by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Ferdinand-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, Prince Royal, Prince of Orléans; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Ferdinand Philippe of Orléans was born on September 3, 1810, at the Royal Palace in Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily, his mother’s birthplace, now in Italy.  Created Duke of Chartres at birth, he was the eldest of the ten children of Louis Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Orléans (the future Louis Philippe I, King of the French) and Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily, daughter of Ferdinando I, King of the Two Sicilies and Maria Carolina of Austria. Louis Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Orléans was a descendant of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the only sibling of King Louis XIV of France, who was the founder of the House of Orléans.

Ferdinand had nine siblings:

• Louise-Marie of Orléans (1812 – 1850), married Leopold I, King of the Belgians, had four children including Leopold II, King of the Belgians
• Marie of Orléans (1813 – 1839), married Alexander of Württemberg, had one son, Marie died from tuberculosis
• Louis of Orléans, Duke of Nemours (1814 – 1896), married Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had four children
• Françoise of Orléans (1816 – 1818), died in early childhood
• Clémentine of Orléans (1817 – 1907), married August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had five children
• François of Orléans, Prince of Joinville (1818 – 1900), married Francisca of Brazil, had two children
• Charles of Orléans, Duke of Penthièvre (1820 – 1828), died in childhood
• Henri of Orléans, Duke of Aumale (1822 – 1897), married Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had four children
• Antoine, Duke of Montpensier (1824 – 1890), married Luisa Fernanda of Spain, had ten children

Shortly after the onset of the French Revolution, Ferdinand’s father Louis Philippe fled the country to avoid likely execution, which would be the fate of his father and other members of the French royal family, including King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. He traveled extensively around Europe and spent several years in the United States. At the time of Ferdinand’s birth, Louis Philippe was still in exile, living in his wife’s native country.

Ferdinand and his mother; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1814, Napoleon I was overthrown, and the Bourbons were restored to the French throne. Louis Philippe and his family returned to France and were welcomed to the French court during the reign of King Louis XVIII, a brother of King Louis XVI. In France, Ferdinand’s education was entrusted to a tutor, M. de Boismilon. By age five, Ferdinand’s intellectual capabilities were quite advanced. He could speak and write in French and German, and started to study Latin, mathematics, and history. Ferdinand was enrolled at the College Henri-IV in Paris so that he would receive an education on par with other French boys. There he developed a lifelong friendship with Alfred de Musset who would become a great French dramatist, poet, and novelist. After a trip to England and Scotland, Ferdinand joined the 1st Hussars Regiment and went on to have a career in the military.

King Louis XVIII died in 1824, and was succeeded by his brother King Charles X. Louis Philippe’s relationship with Charles was closer than it had been with Louis XVIII but his liberal views were quite in contrast to the staunchly conservative Charles, and he was often viewed as a threat to the stability of the King’s reign. Ferdinand had been born “His Serene Highness” and in September 1824, King Charles X granted him the style “His Royal Highness”.

King Louis Philippe, Queen Marie Amelie, with their sons and daughters; Credit – Wikipedia

Finally, King Charles X’s ultra-royalist sympathies alienated many members of the working and middle classes. This led to the July Revolution of 1830. On August 2, 1830, King Charles X was forced to abdicate the French throne. He named his grandson Henri, Duke of Bordeaux as his successor. However, this did not sit well with Ferdinand’s father Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, the Orléanist claimant to the French throne or the Chamber of Deputies who proclaimed Louis Philippe as the new monarch of France. Louis Philippe decided to style himself as King of the French, attributing his role as King of the French people instead of a territorial area. Ferdinand became the heir apparent to the French throne and received the title Prince Royal and the titles of Duke of Orléans and Prince of Orléans.

Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Ferdinand’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1837, Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, daughter of Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Karoline Luise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, was chosen as a bride for Ferdinand. Helene was Protestant but she had some well-connected relatives that King Louis Philippe wanted to ally with, so her religion was overlooked. The main alliance would be with Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, Helene’s first cousin once removed. She was also a cousin to Leopold I, King of the Belgians, and his sister The Duchess of Kent, mother of Queen Victoria. Other cousins included Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, wife of the future Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, and Wilhelm I, King of Württemberg. Helene’s family was against the marriage but she accepted the marriage proposal because she wanted to become a queen.

On May 30, 1837, Helene and Ferdinand were married at the Château de Fontainebleau. Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen, Archbishop of Paris forbade the marriage from taking place at the Notre Dame de Paris because of the couple’s religious differences. Ferdinand and Helene’s marriage was a happy one but Ferdinand’s mother opposed Helene as a Protestant and a liberal. Helene became popular with the publicwith her introduction of the German Christmas tree in France.

Ferdinand and Helene had two children:

• Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris, Prince Royal  (1838–1894), married his paternal first cousin Marie Isabelle of Orléans, Infanta of Spain, had eight children
• Robert of Orléans, Duke of Chartres (1840–1910), married his first paternal cousin Françoise of Orléans, had five children

Ferdinand with his Helene and their two sons; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinand was an enlightened patron of literature, music, and the fine arts. In his apartments at the Tuileries Palace, he collected objects from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, ceramics, furniture, and contemporary paintings. He was also a talented draftsman and engraver.

In July 1842, Ferdinand was scheduled to leave on a trip to review French troops. Before he left, he planned to travel from the Tuileries Palace in Paris to nearby Neuilly-sur-Seine where his wife and two sons were staying. On July 13, 1842, he left Paris in an open carriage. During the short trip, the horses became out of control and Ferdinand either jumped or was projected out of the carriage, resulting in a skull fracture. Despite the best care of the doctors, 31-year-old Ferdinand died a few hours later, surrounded by family members who had rushed to the scene.

Lithograph of the death of Ferdinand; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite the wishes of the government ministers that Ferdinand be buried at the Basilica of St. Denis, the traditional burial site of the Kings of France and the French royal family, Ferdinand’s parents opted to bury him at the Royal Chapel of Dreux in Dreux, France, the traditional burial place of members of the House of Orléans.

Ferdinand’s lifelong friend, the dramatist, poet, and novelist Alfred de Musset, wrote a poem about Ferdinand’s death Le Treize Juillet (The Thirteenth of July). Read the entire poem here.

The first stanza reads:

As much as grief grows old so far ’tis true.
But yesterday the prince was swept from sight;
He hardly sleeps the sleep of endless night;
The angel-wings that bore him through the air,
Close not; of him to speak too soon we dare.

In 1848, Ferdinand’s father Louis Philippe, King of the French lost his throne in the French Revolution of 1848. Afraid that he may be imprisoned and executed, he quickly left Paris with his family, including Helene and her two sons, and they went into exile in England. Helene survived her husband by sixteen years, dying from influenza on May 17, 1858, in Richmond-upon-Thames, London, England at the age of 44. Because Helene was Protestant, she could not be buried in the Catholic Royal Chapel of Dreux. To solve that problem, a room with a separate entrance was built in the chapel with a window-like opening between her tomb and her husband’s. Helene’s effigy on top of her tomb shows her looking and reaching towards the opening to the tomb of her beloved Ferdinand.

Tombs of Ferdinand, Duke of Orléans and his wife Helene; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess_Helene_of_Mecklenburg-Schwerin [Accessed 5 Nov. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Philippe,_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans [Accessed 5 Nov. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Ferdinand-Philippe d’Orléans. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand-Philippe_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans [Accessed 5 Nov. 2018].
• Mehl, S. (2016). Louis Philippe I, King of the French. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/louis-philippe-i-king-of-the-french/ [Accessed 5 Nov. 2018].

