarin, who supported Marie during the affair between her cousin, Louise Julie de Mailly, and the king. Louis XV was a passionate student of science, especially botany, and did much From then on she is conspicuously absent from all important official occasions. Now in trade paperback. As for Marie-Anne-Victoire, she returned safely to Madrid, where she became again Infanta Mariana Victoria. Acceding to the throne in 1715, Louis XV came to be known as “le Bien-Aimé” (the Beloved). 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Cheerful as usual, she leaves Versailles with her wetnurse, apparently without suspecting the true reason for this unexpected journey. Louis XV of France and his wife Marie Leszczyńska had a successful marriage and Marie gave birth to ten children, of which eight were daughters. [4] After the war, her father was given the Duchy of Lorraine because he was the father-in-law of the king of France, and the Duchy became part of France after the death of her father who became Duke of Lorraine, thus making herself indirectly useful in the political arena. Louis XV was the third son of the Duke of Burgundy and his wife Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, the eldest daughter of Vi… It was not until seven years after marrying Louis XV's orphaned grandson, then the Dauphin, at Versailles in 1770 that Marie-Antoinette, 'a little girl paralysed by terror', lost her virginity. He felt nodesire to say goodbye, or farewell, to this most unwelcome fiancee. Another prince of the royal blood, the Duc de Bourbon, takes over, and he is no friend of Marie-Anne-Victoire. Marie was not described as a beauty; instead her characteristics in the marriage market were stated as those of being pleasant, well-educated, and graceful in manner and movement. [4] The marriage negotiations, however, were soon overshadowed when a marriage for King Louis XV was given priority. She must have been disappointed, when she discovered the truth about her journey to Spain, to abandon her girlish dream of becoming Queen of France, but I very much doubt that this carried over into her adult life. [4] In contrast to the other official mistresses, Marie had a moderately friendly and cordial relationship to Madame de Pompadour, who always treated the Queen with deference and respect, though Marie did (unsuccessfully) oppose Pompadour's appointment as a lady-in-waiting in 1756. [4] Though she had simple habits - her apartments at Versailles were not redecorated after 1737 - her favorite game, cavagnole, often placed her in debt, and the King was normally unwilling to pay these off for her. The relationship between Marie and Louis was initially described as a happy one, and for the first eight years of the marriage, Louis XV was faithful to her. [4] At this point, there were already negotiations of marriage between Marie and the Duke of Bourbon. Queen Marie never managed to develop political influence. Florence and George Blumenthal, New York, sold Ader, Galerie George Petit, Paris, 1-2 December 1932, lot 108. In 1720, she was suggested as a bride to Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, (who preferred being and was known as the Duke of Bourbon, rather than Prince of Condé) but her intended mother-in-law Louise Françoise de Bourbonrefused to give her consent. [4] However, when the list of 17 (including Barbara of Portugal, Princess Charlotte Amalie of Denmark, Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine and Enrichetta d'Este) was further reduced to four, the preferred choices presented numerous problems. King Louis XVI was the last king of France before the French Revolution. The nobility and the court looked upon the future queen as an upstart intruder, the ministers as a cause to diplomatic trouble with Spain and Russia, whose princesses had been refused in favor of Marie, and the general public was also reportedly initially dissatisfied with the fact that France would gain "from this marriage neither glory nor honor, riches nor alliances. This is the correct spelling of the surname in modern Polish; other spellings are also used in English and French. She was not the first choice on the list. His opinion and feelings are beginning to matter. The cavalry regiment provided by the Regent for the protection of t… [5] In August 1727, Marie gave birth to her first children, twins named Louise Élisabeth and Anne Henriette, at the Palace of Versailles. Today, and in the future, I will feature the lives of various mistresses to Europe’s monarchs. A few days later, the Regent sprung another surprise: the marriage of his own twelve-year old daughter, Louise-Elisabeth d’Orléans, to the heir to the Spanish throne, son of Philippe V. But that is another story, and the topic of another post. French Royal Louis XV of France was born Louis XV King of France and Navarre on 15th February, 1710 in Palace of Versailles, France and passed away on 10th May 1774 Palace of Versailles, France aged 64. [3] In Sweden, the family was welcomed by the queen dowager Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp and became popular members of society life on the estates of the nobility around Kristianstad. During the last days that Louis and Françoise spent together sheaves of paper, mainly letters exchanged between husband and wife were burned. The union, however, was marred by her husband’s infidelity and mental instability. [6], Queen Marie eventually did manage to win the respect of the court nobility by her strict adherence to court etiquette, which made her opinion at least formally important. Needless to say, Marie-Anne-Victoire, age three, could not read, but she nevertheless received the missive with perfect ease and poise. In his will, Louis XIII arranged for a regency council to rule on his young son’s behalf. She responds with gracious compliments, for she is already fluent in French. The War of Austrian Succession began in late 1740. The Duke of d'Argensson had already left a favorable report of her, and the groundwork had been done. [4] On 17 December 1725, the Duke of Bourbon, Madame de Prie, and Paris de Verney attempted to banish Cardinal de Fleury through a plot. As queen, Marie Leszczyńska performed her ceremonial role in strict accordance with formal court etiquette and regularly and punctually fulfilled all representational duties that the court life at Versailles demanded of her. A devout Roman Catholic throughout her life, Marie was popular among the French people for her generosity and introduced many Polish customs to the royal court at Versailles. She runs to the old lady and says, laughing: “I tell everyone that this doll is my child, but to you, Madam, I will admit that it is but a wax doll.”, But someone does not fall under the charm of the Infanta Queen: her “husband.” He remains sullen in her presence and tries his best to ignore her. When he was born, he was named the Duke of Anjou. [4] In 1714, Charles XII gave them permission to live in his fiefdom of Zweibrücken in the Holy Roman Empire, where they were supported by the income of Zweibrücken: they lived there until the death of Charles XII in 1718. 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