by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016
Credit – Wikipedia
Maria Teresa of Savoy, Countess of Artois
Maria Teresa of Savoy was the wife of the future King Charles X of France, although she died before he took the throne. She was born on January 31, 1756, at the Royal Palace of Turin in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy. She was the daughter of the future King Vittorio Amadeo III of Sardinia and Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. She had eleven siblings:
- Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia (1751 – 1819), married Princess Marie Clotilde of France, no children
- Maria Elisabetta Carlotta of Savoy (1752 – 1755), died in childhood
- Maria Giuseppina of Savoy (1753 – 1810) married Louis Stanislas, Count of Provence, the future King Louis XVIII of France, no children, died before her husband became King of France
- Amedeo Alessandro of Savoy (1754 – 1755), died in infancy
- Maria Anna of Savoy (1757 – 1824), married her uncle Prince Benedetto of Savoy, no issue
- Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia (1759 – 1824), married Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, had six daughters and one son who died at age three from smallpox
- Maria Cristina Ferdinanda of Savoy (1760 – 1768), died in childhood
- Maurizio of Savoy, Duke of Montferrat (1762 – 1799) died unmarried from malaria
- Maria Carolina of Savoy (1764 – 1782), married Anton, Electoral Prince of Saxony, no issue, Maria Carolina died from smallpox, her husband became King of Saxony after her death
- Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia (1765 – 1831), married Princess Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily, no children
- Giuseppe of Savoy, Count of Asti (1766 – 1802), died unmarried from malaria
The marriage of Maria Teresa of Savoy and the Count of Artois, 1773. source: Wikipedia
On November 16, 1773, at the Chapel Royal at the Palace of Versailles, Maria Teresa married Charles Philippe, Count of Artois (the future King Charles X of France). He was the son of Louis, Dauphin of France, a son of King Louis XV of France and Marie Leszczyńska of Poland. Having taken the French version of her name – Marie Thérèse – she retained her style of Royal Highness because her husband was a grandson of the French sovereign. She was styled, however, simply the Countess of Artois. The couple had four children:
- Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (1775 – 1834) – married Marie Thérèse of France, daughter of King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette, no issue
- Sophie (1776 – 1783) – died in childhood
- Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (1778 – 1820) – married Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, had issue
- Marie Thérèse (born and died 1783) – died in infancy
The marriage was just one of three marriages between the two families. Two years earlier, her elder sister had married Louis Stanislas, Count of Provence (the future Louis XVIII), and later her younger brother (the future King Carlo Emanuele IV of Sardinia) married Clotilde of France.
Marie Thérèse with her three surviving children, painted by Charles Leclercq, c1783. source: Wikipedia
Regarded as very plain and unattractive, Marie Thérèse was overshadowed at the French court by her sister-in-law, Marie Antoinette, and was very unpopular. Her reputation improved a bit, however, when she began quickly to provide children and heirs – something her sister-in-law had so far been unable to do.
In July 1789, just days after the storming of the Bastille, Marie Thérèse and her family fled the country, settling for some time in her native Savoy. They eventually moved to Graz, Austria, where Marie Thérèse died on June 2, 1805. She is buried in the Imperial Mausoleum next to the Graz Cathedral.
Grave of Maria Teresa at the Imperial Mausoleum next to the Graz Cathedral; Credit – www. findagrave.com
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