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, Dauphin of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis-Antoine was the last Dauphin of France and was technically King of France for less than twenty minutes on August 2, 1830, after his father abdicated and before he also abdicated. After his father’s death, he was the Legitimist pretender to the French throne, and is sometimes known as King Louis XIX. He married his first cousin Marie-Thérèse of France, the only surviving child of the executed Louis XVI, King of France and Marie Antoinette.

Born on August 6, 1775, at the Palace of Versailles in France, Louis-Antoine was the eldest son and the eldest of the four children of Charles-Philippe of France, Count of Artois (the future Charles X, King of France) and Marie Thérèse of Savoy, daughter of Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. Louis-Antoine was born during the reign of his paternal uncle Louis XVI, King of France who created his nephew Duke of Angoulême at birth.

Louis-Antoine had three younger siblings:

• Sophie (1776 – 1783), died in childhood
• Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (1778 – 1820), married Maria Theresa of Savoy, had four children; Charles Ferdinand was assassinated while attending the Paris Opera
• Marie Thérèse (born and died 1783), died in infancy

Louis-Antoine, on the left, with his mother and  siblings Sophie and Charles Ferdinand; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis Antoine and his younger brother Charles Ferdinand were educated by their governor Armand-Louis de Sérent, Marquis de Sérent in a household set up at the Château de Beauregard, a few miles from the Palace of Versailles, until the French Revolution began in 1789. After the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, Louis XVI insisted that his youngest brother Charles-Philippe and his family leave France to be sure that one close relative would be free to act as a spokesman for the monarchy.

On July 17, 1789, Charles-Philippe, his wife Maria Theresa, and their two sons left France for the safety of Maria Theresa’s home country, Savoy. Two years later, Charles Philippe’s elder brother Louis-Stanislas (the future King Louis XVIII) also fled France. Their eldest brother King Louis XVI unsuccessfully attempted to leave France with his family in 1791. After that, the fate of Louis XVI and his family was sealed. Louis XVI, his wife Marie Antoinette, and his sister Élisabeth were all eventually executed by the guillotine and Louis XVI’s ten-year-old son Louis-Charles, who had become the titular King Louis XVII upon his father’s execution, died in prison from tuberculosis. Only Louis XVI’s daughter Marie-Thérèse, Louis-Antoine’s future wife, survived.

Louis-Antoine first lived in exile with his family in Savoy, then in Germany, and finally in England. During their time in exile, Louis-Antoine’s father Charles-Philippe traveled to the various courts of Europe to seek defenders for the French royal cause. In 1792, Louis Antoine joined the Army of Condé, the émigré army of his cousin Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé.

After the death of Louis-Charles, Louis XVI’s ten-year-old son, in 1795, Louis-Antoine’s uncle Louis-Stanislas, as Louis XVI’s elder surviving brother, became the titular King of France as Louis XVIII. Later in 1795, the 20-year-old Louis-Antoine led an unsuccessful royalist uprising in the Vendée, France.  In 1797, he joined his brother and uncle in the Duchy of Brunswick, where they hoped to join the Austrian Army. However, the defeat of Austria by France forced them to flee. The family took refuge in Mittau, Courland (now in Latvia) under the protection of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia where Louis-Stanislas was given a very large pension and the use of Jelgava Palace. At Jelgava Palace, Louis-Stanislas attempted to recreate the pomp and ceremony of the court of Versailles.

Marie-Thérèse of France, Louis-Antoine’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1795, Marie-Thérèse of France, the only surviving child of Louis XVI, had been exchanged for prominent French prisoners and released from her imprisonment. She was taken to Vienna, her mother’s birthplace, where her first cousin Franz II reigned as Holy Roman Emperor. In May 1799, Marie-Thérèse left Vienna to join her paternal uncle Louis-Stanislas in exile at Jelgava Palace.

With no children of his own, Louis-Stanislas wished his niece Marie-Thérèse to marry her first cousin Louis-Antoine for dynastic reasons. He convinced Marie-Thérèse to agree to the marriage by telling her the marriage would be what her parents wanted. The wedding took place on June 10, 1799, at Jelgava Palace. The couple had no children and the marriage was not a happy one. In April 1814, following Napoleon I’s overthrow, the French Senate restored the Bourbons to the French throne and Louis-Stanislas officially became King Louis XVIII. The family, including Louis-Antoine and his wife Marie-Thérèse, returned to France.

The French Royal Family in 1823 – left to right: Marie-Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême; Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême; Prince Henri de Bourbon; Charles-Philippe, Count of Artois; King Louis XVIII of France; Princess Louise-Marie-Thérèse d’Artois; Marie-Caroline, Duchess of Berry

When King Louis XVIII died on September 16, 1824, he was succeeded by his younger brother Charles-Philippe as King Charles X. As the eldest son of the King, Louis-Antoine was now heir to the throne and became Dauphin of France while his wife Marie-Thérèse became Dauphine. Within a few years, the anti-monarchist feeling was on the rise again. Charles X’s ultra-royalist sympathies alienated many members of the working and middle classes. This led to the July Revolution of 1830. On August 2, 1830, King Charles X was forced to abdicate the French throne. Louis-Antoine was technically been King of France for less than 20 minutes before he abdicated and is sometimes known as King Louis XIX. Charles X named his grandson Henri, Duke of Bordeaux, son of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, as his successor. However, this did not sit well with Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, the Orléanist claimant to the French throne. He took the throne on August 9, 1830, taking the title King of the French.

Once again, the former King Charles X, his son Louis-Antoine, and his niece and daughter-in-law Marie-Thérèse lived in exile. First, they lived in Edinburgh, Scotland where Louis-Antoine and Marie-Thérèse took up residence at 22 Regent Terrace near Holyrood Palace where the former Charles X lived. In 1832, the family moved to Prague Castle at the invitation of Marie-Thérèse’s cousin, now Franz I, Emperor of Austria as there was no more Holy Roman Empire. After Emperor Franz’s death in 1835, the exiles moved to the estate of Count Johann Baptist Coronini near Gorizia, which was in Austria but now in Italy.

The former King Charles X of France died from cholera on November 6, 1836, in Gorizia at the age of 79. Eight years later, Louis-Antoine, his son, died on June 3, 1844, aged 68, also in Gorizia. They were both buried at the Kostanjevica Monastery. The monastery had originally been in Gorizia but in 1947, the border between Italy and Yugoslavia was set just a few hundred meters westward from the monastery, and the monastery became part of the newly established town of Nova Gorica, then in Yugoslavia, now in Slovenia. Marie-Thérèse survived her husband by seven years, dying on October 19, 1851, at the Schloss Frohsdorf just outside Vienna, Austria, at the age of 72. She was also buried at the Kostanjevica Monastery.

Tombs of Louis-Antoine, Charles X and Marie-Thérèse; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Antoine,_Duke_of_Angoul%C3%AAme [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marie Thérèse of France. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_of_France [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis de France (1775-1844). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_France_(1775-1844) [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marie-Thérèse de France (1778-1851). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_de_France_(1778-1851) [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].
• Mehl, S. (2016). King Charles X of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-x-of-france/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• Mehl, S. (2016). King Louis XVIII of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-louis-xviii-of-france/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• Nagel, S. (2008). Marie Thérèse: The Fate of Marie Antoinette’s Daughter. New York: Bloomsbury.

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Napoléon II, Emperor of the French; Credit – Wikipedia

Emperor of the French for only sixteen days in 1815, Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte was born at the Tuileries Palace in Paris on March 20, 1811. At birth, Napoléon II received the titles Prince Imperial and also King of Rome which his father declared was the courtesy title of the heir apparent. He was the only child of Napoléon I, Emperor of the French and his second wife Marie Louise of Austria, eldest child of Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor (later Emperor Franz I of Austria), and his first wife Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily. Napoléon I had divorced his childless first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais in 1809 telling her he needed to find another wife who could provide him a son. Regarding Marie Louise, Napoléon I said that he had married a womb. His true love had been his first wife and his last words were, “France, army, head of the army, Joséphine.”

Napoleon II with his mother in 1813; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise Charlotte Françoise de Montesquiou served as Napoléon II’s governess only until 1814 because in that year, the world of Napoléon I started to fall apart. Napoléon I and his son had very little time together. The last time Napoléon I saw his son and his wife Marie Louise was on January 24, 1814, when he kissed them goodbye before going off to war. In the early part of the 19th century, Napoléon I’s quest for power led to the Napoléonic Wars that were fought throughout a large part of Europe. In 1814, Paris was captured by the coalition fighting against Napoléon and his marshals decided to mutiny. He had no choice but to abdicate. The Treaty of Fontainebleau exiled Napoléon to the Mediterranean island of Elba, off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Marie Louise was dissuaded from joining her husband in exile and returned to Vienna, her birthplace, taking up residence with her son at Schönbrunn Palace with her father Franz I, Emperor of Austria. From 1814 until his death, Napoléon II lived in Austria and was known as Franz, the German version of his second name François.

Napoleon II with his Austrian family in 1826 – left to right: Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, Empress of Austria; Franz I, Emperor of Austria; Napoleon II of France, Duke of Reichstadt; Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria; Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma; the future Ferdinand I of Austria; and Archduke Franz Karl of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

In February 1815, Napoléon I escaped from his imprisonment on the island of Elba and returned to France but his reign was over when he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. He abdicated on June 22, 1815, in favor of his four-year-old son who was in Austria with his mother. Napoléon I was then exiled to the island of Saint Helena, a British possession, in the Atlantic Ocean, 1162 miles/1,870 km from the west coast of Africa. His health declined due to the harsh conditions and by 1821, his health was all but failing. He died on May 5, 1821, at the age of 51, and was buried on the island of St. Helena.

Napoleon II, circa 1818-1819; Credit – Wikipedia

Napoléon II “reigned” until July 8, 1815, when King Louis XVIII of France, the elder of the two surviving brothers of the beheaded King Louis XVI of France, returned to France to resume the throne he had vacated earlier that year due to Napoléon I’s return. Because of the brief but questionable reign of Napoléon II, Louis Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Napoleon III, Emperor of the French using the regnal number “the third” in 1852.

Napoléon II continued to live in Austria where he was granted the title Duke of Reichstadt. He began his military training and studied German, Italian, and mathematics. His official army career began at age twelve when he was made a cadet in the Austrian Army. His tutors described Napoléon II as intelligent, serious, and focused. Napoléon II wanted a military career but the European leaders were concerned that like father, like son, he eventually might try to gain power in France. He was not allowed to play any political role and even his grandfather Emperor Franz I refused to allow him to be part of the Austrian army traveling to Italy to put down a rebellion. In 1831, Napoléon II was given command of an Austrian battalion but he never served in any meaningful capacity.

Engraving of Napoleon II on his deathbed; Credit – Wikipedia

Napoléon II had been dealing with lung problems from a very early age and eventually developed tuberculosis. He died on July 22, 1832, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria at the age of twenty-one. He was buried in the Habsburg tradition of his mother’s family. His body was interred in Kaisergruft  (Imperial Crypt) under the Capuchin Church in Vienna, his heart was placed in the Herzgruft (Heart Vault) of the Habsburgs in the Augustinian Church near the Hofburg Palace in central Vienna and his entrails were placed in the Ducal Crypt in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. Forty-one members of the Habsburg family attended Napoléon II’s funeral ceremonies.

In 1940, on the orders of Adolf Hitler, Napoléon II’s sarcophagus was removed from the Imperial Crypt in Vienna and transferred by train to Paris, France. The heart and intestines of Napoléon II remained in Vienna. This transfer was done in memory of the transfer of Napoléon I’s remains from the island of St. Helena to Paris in 1840 by Louis Philippe I, King of the French. Originally, Napoléon II’s sarcophagus was placed beside his father’s tomb in Les Invalides in Paris, France. In 1969, Napoléon II’s sarcophagus was interred in the lower church at Les Invalides.

The sarcophagus of Napoléon II when it arrived in Paris in December 1940; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Napoleon II’s burial place in the lower chapel of Les Invalides; Credit – © Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Napoleon II. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_II [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].
• Flantzer, S. (2016). Maria Ludovica of Austria, Empress of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-ludovica-of-austria-empress-of-france/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].
• Flantzer, S. (2016). Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/napoleon-bonaparte-emperor-of-the-french/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Napoléon II. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napol%C3%A9on_II [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France, Titular King Louis XVII of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis-Charles of France, given the title Duke of Normandy at birth, later became the Dauphin of France, and sometimes called King Louis XVII of France, was the younger of the two sons and the third of the four children of Louis XVI, King of France and Maria Antonia of Austria, better known as Marie Antoinette. He was born at the Palace of Versailles in France on March 27, 1785.

Louis-Charles had three siblings:

• Marie-Thérèse of France, Madame Royale (1778 – 1851), married her first cousin Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, no children
• Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François, Dauphin of France (1781 – 1789), died in childhood from tuberculosis
• Sophie-Hélène-Béatrix of France (1786 – 1787), died in infancy

Queen Marie Antoinette with her children, left to right: Marie-Thérèse, Queen Marie Antoinette with Louis-Charles (the future Dauphin) on her lap, Louis-Joseph, Dauphin of France pointing into an empty cradle; Sophie-Hélène-Béatrix originally was in the cradle but was painted out after her death; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis-Charles’ original governess was Yolande de Polastron, Duchess of Polignac but at the urging of King Louis XVI, she left France in July 1789, at the start of the French Revolution. Marquise Louise Élisabeth de Tourzel was her replacement, Agathe de Rambaud was Louis-Charles’ nurse and Jean-Baptiste Cléry was his valet. Louis-Charles was too young to have tutors appointed before the events of the French Revolution affected his family.  On June 4, 1789, Louis-Charles’ elder brother Louis-Joseph died from tuberculosis at age seven. Louis-Charles was then the heir to the throne and Dauphin of France.

Louis-Charles in 1790; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis-Charles was four years old when the French Revolution started in 1789. Soon, his father King Louis XVI had lost much of his absolute power to the National Constituent Assembly. The majority of the French people saw no benefit in retaining the monarchy. A failed attempt to escape Paris in 1791 ended what little support was left for the monarchy and the royal family was held under house arrest at the Tuileries Palace in Paris. On June 20, 1792, a mob broke into the Tuileries Palace, threatening the royal family. Spared this time, their luck would run out two months later when another mob stormed the palace on August 10, 1792.

Marie Antoinette with her children and her sister-in-law Madame Élisabeth, facing the mob that had broken into the Tuileries Palace on June 20, 1792; Credit – Wikipedia

This time, the family sought refuge at the Legislative Assembly but were arrested several days later and imprisoned at the Temple, the remains of a medieval fortress in Paris. On September 21, 1792, France officially abolished the monarchy and became a republic. Marie Antoinette, her husband, and their family were stripped of their titles and honors, becoming known as Monsieur and Madame Capet. Louis XVI was soon separated from his family and charged with undermining the French Republic. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. The former King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793. Royalists recognized Louis XVI’s imprisoned son Louis-Charles as King Louis XVII of France.

The Temple where the French royal family was imprisoned, 1795: Credit – Wikipedia

On July 3, 1793, guards entered the royal family’s lodgings in the Temple and forcibly took away eight-year-old Louis-Charles. Remaining with his sister Marie-Thérèse were her mother Marie Antoinette and Élisabeth, Louis XVI’s youngest sister. When Marie Antoinette was taken to the Conciergerie for trial one month later, Marie-Thérèse was left in the care of her aunt Élisabeth. On October 16, 1793, Marie Antoinette was executed by the guillotine. Élisabeth was taken away on May 9, 1794, and executed the following day. Of all the royal prisoners in the Temple, Louis-Charles’ sister Marie-Thérèse was the only one to survive.

After being separated from his family, Louis-Charles was moved to a different floor in the Temple and placed in the care of shoemaker Antoine Simon and his wife. By order of the Committee of Public Safety, the de facto government during the Reign of Terror, Simons was to transform Louis-Charles into an ordinary citizen and make him forget his royal status. Before his mother’s trial, Louis-Charles was forced to sign a statement that his mother had committed incest with him. On January 19, 1794, Simon and his wife were removed from their position and left the Temple. Later in the year, Simon was sent to the guillotine.

After the departure of the Simons, Louis-Charles was locked in a dark room, without any hygiene or help, for six months. His food was served through the bars of the door and few people even talked to him. These living conditions led to the rapid deterioration of his health. Finally, on July 27, 1794, Louis-Charles received a visitor, Paul Barras, a politician of the French Revolution and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799. Barras ordered that Louis-Charles be cleaned and clothed. His room was cleaned and he was given an attendant.

A depiction of Louis-Charles in the Temple; Credit – Wikipedia

Although Louis-Charles’ living conditions improved, he was already ill with tuberculosis and died on June 8, 1795, at the age of ten. He was buried in an unmarked grave at the Cimetière Sainte-Marguerite in Paris. In 1846, a skull was found at the cemetery and it was thought to be that of Louis-Charles. However, an examination of the skull in 1894 revealed that it was the skull of an older teenager and Louis-Charles died aged only ten.

After Louis-Charles’ death, an autopsy was held. Following the tradition of preserving royal hearts, Louis-Charles’s heart was removed and smuggled out during the autopsy by Dr. Philippe-Jean Pelletan, a royalist, who then preserved the heart in alcohol. After the Bourbon Restoration in 1815, Dr. Pellatan offered the heart to Louis-Charles’ paternal uncle King Louis XVIII but he refused it because he could not bring himself to believe that it was the heart of his nephew. Following the July Revolution in 1830, Dr. Pelletan’s son found the heart in the remnants of a looted palace and placed it in the crystal urn where it still resides. After the death of Dr. Pelletan’s son in 1879, Eduard Dumont, a relative of Dr. Pelletan’s wife, took possession of the heart.

In 1895, Carlos, Duke of Madrid, the Legitimist claimant to the French throne under the name Charles XI, accepted the heart from Eduard Dumont. The heart was kept at Schloss Frohsdorf near Vienna, Austria. Upon the death of his father Carlos, Duke of Madrid in 1909, Jaime, Duke of Madrid, the next Legitimist claimant to the French throne, inherited the heart and gave it to his sister Beatriz.

During World War II, Schloss Frohsdorf suffered damage. The heart was rescued by descendants of Carlos, Duke of Madrid, and ultimately came into the possession of his granddaughter Princess Marie des Neiges Massimo. In 1975, the princess offered the heart to the Memorial of Saint-Denis in Paris, the organization that oversees the royal graves at the Basilica of St. Denis, the traditional burial site of the Kings of France and the French royal family. The heart was placed in an underground chapel at the basilica where the remains of French royals that were desecrated during the French Revolution were subsequently interred.

The entrance to the underground chapel at the Basilica of St. Denis where the remains of French royals that were desecrated during the French Revolution were subsequently interred. The plaques on either side of the gated door list the remains of those interred; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

In 2004, DNA tests using mitochondrial DNA proved the heart belonged to Louis-Charles. Comparison samples were taken from descendants of Marie Antoinette’s sisters, members of the Bourbon-Parma family including Queen Anne of Romania who was born a Princess of Bourbon-Parma, and a strand of Marie-Antoinette’s hair. With the approval of the French government, the Legitimists organized a ceremony at the Basilica of St. Denis on June 8, 2004, the 209th anniversary of Louis-Charles’ death. His heart was placed in a niche near the graves of his parents Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette whose remains were transferred to the basilica in 1815.

The resting place of Louis-Charles’ heart; Photo Credit –  © Susan Flantzer

Louis-Charles’ heart; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis XVII of France. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVII_of_France [Accessed 3 Nov. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis XVII. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVII [Accessed 3 Nov. 2018].
• Mehl, S. (2016). King Louis XVIII of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-louis-xviii-of-france/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• Mehl, S. (2016). Maria Antonia of Austria, Queen of France (Marie Antoinette). [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-antonia-of-austria-queen-of-france-marie-antoinette/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• The Lost King of France. (2002). New York: St. Martin’s Press.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Marie-Thérèse of France, Duchess of Angoulême; Credit – Wikipedia

The only one of the four children of Louis XVI, King of France and Maria Antonia, Archduchess of Austria (better known as Marie Antoinette), to reach adulthood, Marie-Thérèse of France married her first cousin Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, the eldest son of the future Charles X, King of France. She was born at the Palace of Versailles in France on December 19, 1778, the first child after eight years of her parents’ marriage. As the eldest daughter of the King of France, she was styled Madame Royale at birth. She was named Marie-Thérèse Charlotte after her maternal grandmother Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, and Queen Regnant of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia and her maternal aunt Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of Naples and Sicily who was known as Charlotte.

Marie-Thérèse had three younger siblings:

• Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François, Dauphin of France (1781 – 1789), died in childhood from tuberculosis
• Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France, titular Louis XVII, King of France after the execution of his father in 1793 (1785 – 1795), died from tuberculosis while imprisoned in The Temple in Paris, France
• Sophie-Hélène-Béatrix of France (1786 – 1787), died in infancy

Queen Marie Antoinette with her children – left to right: Marie-Thérèse, Queen Marie Antoinette with Louis-Charles (the future Dauphin) on her lap, Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François, Dauphin of France pointing into an empty cradle; Sophie-Hélène-Béatrix originally was in the cradle but was painted out after her death; Credit – Wikipedia

Victoire de Rohan, Princess of Guéméné was the head of Marie-Thérèse’s household which had a staff of over one hundred courtiers and servants. When Marie-Thérèse was four years old, the Princess of Guéméné was forced to resign due to a scandal created by her husband’s huge debt. Gabrielle de Polastron, Duchesse de Polignac, the favorite of Marie Antoinette, was then appointed the head of the household. Marie-Thérèse grew up at the Palace of Versailles in luxury but her mother often invited children of lower rank to dine with Marie-Thérèse and encouraged her to give her toys to the poor.

Marie-Thérèse in 1786; Credit – Wikipedia

Marie-Thérèse was eleven years old when the French Revolution started in 1789. Soon, her father King Louis XVI lost much of his absolute power to the National Constituent Assembly.  The majority of the French people saw no benefit in retaining the monarchy. After a failed attempt to escape Paris in 1791 ended what little support was left for the monarchy, the royal family was held under house arrest at the Tuileries Palace in Paris. On June 20, 1792, a mob broke into the Tuileries Palace, threatening the royal family. Spared this time, their luck would run out two months later when another mob stormed the palace on August 10, 1792.

The Temple where the French royal family was imprisoned: Credit – Wikipedia

This time, the family sought refuge at the Legislative Assembly but were arrested several days later and imprisoned at the Temple, the remains of a medieval fortress in Paris. On September 21, 1792, France officially abolished the monarchy and became a republic. Marie Antoinette, her husband, and their family were stripped of their titles and honors, becoming known as Monsieur and Madame Capet. Louis XVI was soon separated from his family and charged with undermining the French Republic. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. The former King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793. Royalists recognized Louis XVI’s imprisoned son Louis-Charles as King Louis XVII of France.

On July 3, 1793, guards entered the royal family’s lodgings in the Temple and forcibly took away Marie-Thérèse’s eight-year-old Louis-Charles. Remaining with Marie-Thérèse were her mother Marie Antoinette and Élisabeth, Louis XVI’s youngest sister. When Marie Antoinette was taken to the Conciergerie for trial one month later, Marie-Thérèse was left in the care of her aunt Élisabeth. On October 16, 1793, Marie Antoinette was executed by the guillotine. Marie-Thérèse’s aunt Élisabeth was taken away on May 9, 1794, and executed the following day. Of all the royal prisoners in the Temple, Marie-Thérèse was the only one to survive.

During her imprisonment, Marie-Thérèse was never told what had happened to her family. All she knew was that her father was dead. Finally, she was told by Madame Renée de Chanterenne, her female companion in August 1795. On December 18, 1795, the day before her seventeenth birthday, Marie-Thérèse was exchanged for prominent French prisoners and released from the Temple. She was taken to Vienna, her mother’s birthplace, where her first cousin Franz II reigned as Holy Roman Emperor.

Marie-Thérèse in Vienna in 1796, note that she is in mourning dress and is wearing a cameo necklace with the images of her parents; Credit – Wikipedia

In Vienna, Marie-Thérèse met the many members of her mother’s family and quickly formed relationships with them even though she held her cousin Franz II responsible for her mother’s death because of his inaction. In 1796, Marie-Thérèse refused to marry Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen, brother of Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor, whom she considered an enemy of France.

The two younger brothers of King Louis XVI had fled France with their families: the elder Louis-Stanislas (the future King Louis XVIII) fled to the Austrian Netherlands in 1791 and the younger Charles (the future King Charles X) fled to Savoy in 1789. After Marie-Thérèse’s brother died in 1795, Louis-Stanislas, as Louis XVI’s elder surviving brother, became the titular King of France as Louis XVIII. In 1798, he was given a very large pension and the use of Jelgava Palace in Courland (now Latvia) by Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. At Jelgava Palace, Louis-Stanislas attempted to recreate the pomp and ceremony of the court of Versailles. On May 3, 1799, Marie-Thérèse left Vienna to join her uncle in exile at Jelgava Palace.

Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, Marie-Thérèse’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

With no children of his own, Louis-Stanislas wished his niece Marie-Thérèse to marry her first cousin Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, son of his younger brother Charles, for dynastic reasons. He convinced Marie-Thérèse to agree to the marriage by telling her it would be what her parents wanted. Louis-Antoine was a shy, stammering, small, and awkwardly built young man. His father Charles tried to persuade Louis-Stanislas against the marriage. However, the wedding took place on June 10, 1799, at Jelgava Palace. The couple had no children and the marriage was not a happy one.

Marie-Thérèse’s uncle Louis-Stanislas, King Louis XVIII; Credit – Wikipedia

From the time of her marriage, Marie-Thérèse was closely linked to her uncle Louis-Stanislas and shared more of her uncle’s life than that of her husband. She used her image of “martyrdom of the Revolution” to rally the royalists and interest the European rulers in her uncle’s cause to restore the Bourbon monarchy. Marie-Thérèse followed her uncle to the various places he lived in exile. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte tried to force Louis-Stanislas to give up his rights to the French throne, which he refused. Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of the French in 1804.

In April 1814, following Napoleon’s overthrow, the French Senate restored the Bourbons to the French throne and Louis-Stanislas officially became King Louis XVIII. Returning to France was emotionally draining for Marie-Thérèse. She visited the site where her brother had died and the Madeleine Cemetery where her parents were buried. On January 21, 1815, the 22nd anniversary of Louis XVI’s execution, the remains of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were re-interred at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the traditional burial site of the Kings of France and the French royal family. In February 1815, Napoleon escaped from his imprisonment on the island of Elba and returned to France but his reign was over when he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, and King Louis XVIII was restored to the throne.

The French Royal Family in 1823 – left to right: Marie-Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême; Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême; Prince Henri de Bourbon; Charles-Philippe, Count of Artois; King Louis XVIII of France; Princess Louise-Marie-Thérèse d’Artois; Marie-Caroline, Duchess of Berry

King Louis XVIII died on September 16, 1824, and was succeeded by his younger brother King Charles X. As the eldest son of the King, Marie-Thérèse’s husband Louis-Antoine was heir to the throne and became Dauphin of France while his wife became Dauphine. Within a few years, anti-monarchist feelings were on the rise again. Charles X’s ultra-royalist sympathies alienated many members of the working and middle classes. This led to the July Revolution of 1830. On August 2, 1830, King Charles X was forced to abdicate the French throne. He skipped over his son and named his grandson Henri, Duke of Bordeaux his successor. However, this did not sit well with Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, the Orléanist claimant to the French throne. He took the throne on August 9, 1830, taking the title King of the French.

Marie-Thérèse’s uncle and father-in-law Charles X; Credit – Wikipedia

Once again, Marie-Thérèse lived in exile, this time with the former King Charles X, her uncle and her father-in-law, and her husband Louis-Antoine, who had technically been King of France for less than 20 minutes on August 2, 1830, before he himself abdicated. First, they lived in Edinburgh, Scotland where Marie-Thérèse and Louis-Antoine took up residence in a house at 22 Regent Terrace near Holyrood Palace where the former Charles X was living. In 1832, the family moved to Prague Castle at the invitation of Marie-Thérèse’s cousin, now Franz I, Emperor of Austria as there was no more Holy Roman Empire. After Emperor Franz’s death in 1835, the exiles moved to the estate of Count Johann Baptist Coronini near Gorizia, which was in Austria but now in Italy.

The Villa Coronini in Gorizia; Credit – Wikipedia

The former King Charles X of France died from cholera on November 6, 1836, in Gorizia at the age of 79. Eight years later, Louis-Antoine, his son and Marie-Thérèse’s husband, died on June 3, 1844, aged 68, also in Gorizia. Marie-Thérèse then moved to the Schloss Frohsdorf, just outside Vienna, where she spent her days taking walks, reading, sewing, and praying. She died from pneumonia at the Schloss Frohsdorf on October 19, 1851, at the age of 72. The former Charles X, his son Louis-Antoine and Marie-Thérèse were all buried at the Kostanjevica Monastery.  The monastery had originally been in Gorizia but in 1947, the border between Italy and Yugoslavia was set just a few hundred meters westward from the monastery, and the monastery became part of the newly established town of Nova Gorica, then in Yugoslavia, now in Slovenia.

Tombs of Louis-Antoine, Charles X and Marie-Thérèse; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Antoine,_Duke_of_Angoul%C3%AAme [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marie Thérèse of France. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_of_France [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marie Thérèse of France. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_of_France [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marie-Thérèse de France (1778-1851). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_de_France_(1778-1851) [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].
• Mehl, S. (2016). King Charles X of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-x-of-france/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• Mehl, S. (2016). King Louis XVIII of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-louis-xviii-of-france/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• Mehl, S. (2016). Maria Antonia of Austria, Queen of France (Marie Antoinette). [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-antonia-of-austria-queen-of-france-marie-antoinette/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].
• Nagel, S. (2008). Marie Thérèse: The Fate of Marie Antoinette’s Daughter. New York: Bloomsbury.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019

Louis, Dauphin of France; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis, Dauphin of France was the elder son and heir apparent of his father Louis XV, King of France. Unfortunately, like several other Dauphins that preceded him, Louis died prematurely and never became King of France. Born on September 4, 1729, at the Palace of Versailles, Louis was the elder of the two sons and the fourth of the ten children of King Louis XV of France and Marie Leszczyńska, daughter of Stanisław I, King of Poland and Catherine Opalińska.

Louis had nine siblings:

• Louise Élisabeth, twin of Anne Henriette (1727 – 1759), married Felipe, Infante of Spain, Duke of Parma, had three children
• Anne Henriette, twin of Louise Élisabeth (1727 – 1752), unmarried, died from smallpox
• Marie-Louise (1728 – 1733), died in childhood
• Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou (1730 – 1733), died in childhood
• Marie Adélaïde (1732 – 1800), unmarried
• Victoire Louise Marie Thérèse (1733 – 1799), unmarried
• Sophie Philippine Élisabeth Justine (1734 – 1782), unmarried
• Marie Thérèse Félicité (1736 – 1744), died from smallpox
• Louise Marie (1737 – 1787), became a nun, beatified in 1873 and known as Blessed Thérèse of Saint Augustine

Louis, Dauphin of France at age nine; Credit – Wikipedia

Until he was seven years old, Louis was raised by the royal governess Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour who had also been the governess of Louis’ father. Madame de Ventadour was credited with saving the life of Louis’ father, the future Louis XV, when a measles epidemic killed his father, mother, and elder brother. Louis’ elder brother died due to being bled by the doctors. Madame de Ventadour locked herself and the two-year-old future Louis XV, who was ill with the measles, in the nursery and refused to let the doctors see him.

When he was seven-years-old, Louis was put under the care of tutors Jean-François Boyer, Bishop of Mirepoix and Joseph Giry de Saint Cyr.  Louis was a brilliant student. He had an excellent knowledge of Latin, spoke fluent English, which was rare for a prince of his time, and excelled in many other subjects. Like his sisters, Louis was an excellent musician. However, he hated physical activity and gave up hunting after accidentally killing one of his men. Louis granted his protection to the widow and his descendants, and a pension was paid by the various governments until the extinction of the line of the victim under the Third Republic (1870 – 1940).

Maria Teresa Rafaela, Infanta of Spain, 1st wife of Louis, Dauphin of France; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1739, King Louis XV negotiated a marriage for his son Louis with Maria Teresa Rafaela, Infanta of Spain, daughter of Felipe V, King of Spain (who had been born Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV, King of France) and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese. The purpose of this marriage was to strengthen the alliance of Bourbon France and Bourbon Spain. Maria Teresa Rafaela’s mother would not allow her thirteen-year-old daughter to go to France until she was older.

A proxy marriage was held in Madrid, Spain on December 18, 1744. Maria Teresa Rafaela left Spain in January 1745 and arrived at Versailles on February 21, 1745. Nineteen-year-old Maria Teresa Rafaela and sixteen-year-old Louis were officially married at the Palace of Versailles on February 23, 1745. Louis and Maria Teresa Rafaela had one daughter Princess Marie Thérèse of France, born on July 19, 1746. Sadly, Maria Teresa Rafaela died three days later, on July 22, 1746, at the age of twenty. Louis’ sorrow was so intense that his father Louis XV had to physically drag his son away from Maria Teresa Rafaela’s deathbed. Louis and Maria Teresa Rafaela’s daughter did not survive to her second birthday, dying on April 27, 1748.

Even though he grieved for his first wife, Louis knew he had to marry again to provide for the succession to the French throne. His first wife’s brother Fernando VI, King of Spain offered his youngest sister Maria Antoinetta but Louis XV wanted to expand France’s diplomatic channels. France and Saxony had been on opposing sides in the recent War of the Austrian Succession and a marriage between a Princess of Saxony and the Dauphin of France would form a new alliance between the two countries.

Maria Josepha of Saxony; second wife of Louis, Dauphin of France; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 10, 1747, Louis was married by proxy in Dresden, Saxony to fifteen-year-old Maria Josepha of Saxony, daughter of Friedrich August II, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria, daughter of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor. A second marriage ceremony took place in person at the Palace of Versailles on February 9, 1747. At the time of the marriage, Louis was still grieving for Maria Teresa Rafaela but Maria Josepha was patient and won his heart a little at a time.

Louis and Maria Josepha of Saxony had eight children including three Kings of France:

• Marie Zéphyrine (1750 – 1755), died in childhood
• Louis Joseph, Duke of Burgundy (1751 – 1761), died in childhood from tuberculosis
• Xavier of France, Duke of Aquitaine (1753 – 1754), died in infancy
• Louis XVI, King of France (1754 – 1793), married Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria and had four children, executed during the French Revolution
• Louis XVIII, King of France (1755 – 1824), married Marie Joséphine of Savoy, no children
• Charles X, King of France (1757 – 1836), married Marie Thérèse of Savoy, had four children
• Marie Clotilde (1759 – 1802), married Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia, no children
• Élisabeth (1764 – 1794), unmarried, executed during the French Revolution

Louis was a pious man, faithful to his wife, and concerned about the welfare and education of his children. Like her husband, Maria Josepha was very devout. Louis and Maria Josepha were a counterbalance to the behavior of Louis XV, who had many mistresses and many illegitimate children, and his court. The couple was not fond of the various entertainments held at Versailles every week and preferred to stay in their apartments. Kept away from government affairs by his father, Louis was at the center of the Dévots, a group of religiously-minded men who hoped to gain power when he succeeded to the throne.

Allegory on the Death of the Dauphin by Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, 1765; Credit – Wikipedia

However, Louis never succeeded to the throne. He died of tuberculosis at the Château de Fontainebleau in France on December 20, 1765, at the age of 36. According to Louis’ last wishes, he was buried at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France, and his heart was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, near the grave of his first wife. Maria Josepha, who had cared for Louis during his last illness, also contracted tuberculosis. She died March 13, 1767, at the age of 35 and was buried with her husband.

In March 1794, during the French Revolution, Louis and Maria Josepha’s tomb was desecrated and their remains were thrown into a mass grave.  After the restoration of the monarchy, on the orders of Louis and Maria Josepha’s son King Louis XVIII, their remains were found, their tomb was restored and they reinterred at the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, France on December 8, 1814.

Louis and Maria Josepha’s restored tomb; Credit – Par Aubry Gérard — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42182840

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis Ferdinand de Bourbon, dauphin de Viennois. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Ferdinand_de_Bourbon,_dauphin_de_Viennois [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis, Dauphin of France (son of Louis XV). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Dauphin_of_France_(son_of_Louis_XV) [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Josepha_of_Saxony_(1731%E2%80%931767) [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Teresa_Rafaela_of_Spain [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis de France (1729-1765). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_France_(1729-1765) [Accessed 1 Nov. 2018].

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the eldest of the three sons of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, was born at the Palace of Versailles in France on August 16, 1682, and received the title of Duke of Burgundy. At the time of his birth, Louis’ grandfather Louis XIV was King of France and his father was the heir apparent to the French throne. After Louis’ birth, his father was called Le Grand Dauphin and his son Louis, who was second in the line of succession, was called Le Petit Dauphin. However, King Louis XIV outlived both his son and his grandson and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson King Louis XV when he died in 1715.

The birth of Louis, Duke of Burgundy; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis had two younger brothers:

• Philippe, Duke of Anjou, later King Felipe V of Spain (1683 – 1746), married (1) Maria Luisa of Savoy, had four sons including King Luis I of Spain and King Fernando VI of Spain (2) Elisabeth Farnese, had six children including King Carlos III of Spain
• Charles, Duke of Berry (1686 – 1714), married Marie Louise Élisabeth of Orléans, had three children who all died before they were one month old.

Louis on the right with his parents and his two brothers; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis and his two brothers were placed in the care of the royal governess Louise de Prie de La Mothe-Houdancourt who had also been their father’s governess.  The brothers were then placed under the care of Paul de Beauvilliers as their governor and were tutored by François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai.  When Louis was eight-years-old, his mother died at the Palace of Versailles on April 20, 1690, at the age of 29.

Louis’ wife Marie Adélaïde of Savoy; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1696, when Louis was fourteen-years-old, he was betrothed to Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, the eldest daughter of Vittorio Amadeo II, Duke of Savoy (later King of Sardinia) and of Anne Marie of Orléans, a niece of King Louis XIV. The betrothal was the result of the Treaty of Turin in which Marie Adélaïde’s father agreed to support France in the Nine Years’ War. The treaty also stipulated that eleven-year-old Marie Adélaïde be sent to France to prepare her for her future role. On December 6, 1697, Marie Adelaïde’s twelfth birthday, the young couple were married at the Palace of Versailles.

Wedding of Louis and Marie-Adélaïde; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis and Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy had three sons:

• Louis, Duke of Brittany (1704 – 1705), died from convulsions
• Louis, Duke of Brittany (1707 – 1712), died from measles
• Louis XV, King of France (1710 – 1774), married Marie Leszczyńska, had ten children

In terms of mental ability and willingness to work, Louis surpassed his father. He was considered extremely intelligent and politically gifted. In 1702, at the age of twenty, Louis was permitted to attend the meetings of the King’s Council, something his father had not been allowed to do until he was thirty years old. In 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Louis was given the command of an army in Flanders which managed to capture Ghent and Bruges surprisingly quickly.

In the spring of 1711, Louis, Le Grand Dauphin caught smallpox, apparently from a priest who was distributing Holy Communion after he had visited a smallpox victim, and died on April 14, 1711, at the age of 49. His son Louis, who had been styled Le Petit Dauphin, became the heir to the French throne but in less than a year, he too was dead.

Basilica of St. Denis; By Thomas Clouet – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42109690

On February 12, 1712, Louis’ 26-year-old wife Marie Adélaïde died from measles. Louis dearly loved his wife and stayed by her side throughout her illness. He caught the disease and died six days after her death, on February 18, 1712, aged 29, at the Château de Marly in France. The couple was buried together at the Basilica of St. Denis, the traditional burial site of the Kings of France and the French royal family.

Their five-year-old elder son, the Duke of Brittany, succeeded as Dauphin but he also developed measles. He died three weeks later on March 8, 1712, apparently from being bled to death by the doctors. Louis and Marie Adélaïde’s younger son, the future King Louis XV, also developed measles but survived because of his governess Charlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour. Deciding that she would not allow her younger charge to be bled by the doctors, Madame de Ventadour locked herself up with three nursery maids and refused to allow the doctors near the boy. The two-year-old survived and became King of France upon the death of his great-grandfather, King Louis XIV, three years later.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis de Bourbon, duc de Bourgogne. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_Bourbon,_duc_de_Bourgogne [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis, Duke of Burgundy. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Duke_of_Burgundy [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marie Adélaïde of Savoy. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Marie_Ad%C3%A9la%C3%AFde_of_Savoy [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis de France (1682-1712). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_France_(1682-1712) [Accessed 31 Oct. 2018].
• Fraser, A. (2006). Love and Louis XIV. New York: Nan A. Talese Doubleday.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin; Credit – Wikipedia

Louis of France was the only child of King Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain to survive childhood. As the heir apparent to the French throne, he was styled Dauphin of France and was called Le Grand Dauphin after the birth of his son Louis who was called Le Petit Dauphin. However, King Louis XIV outlived his son and his grandson and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson King Louis XV when he died in 1715.

Louis was born on November 1, 1661, at the Château de Fontainebleau in France and was the eldest of the six children of his parents. All of his siblings died in childhood:

• Anne-Élisabeth of France (born and died 1662)
• Marie-Anne of France (born and died 1664)
• Marie-Thérèse of France, Madame Royale  (1667 – 1672)
• Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou (1668 – 1671)
• Louis François, Duke of Anjou (born and died 1672)

Louis and his mother; Credit – Wikipedia

Until he was seven years old, Louis was placed under the care of the royal governesses Julie d’Angennes and Louise de Prie de La Mothe-Houdancourt.  Louis was then placed under the care of Charles de Sainte-Maure, Duc de Montausier as his governor and was tutored by Jacques Bénigne Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux who found his pupil a poor student. The most enduring thing his tutor was able to teach him was an appreciation for antiques, in particular medals, sculpture, porcelain, and gems. In the long run, Louis’ education taught him more about obedience to his father than the art of governing the Kingdom of France.

Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, Dauphine of France; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1668, seven-year-old Louis was betrothed to his eight-year-old second cousin Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria, the eldest daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy. Maria Anna Victoria was carefully educated for her future role and looked forward to being the Dauphine of France. Besides her native German, she was taught to speak French, Italian, and Latin. The couple married in a proxy ceremony in Munich in the Electorate of Bavaria on January 28, 1680. Louis and Maria Anna Victoria first met on March 7, 1680, the day of their religious wedding at Saint Etienne Cathedral in Châlons-sur-Marne, France. Maria Anna Victoria was the first Dauphine of France since Mary, Queen of Scots married the future King François II of France in 1558.

Louis and Maria Anna Victoria had three children:

• • Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin (1682 – 1712), married Maria Adelaide of Savoy, had three children including the future King Louis XV of France
  • Philippe, Duke of Anjou, later King Felipe V of Spain (1683 – 1746), married (1) Maria Luisa of Savoy, had four sons including King Luis I of Spain and King Fernando VI of Spain (2) Elisabeth Farnese of Parma, had six children including King Carlos III of Spain
  • Charles, Duke of Berry (1686 – 1714), married Marie Louise Élisabeth of Orléans, had three children, all died before they were one month old.

Louis, Maria Anna Victoria, and their family, Credit – Wikipedia

Louis showed little interest in politics. He was not allowed to attend the meetings of the King’s Council until he was thirty years old. However, he was one of the critics of the 1685 Edict of Fontainebleau which revoked the 1598 Edict of Nantes that granted the Protestant Huguenots the right to practice their religion without persecution. During the Nine Years’ War, Louis was a brave and skilled commander and was given the nominal command of the Siege of Philippsburg in 1688.

Maria Anna Victoria’s ill health made it difficult to carry out her duties. Her father-in-law King Louis XIV was unsympathetic and falsely accused her of hypochondria. She died at the Palace of Versailles on April 20, 1690, at the age of 29. An autopsy revealed several internal disorders that vindicated her complaints of illness.

Mademoiselle de Choin; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1694, Louis secretly married his lover Marie Émilie de Joly de Choin, a lady-in-waiting at the French court. No details of the wedding ceremony are known but in a letter dated July 19, 1694, Louis referred to Marie Émilie as his wife to his father’s second morganatic wife Madame de Maintenon. Marie Émilie was given the title of Dauphine and continued to be officially referred to as Mademoiselle de Choin. The marriage was not officially recognized and Marie Émilie did not participate in court life.

In the spring of 1711, Louis caught smallpox, apparently from a priest who was distributing Holy Communion after he had visited a smallpox victim. Louis had always been healthy and robust, so his illness shocked the people of Paris, the French court, and the royal family. On April 14, 1711, Louis, Dauphin of France died at the Château de Meudon in France at the age of 49. He was buried in the Basilica of St. Denis, outside Paris. His son Louis, who had been styled Le Petit Dauphin, became the heir to the throne but in less than a year, he too was dead from measles.

Basilica of St. Denis; Credit – By Thomas Clouet – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42109690

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis, Grand Dauphin. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Grand_Dauphin [Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Louis de France (1661-1711). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_France_(1661-1711) [Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].
• Fraser, A. (2006). Love and Louis XIV. New York: Nan A. Talese Doubleday.
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_Victoria_of_Bavaria [Accessed 30 Oct. 2018].

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans; Credit – Wikipedia

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger son of Louis XIII, King of France and Anne of Austria, Infanta of Spain, was born September 21, 1640, at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris. At the time of his birth, he was created Duke of Anjou.

Philippe had one brother:

• Louis XIV, King of France (1638 – 1715), married (1) Maria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain, had six children but only one survived childhood (2) Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, morganatic marriage, no children

Philippe and his brother Louis; Credit – Wikipedia

Along with his elder brother Louis, Philippe was raised by the royal governess Françoise de Souvré, Marquise de Lansac until 1643, when Marie-Catherine de Senecey took over. Philippe’s father King Louis XIII died in 1643 and his five-year-old brother then began his 72-year reign as King Louis XIV.

Prime Minister Cardinal Jules Mazarin and Philippe’s mother Queen Anne feared that Philippe would become a source of conflict and harm his brother’s power just as Gaston, Duke of Orléans had done to his brother King Louis XIII. As a result, Philippe was raised “as a girl” to make him effeminate and weak, the total opposite of his brother King Louis XIV. He was treated and dressed like a girl, showered with jewelry and clothes with any masculine behavior deliberately suppressed. Philippe was well educated by tutors chosen by Cardinal Mazarin, emphasizing languages, history, literature, mathematics, and dancing. In 1660, after his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans died, Philippe was created Duke of Orléans.

Louis XIV (right) with his brother Philippe (left); Credit – Wikipedia

During the English Civil War (1642–1651), Philippe’s paternal aunt Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England, and her youngest child and Philippe’s first cousin Henrietta (born 1644) sought refuge at the French court. Mother and daughter were given apartments at the Palais du Louvre, the use of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and a pension, much of which was given to King Charles I in England and to royalist exiles in France. In January 1649, King Charles I was beheaded, and Henrietta and her mother moved to the Palais Royal with her cousins King Louis XIV and Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and their mother.

Henrietta of England, Philippe’s first wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Henrietta Maria wanted her daughter to marry her cousin King Louis XIV but his mother did not favor the marriage. Instead, Louis XIV married Maria Theresa of Spain, another first cousin, in 1660. Also in 1660, the monarchy was restored in England and Henrietta’s eldest brother became King Charles II. Now that Henrietta was the sister of the English king, her cousin Philippe became interested in marrying her. Philippe had homosexual affairs but apparently, he was intent on fulfilling his dynastic responsibility of having children. The cousins married on April 1, 1661, and moved into the Palais des Tuileries. Although Philippe and Henrietta had three children, the paternity of the children was doubted by some members of the court as Henrietta had affairs, including an affair with her husband’s lover Guy Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche.

Today’s Jacobite claim to the British throne goes through Philippe and Henrietta’s younger daughter Anne Marie. Through her mother, Anne Marie was a granddaughter of King Charles I of England. When Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and his brother Cardinal Henry Stuart died without legitimate issue, Anne Marie’s descendants inherited the Jacobite claim.

Philippe and Henrietta’s children:

• Marie Louise of Orléans (1662 – 1689), married Carlos II, King of Spain, no children
• Philippe Charles of Orléans, Duke of Valois (1664 – 1666), died in early childhood
• Anne Marie of Orléans (1669 – 1728), married Vittorio Amadeo II, King of Sardinia, had five children

On June 30, 1670, Henrietta died at the age of 26. There were rumors that her husband’s lover Philippe, Chevalier de Lorraine had poisoned her. She was buried at the Basilica of St. Denis near Paris, the burial site of the Kings of France and their families. While Henrietta was mourned at the French court, she was not mourned by her husband due to their strained relationship. Philippe’s brother King Louis XIV wanted a male heir to continue the Orléans line and looked for a second wife for Philippe himself.

King Louis XIV rejected many potential second brides for his brother before settling on the Protestant Princess Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte. She was the only daughter of Karl I Ludwig, Elector Palatine and Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel. Liselotte’s paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I of England and granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots. Liselotte converted to Roman Catholicism and married Philippe on November 19, 1671, at Saint Etienne Cathedral in Châlons, France.

Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte, Philippe’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Liselotte acted as a mother to Philippe’s children by Henrietta and maintained correspondence with them throughout their lives. Philippe and Liselotte had three children:

• Alexandre Louis d’Orléans, Duke of Valois (1673 – 1676), died in childhood
• Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1674 – 1723) married his cousin Françoise Marie de Bourbon, a legitimized daughter of King Louis XIV and one of his mistresses Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise of Montespan, had eight children
• Élisabeth Charlotte d’Orléans (1676 – 1744) married Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, had thirteen children, were the grandparents of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France

Liselotte with her two surviving children; Credit – Wikipedia

Philippe’s careful investment and management of his various estates made him a wealthy man,  and his wealth greatly increased when he inherited the fortune of his extremely wealthy paternal first cousin Anne Marie Louise of Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier upon her death in 1693. Philippe is acknowledged as the biological and financial founder of the House of Orléans. In his later life, Philippe maintained his lavish lifestyle easily and he found much satisfaction in the activities of his children and grandchildren.

On June 9, 1701, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans died from a stroke at the Château de Saint-Cloud at the age of 60. He was buried at the Basilica of St. Denis, near Paris. His wife Liselotte survived Philippe by twenty-one years, dying at the Château de Saint-Cloud at age 70 on December 8, 1722.

Philippe’s descendants include King Felipe VI of Spain, King Philippe of the Belgians, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Henri, Count of Paris, the Orléanist pretender to the French throne, and Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, the pretender to the Italian throne.

Basilica of St. Denis; Credit – By Thomas Clouet – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42109690

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Philippe I. de Bourbon, duc d’Orléans. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_I._de_Bourbon,_duc_d%E2%80%99Orl%C3%A9ans [Accessed 29 Oct. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_I,_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans [Accessed 29 Oct. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Philippe d’Orléans (1640-1701). [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans_(1640-1701) [Accessed 29 Oct. 2018].
• Fraser, Antonia. (2006). Love and Louis XIV. New York: Nan A. Talese Doubleday.